Date

12-16-2025

Department

College of Arts and Sciences

Degree

Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (MFA)

Chair

James Latta

Keywords

Poetry, Free Verse, Narrative, Gerald Stern

Disciplines

Creative Writing

Abstract

This is the artistic statement for Aeolian Tones, the poetry chapbook that will serve as my thesis. In this accompanying paper, I explore the vision, process, and inspiration behind the various themes in the chapbook, as well as the overall goal. I hope to provide personal context for the writing's purpose, as well as offer reflections and interpretive guidelines for how the poetry can and should be understood. In this work, I aim to provide a space for readers seeking reflections on loneliness, healing, profound pain, and disconnection.

Next, the literature review will examine ten modern works of minor non-epic narrative poetry by eight writers, as well as five secondary journal articles that discuss these same works. It sets the boundary markers for the territory of poetry that Aeolian Tones will be operating within, and attempting to follow the tradition of. The individual poems and authors chosen are not random, but poets whose work has deeply affected me, and whose style, structure, and scansion I endeavor to learn from at the deepest level. They are: Gerald Stern, Gregory Corso, Galway Kinnell, Stanley Kunitz, William Carlos Williams, Ferlinghetti, Roger Camp, and Frank O’Hara. Finally, the creative manuscript takes the second half of the document, bolstering the discussions that took place previously regarding narrative free verse minor poetry.

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