Date of Award
5-2023
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts
Department
English
Program
Creative Writing (MFA)
First Advisor/Chairperson
Matthew Gavin Frank
Abstract
Sue is a collection of poetry investigating the cyclical nature of grief through the lens of Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick’s schemas of paranoid and reparative readings. The poems employ motifs such as hunting, disease, and human remains to capture the temporal disorientation experienced in the wake of loss. Via an extensive use of metaphor and recurring poem titles, Sue exploits the multivalence of language to conjure a dense field of meaning, meant to capture the undecidability of language noted by philosopher Jacques Derrida. This collection also employs several vectors of derivation, including erasure of text lifted from the 2002 strategy video game Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade and a sequence of responses to Suzanne Vega’s 1990 album Days of Open Hand in the ekphrastic spirit. Thus, Sue is intended to contribute to and deepen the meaning of these other pieces of art while also forwarding its own unique perspectives on grief, language, and formal play.
Recommended Citation
Wooten, Heath Joseph, "Sue" (2023). All NMU Master's Theses. 740.
https://commons.nmu.edu/theses/740
Access Type
Open Access