Spirals of (re)knowing: an analysis of the construction of place/space in women’s communities through ceremony in Joy Harjo's poetry
Graduation Date
2014
Document Type
Thesis
Program
Other
Program
Thesis (M.A.)--Humboldt State University, English, Literature, 2014
Committee Chair Name
Barbara Curiel
Committee Chair Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Keywords
Billie Holiday, Time, Consciousness, Feminism, Music, Spiral, Ceremony, Humboldt State University -- Theses -- English, Poetry, Language, Poem, Narrative therapy, Communities, Indian, Strange Fruit, Harjo, Ritual, Native, Allen, Women, Paula Gunn
Abstract
My Master's Project explores the construction of place/space in Harjo's poems as a form of ceremony. I argue that Harjo utilizes language as a tool to construct the place/space necessary for her as well as her communities to engage in discourse with each other in resistance. The following elements of ceremony, time/memory and song/dance/drum are linked together with place/space through Harjo's continued membership and contribution to her communities of women of color. Ultimately, I argue Harjo uses the strength she gains from her membership and contribution to her communities to confront and transform from her encounter with cultural knowing. I do so through a close analysis of the connections between Harjo, Harjo's persona as speaker, and her communities in her poems "Anchorage," "Call it Fear," and "Strange Fruit."
Recommended Citation
Cowherd, Stephanie G., "Spirals of (re)knowing: an analysis of the construction of place/space in women’s communities through ceremony in Joy Harjo's poetry" (2014). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 1079.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/1079
https://scholarworks.calstate.edu/concern/theses/hq37vq91b