This thesis is a creative and critical investigation of personal, social and cultural factors impacting the articulation of trauma. The creative element, a collection of poetry, Sliced Tongue and Pearl Cufflinks, was published by Parthian in 2019. This work seeks to surmount traumatisation’s wounding to self and language – using Georges Perec’s points de suspension and Gregory Orr’s position of the poem as ‘suspended moment’ as principles from which the chaos and uncertainty of trauma can be reordered. Drawing on the work of ‘confessional’ poets such as Sylvia Plath and Sharon Olds, the poems examine fractured familial relationships and domestic disruption alongside wider social traumas. Inspired by Pascale Petit’s surrealist poetics of ‘how art works on the pain spectrum’ the collection aims to negotiate the cogent tensions between language, silence and trauma and represent the reality of its uncomfortable and intrusive dynamics for the reader. The critical commentary discusses and contextualises my creative work in relation to Eva Hoffman’s ‘hinge generation’ and seeks to interrogate a range of ideas that currently prevail in trauma studies. These include the gendered and repudiated history of trauma; dominant Caruthian literary theories arguing the impossibility of linguistic representation; and controversies of memory in constructing identities and narratives of trauma. It also investigates the enduring critical landscapes of ‘confessional’ poetry, as well as institutional forces within academia. The commentary argues the operation of compelling censorial influences within these arenas that impact personal recount and wider discussion of traumatisation
‘Oh horror! horror! horror! Tongue nor heart cannot conceive nor name thee! […] Confusion now hath made his Masterpiece.’ –: Parsing the Wounded Tongue: Articulating Traumatized Narratives and Identities Through Poetry
Belltree, K. (Author). 2022
Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis › Doctor of Philosophy