Date of Award

12-2014

Type

Thesis

Major

English Language and Literature - Creative Writing Concentration

Degree Type

Bachelor of Arts in English/Literature with a Concentration in Creative Writing

Department

English

First Advisor

Nick Norwood

Second Advisor

Courtney George

Abstract

Identity is something that I believe we all struggle with at some point in our lives. Whether it is trying to find one's identity via place, culture, or response to power structure, the struggle to identify one's self seems to take precedence over anything else. Thus, identity is the main concern of this thesis. Moreover, while writing my thesis I have attempted to describe my journey towards discovering my identity, which includes being an agnostic born into a very religious family and society, identifying as a lover who struggles to define and understand love, defining my masculinity, especially my black masculinity through the lens of an academic, and finally struggling under the weight of my idols' superiority. Poetry is the medium through which I am able to express all of these facets. In doing this, I want to be able to explore the connection between the human spirit and achievement. In a way, this thesis is becoming an exposition of my spirituality—which has been enhanced by my experiences dealing with rejection and failure, my love and contempt for people's reactions based on my skin color—and finally an outlet for an agnostic to make sense of things in a heavily Judeo-Christian society.

There are famous poets who have experienced this struggle, and I have decided to study their craft, absorb and embody their words, and work towards carving a testament to my own experiences. These poets are Amiri Baraka, Edgar Allan Poe, and Charles Baudelaire because each of them embodies some aspect of my struggle to self-identify. Amiri Baraka, according to [H]as thrown himself into the social and political life of his times, [and it seems as if] he has a greater range of concrete experience to call on than many other contemporary poets. Moreover, his spiritual and intellectual adventures have kept pace with his concrete experiences; over the twenty-five-year span [...] he has recreated himself and his ideology several times. (2)

Download
DAISY

Share

COinS