Date of Graduation
Spring 2024
Degree
Master of Arts in English
Department
English
Committee Chair
Sara Burge
Abstract
The following collection of poetry, preceded by a critical introduction examining craft elements implemented in some important poems, presents a view of my poetic development in the past few years. These works depend on a manipulation of nothing, introduced into poetic discourse by W. H. Auden, explored in the critical introduction as it pertains to poetic craft. The introduction explores poetry’s limitations in language through the lens of literary critic Mikhail Bakhtin’s theory of language as dialogue. The introduction also discusses Denise Levertov’s “Some Notes on Organic Form” influences on my view of form, in which form as “revelation” determines meaning. A number of poems in this collection also reference poets such as Stevie Smith and Robert Wood Lynn, whose works have influenced the direction of my poetics. The following collection of poems examines pivotal moments of my personal history with forms widely ranging from narrative, semi-narrative, and lyrical to prose poetry, sonnet, and experimental, through themes of trauma from violence, memories changing over time, and the cyclical process of grief and healing.
Keywords
nothing, narrative, lyrical, trauma, grief, healing
Subject Categories
Arts and Humanities | Creative Writing | Poetry
Copyright
© Eli Slover
Recommended Citation
Slover, Eli, "Nohbody Goes to Nashville" (2024). MSU Graduate Theses. 3941.
https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/3941
