Pause: a collection of poetry

The following thesis contains a collection of original poetry, either written or revised during my tenure as a graduate student. This thesis also contains a critical introduction of the collection??s forms, underlying themes, and writing processes. The first priority of the introduction is to autobiographically trace the state of my poetry from its first rhymes to this collection. With a full understanding of my poetic history, the form and content of this current work will not only be understood in context, but become more interesting as an evolutionary study. I will discuss the different trends and themes I see working in my poetry. I will analyze performance poems as a unique style of formalist poetry, tailored to reinvent its oral tradition. I will show how melding the images of free verse and the patterning of meter creates a new poetic style designed to engage a larger potential audience than free verse or formalist poetry. Finally I will discuss what this collection hopes to do as a whole. The poetry is separated into two sections. The first section, titled ??The Page,?? is a collection of what I refer to as ??page poetry???? poetry meant to be taken in visually, absorbed from a page. This section is divided into subsections of formalist, free verse, and prose poetry, mirroring my own poetic evolution. The second section, titled ??The Stage,?? is a collection of performance pieces. While ??The Page?? represents the majority of my poetry, observations and evaluations, ??The Stage?? showcases my spoken-word poetry, discussing social and personal issues. These poems represent my growth as a poet, and are, hopefully, only another step in a continual learning process.