Trauma in 20th Century Multicultural American Poetry: Unmuted Verse

The author argues that literary trauma theory can be used in conjunction with a reader response approach to better understand how poetry can build community and encourage empowerment over oppression by establishing collectives of people who may share similar stories and experiences connected to trauma. The study examines the poetry of various ethnicities, including African American, Native American, and Japanese American poets, and explores how the reader may find community with the ideas represented within the poem. Very few studies have expanded upon the ideas of literary trauma theory by using reader response, and this study is the first to examine the idea of ambivalence in poetry.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 178 pages
Publication date: 15 March 2022
Publisher: Lexington Books

The author contends that by combining literary trauma theory with a reader response approach, readers can gain a deeper comprehension of how poetry can foster community and promote empowerment in the face of oppression by creating groups of individuals who may share similar stories and experiences related to trauma. Instead of focusing on how poetry may fail or attempting to ascertain the specific traumatic events the speaker (or poet, in some studies) may have encountered and their significance, this study emphasizes how readers can connect with the ideas expressed within the poem. The poetry of diverse ethnic backgrounds, including African American poets Amiri Baraka and Lucille Clifton, Native American poets Robin Coffee, Linda Hogan, and Peter Blue Cloud, as well as Japanese American poets Mitsuye Yamada, Keiho Soga, and Lawson Fusao Inada, is examined. While many of these poets have previously been studied, none have been approached through this particular lens. Furthermore, very few studies have extended the concepts of literary trauma theory through a reader response approach, and this study is the first to explore the idea of ambivalence in poetry.

The author argues that by using literary trauma theory in conjunction with a reader response approach, readers can gain a better understanding of how poetry can work towards building community and encouraging empowerment over oppression by establishing collectives of people who may share similar stories and experiences connected to trauma. Rather than demonstrating how the poetry may fail or trying to establish what traumatic events the speaker (or poet, in some studies) may have encountered and the significance thereof, this study focuses on how the reader may find community with the ideas represented within the poem. The poetry of various ethnicities are examined,including African American poets Amiri Baraka and Lucille Clifton,Native American poets Robin Coffee, Linda Hogan, and Peter Blue Cloud, as well as Japanese American poets Mitsuye Yamada, Keiho Soga, and Lawson Fusao Inada. Although many of these poets have had their poems examined in the past, none have been explored through this type of approach. Furthermore, very few studies have expanded upon the ideas of literary trauma theory by using reader response, and no writings have examined the idea of ambivalence in poetry as this study does.

Weight: 259g
Dimension: 231 x 153 x 13 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781498592710