Document Type
Thesis
Degree
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
Major/Program
Creative Writing
First Advisor's Name
Denise Duhamel
First Advisor's Committee Title
Committee chair
Second Advisor's Name
Julie Marie Wade
Second Advisor's Committee Title
Committee Member
Third Advisor's Name
Maneck Daruwala
Third Advisor's Committee Title
Committee Member
Keywords
feminism, familial relationships, trauma, abuse, mental illness, death, healing, gender expectations, poems, lyric essay
Date of Defense
3-9-2022
Abstract
DON’T BE ANOTHER GIRL is a collection of poetry that braids together themes of familial relationships, death, abuse, mental illness, feminism, and attempts at healing. These free-verse and prose poems use pop culture, politics, and elements of nature as vehicles to explore and reject the violence of the western white patriarchy. In the first section the speaker questions the curses that flow out from bloodlines—genetic traits, behaviors, and gender expectations. The second section utilizes lyrical prose blocks that thread together trauma and sleep paralysis, following an emotionally immobilized speaker who struggles to step off a dangerous escalator, away from toxic relationships. The third section slowly shifts, towards confronting internalized sexism and defining sisterhood.
Under the influences of Sharon Olds, Rachel McKibbens, Julia Koets, Jaquira Díaz, Anne Carson, Jan Beatty, and Audre Lorde, these poems attempt to call in question the sexist ideals of a male-dominated society.
Identifier
FIDC010678
Previously Published In
Pittsburgh Poetry Journal: “Wishes for My Uterus”
Salamander: “Where Words are Buried” and “The Woman Behind Me in the Target Check-Out Line”
Silk Road Review: “The Whale Tells Us: I Want to Beach Myself”
Small Orange Journal: “Claiming the Throne”
South Florida Poetry Journal: “At 25, Britney Spears Picks Up Razor” and “My Dog Teaches Me About Self Care”
Recommended Citation
Owens, Brittany M., "Don't Be Another Girl" (2022). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 4997.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/4997
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