Jane: A Murder

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The narrative recounts the life and tragic death of Maggie Nelson's aunt Jane, who was murdered in 1969 while a first-year law student at the University of Michigan. Her murder remains officially unsolved and is believed to be part of a series of brutal rape-murders in the area during that time. Born after Jane's death, Nelson reflects on the profound impact this event had on her family and her own psyche. The exploration unfolds through a blend of poetry, prose, dream narratives, and documentary sources, including newspapers and true crime literature, along with excerpts from Nelson's diaries from her teenage years. The work is divided into eight sections, detailing Jane's life, her murder, its investigation, and the lasting effects on Nelson's childhood and sisterhood. A trip to Michigan with her mother to retrace Jane's last hours adds depth to the narrative. Each section varies in form, with the transitions and surrounding white space creating fissures that challenge the sensationalism of the story, prompting deeper reflections on girlhood, empathy, and the complexities of another's life and death. This piece serves as an elegy, memoir, detective story, and a meditation on violence, expanding the boundaries of poetry and storytelling.