A Bird Is Not Its Body
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
Master of Fine Arts
Major
Creative Writing
Date of Defense
4-19-2018
Graduate Advisor
Shane Seely
Committee
Shane Seely
Steven Schreiner
JR Tappenden
Abstract
This thesis collection is comprised of twenty-seven original poems and flash fiction pieces exploring such intersecting themes as body image, illness, the male gaze, sexuality, violence, disconnect, mental health, power, and the sense that it may be impossible to describe what it means to be female, at least not in any way that could be considered universal. Stylistically, the collection consists of both free verse and prose, as well as some middle ground between the two. Fictional characters or historical figures are occasionally used as speakers for persona poems that nevertheless share concerns and motifs with the other pieces.
Recommended Citation
McDonald, Bridget, "A Bird Is Not Its Body" (2018). Theses. 333.
https://irl.umsl.edu/thesis/333