Date of Award
Fall 12-5-2022
Degree Type
Capstone
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Professional Writing (MAPW)
Department
English
Committee Chair/First Advisor
Jenny Sadre-Orafai
Co-Chair
Chris Martin
Abstract
My poetry collection, Shout Me Home, is centered on the theme of coming-of-age within the context of familial trauma and societal, religious, and cultural expectations. The speaker juxtaposes their mental health struggles with that of their grandmother’s, referred to as granmé, and questions their life growing up with her and their identity as a Haitian American/Afro-Caribbean woman. The poems criticize, embrace, and reflect on these themes while connecting how these circumstances shape the speaker's current self and how much can change in the aftermath.