Date of Award
Spring 5-2008
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
English
School
Humanities
Committee Chair
Angela Ball
Committee Chair Department
English
Committee Member 2
Julia Johnson
Committee Member 2 Department
English
Committee Member 3
Steven Barthelme
Committee Member 3 Department
English
Committee Member 4
Ellen Weinauer
Committee Member 4 Department
English
Committee Member 5
Kenneth Watson
Committee Member 5 Department
English
Abstract
My collection of poems and essays, We Become Delicate Boats, takes inspiration from a broad range of sources that shift into each other: paintings, pop culture, literary figures, dreams, relationships, faith, family, history. For example, some poems throw together unexpected bedfellows, like Kafka's Gregor Samsa and Marie Antoinette; others are anecdotal, like one that describes going on a blind date with a man who actually turns out to be blind, some re-imagine stories we already know, like one in the voice of Medusa, talking about which occasions call for her various snake "wigs." Although quite a few pieces are playful, an underlying theme emerges: a simultaneous obsession and deep disturbance with frailty, with disfigurement. Through the poems and essays, I try to articulate that frailty, and find an attendant humor and beauty.
Copyright
2008, Deja Anne Earley
Recommended Citation
Earley, Deja Anne, "We Become Delicate Boats: Poems and Essays" (2008). Dissertations. 1118.
https://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/1118