Date of Award

Spring 2004

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Department

English

Program/Concentration

Creative Writing

Committee Director

Timothy Seibles

Committee Member

Charles Wilson

Committee Member

Luisa Igloria

Call Number for Print

Special Collections; LD4331.E64 W57 2004

Abstract

Reparations, my first collection of poems, is a book in which I pay homage to my African ancestors by striving, through poetry, to repair the spiritual, mental, and physical damage that I have experienced and continue to experience via personal and societal ideologies. Though Reparations cannot totally restore me, I believe poetry can aid my efforts at self-restoration and help me honor my ancestors, their determination to overcome all odds. I believe Reparations can work to provide some repair because the act of writing a poem forces the poet to reflect on his or her life.

Focusing on issues such as race relations during and after slavery, the degradation of the black woman, the black and white male's struggle for identity, black pride, and the recurring/overpowering evil of racism, Reparations strives to educate and entertain its readers. This manuscript utilizes forms such as the persona poem, spoken-word, the pantoum, the villanelle, the couplet, and free verse in hopes of taking the reader on a hard­ hitting, captivating spiritual and emotional journey. During this journey I would like the reader to overhear the legendary Nat Turner confess, whites swear "that as they look/ at me I their blood/ curdles in their veins." Almost two centuries later, the reader will hear me ask, "Who thinks afrocentricity means/ fuck white people? / Who continues to fuck/ over their own people?" Indeed, Reparations is a collection of poems that honestly examines the complexities of race and justice in America, a collection that asks people to reflect on the positive and negative aspects of society, to reevaluate their lives.

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DOI

10.25777/d505-fh16

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