Title

What It Done to Us

Publication Date

2014-11-25

Availability

Embargoed

Embargo Period

2016-11-24

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Department

English (Arts and Sciences)

Date of Defense

2013-04-24

First Committee Member

Maureen Seaton

Second Committee Member

Valerie Martinez

Third Committee Member

Traci Brimhall

Abstract

The following creative thesis is a scorched-earth march through Southern Appalachia. There are no heroes here, nor any easy moral lessons. As contemporary imaginings of the Southern Gothic, the poems use bold images, sprawling lines, biblical allusions, feminist and Marxist theories, and unaffected diction to illuminate the implications of the region’s violent heritage in a globalized world. They seek to raze political, religious, and sexual norms with kerosene and a lit match—exposing a bare and often brutal truth that cannot be burned away. This thesis is a trial by fire.

Keywords

Appalachian Poetry; Working-Class Poetry

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS