Muriel Rukeyser's The Book of the Dead (1938) : examining documentary poetics, witness-bearing, and searching for the female voice, 2022

Item — Call Number: MU Thesis Pic

Identifier: b7930852

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

The collection consists of theses written by students enrolled in the Monmouth University graduate English program. The holdings are primarily bound print documents that were submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for the Master of Arts or Master of Fine Arts degrees.

From the Collection:

Students become eligible to pursue the Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) degree if they have obtained a Master of Arts (M.A.) in English from Monmouth University and demonstrate a proficiency for creative writing through a thesis or equivalent work.

From the Collection:

After completing their 30-credit M.A. in English with a Creative Writing concentration, Monmouth’s M.F.A. students take an additional 18 credits of intensive creative writing study that includes the completion of a book-length Creative Thesis.

From the Collection:

During the fall 2022 semester (in instances where the requisite waivers were received from consenting student authors), the Monmouth University Library, together with the University's Graduate School and Wayne D. McMurray School of Humanities and Social Sciences, began providing open access to select full-text digital versions of current theses and dissertations through links to the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global website in the Library's Online Public Access Catalog. Links to these open access digital publications can also be found in the "External Documents" section under any conforming titles that are listed among the holdings itemized in the collection inventory for this finding aid.

Dates

Creation: 2022

Creator

Picinic, Nicole N. (Nicole Natalie) (1990- ) (Author, Person)
Werner, Courtney (Thesis advisor, Person)

Language of Materials

From the Collection:

Unless noted otherwise at the resource component level, the language of the collection materials is English.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research use. Access is by appointment only.

Access to the collection is confined to the Monmouth University Library and is subject to patron policies approved by the Monmouth University Library.

Collection holdings may not be borrowed through interlibrary loan.

Research appointments are scheduled by the Monmouth University Library Archives Collections Manager (723-923-4526). A minimum of three days advance notice is required to arrange a research appointment for access to the collection.

Patrons must complete a Researcher Registration Form and provide appropriate identification to gain access to the collection holdings. Copies of these documents will be kept on file at the Monmouth University Library.

Extent

1 Items (print book) : 52 pages ; 8.5 x 11.0 inches (28 cm).

Additional Description

Abstract

Muriel Rukeyser's book of poetry, The Book of the Dead (1938), focuses on detaling the industrial tragedy of the Hawk's Nest Tunnel Disaster in Gauley Bridge, West Virginia. This thesis examines the poet's use of documentary poetics as a channel for witness-bearing to victims of the tragedy. Rukeyser uses testimonial documents, doctors' reports, and interviews to support her overview of the tragic events through her writing. Several of Rukeyser's twenty varying poems are read closely to help modern readers understand the lasting effects on the Gauley Bridge community and modern industrial workplace safety precautions. I provide close examinations of the poet's inclusion of brief depictions and voices of female witnesses to create a new dialogue surrounding Rukeyser's poetry. This culminates to showcase how marginalized women are depicted as background characters, unlike the poet's chosen white women who are portrayed powerfully as changemakers.

Keywords: Muriel Rukeyser, Rukeyser, The Book of the Dead, Gauley Bridge, West Virginia, Hawk's Nest Tunnel Disaster, documentary, documentary poetics, witness-bearing, bearing witness, female poet, female voice, Appalachia, miners, mining.

Partial Contents

Abstract -- Acknowledgments -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Key terms -- 3. Witness-bearing through structure and theme : Rukeyeser's examination of space -- 4. The disaster in brief and Rukeyser's reckoning -- 5. Rukeyser's women and an area of opportunity -- 6. "Forget. Keep silent. Stand alone." -- Works cited.