Kevin Michael Bell, Thesis Supervisor Christopher Gervais Reed, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
poetry social commentary gender religion politics mental health creative thesis ralph ellison the invisible man creative writing oulipo blackout poetry
Abstract:
This thesis was designed to explore the medium of “blackout poetry”—the reworking of a published work’s words to create an original, unique piece of poetry. With this medium, I explore themes of gender, religion, politics, and mental health—themes that have dominated my life thus far. Each poem is made of two parts—text and accompanying illustration—and each comes from Ralph Ellison’s The Invisible Man. With my poetry, I aim to open up, quite candidly, a window into who I am, where I come from, and where I (and perhaps others like myself) are going.
