Thank You When I'm an Axe
Abstract
The poems in "Thank You When I'm an Axe" are shaped by the problems they try to resolve, and often that solution-seeking is represented in obsessive returns to a motif. The poems reuse the same images, warping and repositioning them to approach an idea from a different angle, sometimes in the vein of surrealism. Although the essential conflict of each poem is emotional or psychological, the speaker places herself in a specific setting and uses the landscape as a stage to process the poem's tensions. The speaker is someone under duress, moving forward—often at high velocity—against her will. Sharp shifts in diction and tone reflect the speaker's desire to change course and strengthen her sense of agency. Some of the poems explore voicelessness or the frustration of speaking inadequately. The poems depict a speaker who is trying to escape a story that has been imposed upon her, or trying to invent a new schematic through which she can view or better understand her circumstances. Therefore, the poems inevitably take on a feminist perspective. The poems examine the frustration of conceding one's autonomy within a power structure. ^
Degree
M.F.A.
Advisors
Donald Platt, Purdue University, Marianne Boruch, Purdue University.
Subject Area
American literature
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