Blind hands.

Abstract

This thesis is a collection of poems prefaced by an aesthetic statement. The manuscript is organized in five sections: an introductory poem; poems pertaining to the phenomena of experience; poems pertaining to the question of being; poems pertaining to the problem of knowing; and a postscript poem. Though each section operates with reference to these problems, these problems are present, in one way or another, in all the poems. In fact, this thesis argues categorical distinctions, such as those above, are faulty constructions of reality. The aesthetic statement begins with a conceptualization of language as a river of multiple utterances. We think in this river, that is, we think in language, by use of language. Poetry, too, is a matter of thinking. It is a way of negotiating between complexities of language and experience to find meaningful patterns and connect us to the world. The poems in this manuscript are lyrical and narrative, often both at once. Formally, they are free verse, taking as their primary means of measurement turns in the progression of thought. Most of these thoughts are expressed in the matter of a few lines; in other poems, more lengthy meditation occurs.