Beneath the Body's Disguise: Poems

Abstract

This thesis project discusses the nature of poetic craft as a dialogue between poet and audience, as poets assume the dual role of “witnesses and storytellers” (Palermo 2). The ideas of persona poems, spatial economy, and confessional poetry are all considered in the opening section which introduces the themes – death, physical violence, pornography, and hope. David Mura, Ai, and Adrienne Rich, among others, are poets credited with both inspiration and particular craft elements and styles of writing included in the project. The final sections of original poems are informed by not only the poet’s but other shared stories of the human experience – and what lies hidden beneath.