Threshold in Blue
Abstract
The poems in this manuscript explore the idea of shame as it is imprinted in childhood and as it manifests in adult relationships. In particular, many of these poems address shame as it presents in mental illness, and as it is reinforced in mental health treatment programs and the broader United States healthcare system. While such cultural critiques are a key part of the collection, the poems in this manuscript also capture moments of hope, belonging, and intimacy in relationships to the self, to others, and to spirituality.
Table of Contents
Introduction -- House -- Cowpond -- Mudpie -- Compulsion (noun) -- Incarnadine -- Your likeness -- Bed at blue hour -- The anxious child's choose-your-own-adventure guide to dream interpretation -- Mid-July peaches -- Puffball -- Cassandra -- First night -- Body check -- Morning check-in -- Trazodone -- PHQ-9 -- Hilltop in Otsuchi, Japan -- The wellness toolbox -- Maze -- Breaking down of getting worse -- Proofs -- Weigh-in -- Patient rights & responsibilities -- Commute -- Your individualized checklist for daily functioning -- On Our Way Back from Urgent Care -- When You Were a Ghost -- I Am My Beloved’s -- Emotion Regulation I -- Visiting Hour -- Ode to the Ribcage -- Inpatient Discharge -- Swarm -- Emotion Regulation II -- The Devil’s Wife is Crying in Missouri -- Amitriptyline . -- Emotion Regulation III
Degree
M.F.A. (Master of Fine Arts)