English, Department of
First Advisor
Grace Bauer
Date of this Version
12-2016
Document Type
Article
Citation
Tedrow, Kimberly. Things I Haven't Told You. M.A. Thesis. University of Nebraska, 2016. Print.
Abstract
Things I Haven’t Told You is a three-part thesis that consists of a critical introduction, a creative sample of ten poems, and an essay on using the work of Percy Bysshe Shelley as a creative prompt.
A critical introduction to the creative sample discusses the contextualization of memory, the observation of the physical world, and the rare metaphysical moments that occur in an ordinary life. The genesis and evolution of the work is explored, as well as the poet's development during the course of graduate study.
The creative sample of ten poems includes poems that articulate the malleable relationship between the past and present, and how that relationship evolves during the writing process. The title poem, "Things I Haven't Told You," works from the remembered perspective of a twenty-four year old, at the same time narrating from the perspective of the mother of a twenty-four year old woman. In doing so, the poet moves beyond articulating identity into contextualizing her experience.
"Writing Next to Shelley" is an essay that includes four creative exercises composed using Kwame Dawes' generative writing exercise, "Writing Beside the Poet: An Exercise in Willful Influence" as a teaching tool and prompt. Several poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley are used as catalysts for generating new work. Shelley's form, syntax, subject matter and themes are brought into the author's current social context and personal life in order to learn from Shelley's poetics.
Advisor: Grace Bauer
Comments
A THESIS Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts, Major: English, Under the Supervision of Professor Grace Bauer. Lincoln, Nebraska: December, 2016.
Copyright 2016 Kimberly A. Tedrow