Return to search

The Drawdown

The poems in this manuscript are an exploration of the post-divorce grieving process. They seek out a midpoint between grief and growth, the changing definition of family, and balance between self and Other. Each section of the manuscript begins with a poem centered on Lake Jackson, Florida, known locally for its sinkhole. The title of the manuscript as mentioned above describes the act of a lake draining through a sinkhole and, metaphorically, speaks to the draining of the speaker's former self. Because grief is cumulative, these poems establish the roots of their writer's grief: family, loss of childhood (along with its insularities), and divorce (the loss/changing nature of love). These poems are meant to strike a formal balance between confession and discipline, as well as to invite a shared experience through insight and quotidian details. The poems are arranged in a way that reveals the speaker's journey toward self-authorization and her willingness to assign meaning to all comers: calling upon inanimate sinkholes, mating cats, and even the "prick of mosquitos" in the hopes of turning the mirror outward. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of English in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts. / Summer Semester, 2010. / March 25, 2010. / Marriage, Family, Grief, Divorce, Love, Loss / Includes bibliographical references. / Erin Belieu, Professor Directing Thesis; James Kimbrell, Committee Member; Andrew Epstein, Committee Member.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_182702
ContributorsManteris, April (authoraut), Belieu, Erin (professor directing thesis), Kimbrell, James (committee member), Epstein, Andrew (committee member), Department of English (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution)
PublisherFlorida State University, Florida State University
Source SetsFlorida State University
LanguageEnglish, English
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeText, text
Format1 online resource, computer, application/pdf
RightsThis Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them.

Page generated in 0.002 seconds