Like watching pieces of the Universe, poems

My thesis project is a themed collection of original poems accompanied by a reflective essay outlining the occasions and the challenges I set myself. The collection grew out of a wish to expand upon images relating to water that I explored as part of my MLitt portfolio at Aberdeen University, inspired by my frequent walks along the Aberdeen coast. Water, in all its guises in the surrounding environment, became a springboard for reflection. Water continues to feature (literally and metaphorically) in many of these poems, but the collection engages much more intimately and deliberately with form. My research entailed primarily metrical analysis to discover how meter and other kinds of patterning create and reinforce sense, how prosodies generate or help to generate meaning. Specifically, I focused on techniques employed in the art of two American poets with very different approaches, Robert Frost (1874-1963) who generally exploited traditional meters, and Marianne Moore (1887-1972) who often worked with syllabics, a form she did much to invent and define. The introductory essay addresses two main topics. The discussion of Moore’s practice centers on her syllabic practice. Understatement, the varied tones achieved in her syllabic poems immediately drew me to her work. Her resourceful ability to incorporate all types of written material into her poems was an additional attraction. In the case of Frost’s I carry out a close reading of his dramatic dialogue ‘The Death of the Hired Man’ from North of Boston, to illustrate what I call ‘deep structure’, a layered interplay between the poem’s content and its formal procedures. The sense of place that comes through in Frost’s poetry has also been important to me. The poems in the collection are rooted in my own experiences and have been shaped by an imaginative vision, molded by my mixed heritage. The poetics realized in the poems included here are the product of my evolving practice, my developing relationship with Moore and Frost in particular, and my attempt to find my own way, with their assistance, to an individual goal