Graduation Year

2022

Date of Submission

12-2022

Document Type

Campus Only Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Literature

Reader 1

Leland de la Durantaye

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© 2022 Philippa B Straus

Abstract

Drawing inspiration principally from the poet Anne Carson's translations of Sappho, the writings of art critic and curator Lucy Lippard, and the work of the composer John Cage, this creative writing thesis examines the themes of fragmentation and empty space. It also explores, through a combination of poetic, theoretical, and analytical writing, the effect that “nothing” has on audiences–whether it produces panic, the impulse for conquest, a sense of understanding (true or false), or an appreciation and acceptance of the unseen and unknown. The arrangement of the thesis itself also reflects the fragmented nature of the subject matter, inviting readers to consider both the fragments themselves and the blank spaces which exist around and between them. The thesis concludes that seemingly empty space has, within it, a kind of substance, and that careful attention to such spaces allows the reader to observe what is there and connect to it, rather than succumb to the desire to fill a seeming void.

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