Date Approved
2025
Degree Type
Open Access Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department or School
English Language and Literature
Committee Member
Christine Hume, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Laura J. George, Ph.D.
Abstract
Writers experiment with form inside poetry for various reasons, including a desire for play. Creating poetry is a creative process that involves experimentation. This research highlights poetry that adapts established nonfiction forms into poetry forms, examining poetry published in 2000-2024 by Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander American (AANHPI) writers and Black writers (writers of African ancestry) within the United States. For writers of color especially, nonfiction forms can provide a different way of entering into conversations about race, ethnicity, gender, identity, power, privilege, and authority. This research examines poetry by A. Van Jordan, Franny Choi, Alison C. Rollins, Victoria Chang, and Brittany Rogers. The forms these writers employ are varied including definitions, flow charts, tables, and obituaries. Sometimes adaptations of nonfiction forms are a better fit for the subject matter writers seek to express through poetry.
Recommended Citation
Mitchell, Elizabeth J., "Nonfiction forms in contemporary poetry by Black and Asian American Writers" (2025). Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations. 1272.
https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1272
Included in
American Studies Commons, Creative Writing Commons, English Language and Literature Commons