Browsing by Author "Dr. Thomas Lisk, Committee Chair"

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Contemporary Communication: Discoure and Form in the Poetry of James Merrill and John Ashbery
(2004-04-13) McGowan, Catherine-Anne Calhoun; Dr. Nick Halpern, Committee Member; Dr. Jon Thompson, Committee Member; Dr. Thomas Lisk, Committee Chair
Although James Merrill and John Ashbery approach poetry from very different stylistic angles, the themes that emerge from their work have numerous similarities. Each poet illustrates how classic form has evolved to fit into contemporary context in poems such as "Farm Implements and Rutabagas in a Landscape" and "To a Pocket Calculator," as well as commenting on this evolution in works such as "Watching the Dance," "Litany" and "The Songs We Know Best." After laying the groundwork of formal change, Merrill and Ashbery discuss how this stylistic evolution is mirrored in the day to day life of our fast-paced contemporary society. In poems such as "Eight Bits" and "Self-Portrait in Tyvek™ Windbreaker," James Merrill expresses disgust and skepticism with the state of society today, while John Ashbery addresses the need for rebirth in an oppressive landscape in "It Was Raining in the Capital." Both poets reveal their own feelings of insecurity and self-doubt in "Business Personals" and "Family Week at Oracle Ranch," poems that are simultaneously nostalgic for the past and optimistic about the future. Exploring these themes sheds new light on postmodernism's blending of high and low culture. The examination of each poet's work from a formal and contextual perspective is essential in understanding the need for preservation of both artistic and emotional values of the past in order to have a successful future.
In the City of the Lamb
(2004-12-02) Guilarte, Marc Cristobal; Dr. Thomas Lisk, Committee Chair; Dr. Christopher Cobb, Committee Member; Dr. John Balaban, Committee Member
The genesis of this work begun by my desire to merge the entertainment value of escapist-fantasy with narrative poetry's ability to teach by example. Much of the sound-play manifest in this work was influenced by classical Latin poetry's habit of intermeshing sound throughout the poem, rather than focusing it at the end of the line. My youthful interest in Heian-Japanese waka and poetic diaries also left its mark on my poetry. Echoes of waka and tanka form reverberate through even my more European-flavored folk-tale poems. Ultimately, I have followed my own taste and have no particular idol to credit. The oral aspect of poetry has been at the forefront of my mind, and sound plays an important role in these poems. The purpose of this work is to entertain as well as to plant a few seeds of thought in the mind of the reader.
A Place Where Cotton Grows in Colors
(2003-02-13) Ward, Kimberly Bellamy-Woodall; Dr. Thomas Lisk, Committee Chair
The purpose of this collection has been to develop a creative body of writing which focuses on the Southern experience. The five selections form a diverse anthology which depicts scenes from the lives of several characters in North Carolina and Tennessee from 1887 to present day. The characters in four of the stories share Eastern North Carolina locality and aspects of plot. First person female and male voices are used throughout the stories to provide an intimate connection with the reader. While most of the stories are told in prose, the voice of the aspiring poet is also heard.
Simple Fires
(2005-04-19) McNamara, Marjorie Schratz; Dr. Charlotte Gross, Committee Member; Dr. Nick Halpern, Committee Member; Dr. Thomas Lisk, Committee Chair
"Suspended in Mid-Air while Looking under the Bed" begins and loosely foreshadows this collection of poetry and short stories. I am a storyteller, pulled by both family and place in my life. In this thesis, I play impresario and follow each short story with poems which resonate with that story. The first poems and short stories speak from places in my life: Ireland, Prague, and Malawi. Then my storytelling comes closer to family with a fictional account of my great-grandparents Wilhelm and Ana Krane, who immigrated to Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, in the 1880's. My story of family continues through relationships, reunions, my parents, and ends with the contemporary world when my translation of Charles Baudelaire merges into a poem about Iraq.
Two Step
(2004-11-07) Hall, Hilary Brooke; Dr. Anne Baker, Committee Member; Dr. Thomas Lisk, Committee Chair; Wilton Barnhardt, Committee Member
"Two Step" is a collection of seven previously unpublished short stories that capture the mood and mystery of a single moment in time. "Two Step" reveals the tension between love and contempt in the relationship of a newly married couple. In "Something Borrowed" a conflict between a mother and daughter is introduced after the daughter accepts a proposal of marriage from a man who gives her an engagement cake instead of a diamond engagement ring. "Late Afternoon" is the story of a brother and sister who find the dead body of a former enemy washed up on a wooded creek bed. Through variations in point of view, style, and tense, the four "Nightswimming" stories, focus on the flux of emotion that accompanies the coming of age. More than revealing the characters themselves, the stories explore the emotions, relationships, and decisions that have brought the characters to a particular point in time.