| Scope and method of study. Drawing from feminist theory, post-colonial studies and Buddhist teachings, my critical introduction examines the intersections of place, gender and body and how the interaction of these three elements shapes and grounds my creative work.;Findings and conclusions. Subsequent analysis draws parallels between Buddhism's emphasis on the breath, feminism's recognition of women's vulnerability to male violence, and the place of the breath in poetics. Theories of translation provide a metaphor for the struggle by the poet to render the unfamiliar accessible. Autobiographical theory also provides a lens through which I contextualise and interrogate my creative work, specifically incorporating contemporary feminist readings of women's communally constructed identities. Pairings between this theory of communal identity and the Buddhist belief in the permeable membrane of self frame my analysis of my work. The poetry portion of the manuscript is in eight separate sections; sections range in focus from theories of poetry (the section "Kotodama") to a metaphorical representation of poetry's sources of inspiration (the section "Trespass"). |
