Date of Award

Spring 1997

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Department

English

Program/Concentration

English

Committee Director

Tim Seibles

Committee Member

Scott Cairns

Committee Member

David Metzger

Committee Member

Janet Peery

Call Number for Print

Special Collections; LD4331.E64 B75

Abstract

If I have done my job, the problems which are outlined in this book of poems will resist the type of abstraction required in this space. After all, the first problem any poet must engage is how to navigate the necessary fluctuations between abstract statements and concrete images. For this book, there are two conflicting desires which are always in flux: the desire for a world of things and the desire for a world of ideas. So it could be said that the poems in this book are problems themselves, generated by the larger problem inherent in trying to map the boundary that these two conflicting desires create. Of course, this is a problem for which all poets are grateful. It presents for us the unresolvable paradox that keeps us writing, a paradox which is re-stated in its own way by the title of this book. How can graces be familiar? Can they be found in the everyday occurrences of our lives, and if they can be found there, does it serve us better to embrace them or to renounce them? These problems are finally (and fortunately) unresolvable. These poems, if I have done my job, will situate themselves solely on the side of desire, insisting on the type of enjoyment that can only be obtained by leaving any conclusion to the reader.

Rights

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This 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).

DOI

10.25777/dn7h-e637

Download

Included in

Poetry Commons

Share

COinS