Abstract:
In
this
collection
of
poetry,
I
engage
with
the
Midwestern
Gothic
traits
of
the
grotesque,
the
macabre,
and
the
supernatural
to
create
a
space
of
tilted
reality
and
transformation,
blurring
the
line
between
human
and
nature
in
ways
that
resist
expected
images
of
the
rural
American
Midwest
as
static,
wholesome
flyover
country.
These
transformations
include:
humans
turning
to
objects/places;
objects/places
turning
to
humans;
and
the
transformation
of
the
body
into
other
living
organisms
via
decay.
While
this
collection
was
primarily
influenced
by
my
own
experiences
living
and
working
on
my
family’s
farm,
influences
of
other
poets
can
certainly
be
heard—Wendell
Berry
(for
his
meditative
and
observational
qualities),
Robert
Bly
(for
his
deep
image
poems
that
blur
reality
through
psychic
leaps),
Matsuo
Bashō
(for
his
strong
sense
of
desolation
and
transience),
and
Ross
Gay
(for
his
intertwining
of
human
and
natural
concerns).
While
each
of
these
poets
has
their
own
characteristic
traits
and
styles,
a
common
thread
tying
them
together
is
an
interest
in
the
relationship
between
humans
and
the
natural
world.
In
this
collection,
I
join
that
conversation,
adding
my
own
voice
in
an
effort
to
explore
how
humans
fit
into
this
strange,
often
overlooked
region
haunted
by
decaying
barns
and
the
ghosts
of
lost
farms.
