"it hurts more when the dog dies" 433 Magazine (2020) "the sacrament of first reconciliation" 433 Magazine (2020) "tonight, the world begins again" 433 Magazine (2020) "judgment" Peach Velvet Magazine (2020) "one-bedroom ocean" White Stag Journal (2020) "quilt" Train River Publishing (2020) "summer soul eater" Witches 'n Pink (2020) "mississippi kisses" Stone Fruit Magazine (2020) "you asked me who would win in a fight" Uniquely Aligned (2020) "moods and merlot" Juste Milieu (2020) "nature documentary" HALOSCOPE (2020) "softly collecting music for you" Postscript Magazine (2020) "She gathered her thoughts" Postscript Magazine (2020) "sketches of us" Postscript Magazine (2020) "diurnal" LiveWire Literary Journal (2016) Please refer to my CV for additional poetry publications. |
Abstract: Identity is depths beyond what human beings perceive when they look into a mirror-- rather, it is the rich history of time, people, environment, and matters of the heart that afflict and influence them from their earliest memories to their present moment. This collection of poetry, composed of three sections representative of significant periods of one's personhood, is meant to explore the nuances and complications of one's being both a product of their experiences and carrier of memories from those experiences. The first section is composed of poetry concerned with identity formation in the early memories of childhood, with familial influence rooted at its core. The second section is focused on the movement from innocence of childhood to the infatuations, love, and heartbreak that come with young adulthood. The third section is comprised of poetry that looks introspectively at the former two in order to inform an identity that does not abandon those experiences, but builds independently from them. This collection strives to clarify the immense influence memories and human connection have on the development of one's sense of self. It is in hope that this exploration of identity and one's relationship to its ever-transforming essence will provide better understanding of the significance in claiming one's own identity while, at the same time, valuing even the experiences which may haunt them. Committee: Amy Gerstler (MFA, Professor of Writing) Dr. Jayne Lewis (Ph.D, Professor of English) |
creative nonfiction: "Phoebe Bridgers's Sad Music in Late Capitalism is My Punctum" Sunstroke Magazine (2020) "White People: Racism is OUR Problem" Soul Talk Magazine (2020) "you are not you anymore" Soul Talk Magazine (2020) "Our W/hole Bodies" East French Press (2020) fiction: "A Composition of Soul" Soul Talk Magazine (2020) |