The lighthouse man

Abstract

In this collection of poetry, I tell the story of The Lighthouse Man, a lighthouse keeper in a changing world. By looking at this lonely character, I explore themes of regret, longing, loss, and duty, themes I find compelling and relatable. In "The Lighthouse Man," three threads intertwine to link the whole collection together: the story of the Lighthouse Man himself told in third-person, narrative poetry, poems in the voice of the Lighthouse Man told in a more lyrical first-person, and prose poems that tell the story of Sam, a woman who breaks into the dilapidated lighthouse years after The Lighthouse Man has left. While telling these interlocking narratives, I also attempt to put two literary genres in conversation with one another. As a writer, I've always read and drawn influence from diverse sources, like the powerful voice of Sharon Olds' poetry or the flash fiction of Kim Chinquee. Because of this, I've written in many genres and styles. In this collection, I consciously wanted to play with language while also telling a cohesive narrative with developed characters. By weaving together prose with lyric poetry I ask the question: how can the friction between the two genres be harnessed? With this collection, I argue that fiction and poetry can be combined to create something even greater.