Read The Bones: Creative Work, Craft and Critical Analysis

Abstract

Women’s reproductive rights are fleeting. Read the Bones is a collection of poems inspired by pieces of literature written by, for, and about women. The novels these poems reflect include Toni Morrison’s Beloved (1987), Gretchen Moran Laskas’s The Midwife’s Tale (2003), Hillary Jordan’s When She Woke (2011), Louise Erdrich’s Future Home of the Living God (November 2017), Leni Zumas’s Red Clocks (January 2018), and Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments (September 2019). The themes within touch upon psychological manipulation, abortion, birth, infanticide, motherhood, female empowerment, and resistance toward patriarchal domination, corrupt science, and politics. This collection of 30 poems in all (5 for each novel) is an excerpt of my intended full-length complete book of poetry. In addition to my creative writing sample, I will present craft and critical analysis delving further into the process of genre, theme, style, tone, and what it means to be a woman poet today.

Date of Award	2024
Original language	American English
Awarding Institution	Eastern Illinois University
Supervisor	Colleen R. Abel (Supervisor)