Award Date

1-1-2007

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Department

English

First Committee Member

Aliki Barnstone

Number of Pages

47

Abstract

Building the Ark is a reference to the Biblical story of Noah's and the Ark. I became fascinated with this story a few years ago after realizing that, like many females mentioned in the Bible, the wife of Noah has no name and is simply a peripheral figure. This title poem, which attempts to uncover the story of a modern-day nameless wife of Noah, soon became central to the focus of the entire manuscript. Like the title poem, the manuscript as a whole focuses on physical and emotional displacement, with an emphasis on the search for a geographical and psychological space in which one feels at home. By questioning sexuality, religion, loss and love, the poems offer a compromise between the duties and desires the poems' speakers struggle with. While the manuscript does not provide any concrete answers, it does suggest that there is humor within sorrow and loss, and that there is hope rather than despair in unanswered questions.

Keywords

Ark; Building; Original writing; Poetry

Controlled Subject

American literature; Literature, Modern

File Format

pdf

File Size

839.68 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

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Rights

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