Date of Award
5-2021
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Honors Thesis
Department
English
First Advisor
Ania Spyra
Abstract
My honors thesis project is called Subversion of Form: Mixing Poetry and Prose. The purpose has been to research how writers have interwoven poetry and prose, to write a creative nonfiction piece that uses both genres, and to improve as a writer through committing myself to this piece and solidifying writing as a daily practice. In my introduction, I outline the research I conducted on poetry and prose and my takeaways from the writers I read. I conclude that the purpose of prose is to tell, while the purpose of poetry is to search.
The piece that I have worked on is titled Notes from behind a Window. It is creative nonfiction written in first-person and totals 49 pages and 12,090 words. I divided the story into two sections: March and April. March details my spring break trip to Arizona, returning home for quarantine, and adjusting to a pandemic existence. April includes my experience of school via zoom, my mental health struggles, and my grandfather’s death. One prominent theme is time: what did the pandemic do to time? Another is a contrast between glass (fragility) and water (adaptability), which I used to explore topics of mental health, isolation, and hope. I conclude with a short epilogue celebrating the making of beauty from everyday life.
Recommended Citation
Brown, Darby Alexandria, "Subversion of Form: Mixing Poetry and Prose" (2021). Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection. 581.
https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/ugtheses/581