Men have a peculiar way of teaching young boys how to be men. The peculiarity of it is in those men’s relationship with their emotions. Especially in Appalachia, boys are encouraged to “be a man” and not to “cry like a girl.” They are encouraged to suppress their emotions, to solve problems with violence, and to dismiss the feelings of others. The irony of this collection is that poetry is an emotional artform, exploring with complex language the feelings an interaction or object can invoke. However, the directness of the language is meant to highlight the storytelling I learned from my poppy, Sidney Floyd Moye. It’s a voice that men from Appalachia know well and can relate to. This is a collection about men and is meant, primarily, for men.
Each poem is in a loosely formed section of pieces leading up to a character sketch of an influential male figure I have known. Some of these men are friends and some are family, but they all share ubiquitous and subtle traits of the masculine ideal. The poems in this collection are meant to subvert the expectation of what is truly masculine. It is meant to give a man a chance to cry, and anyone else an opportunity to understand it.
","abstract_html":"<p>Men have a peculiar way of teaching young boys how to be men. The peculiarity of it is in those men’s relationship with their emotions. Especially in Appalachia, boys are encouraged to “be a man” and not to “cry like a girl.” They are encouraged to suppress their emotions, to solve problems with violence, and to dismiss the feelings of others. The irony of this collection is that poetry is an emotional artform, exploring with complex language the feelings an interaction or object can invoke. However, the directness of the language is meant to highlight the storytelling I learned from my poppy, Sidney Floyd Moye. It’s a voice that men from Appalachia know well and can relate to. This is a collection about men and is meant, primarily, for men. </p> <p>Each poem is in a loosely formed section of pieces leading up to a character sketch of an influential male figure I have known. Some of these men are friends and some are family, but they all share ubiquitous and subtle traits of the masculine ideal. The poems in this collection are meant to subvert the expectation of what is truly masculine. It is meant to give a man a chance to cry, and anyone else an opportunity to understand it. </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Parsons, Matthew"],"institution":"Eastern Kentucky University","degree_name":"Master of Fine Arts (MFA)","degree_level":"Master's","degree_discipline":"English and Theatre","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2019,"date_issued":"2019-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2019-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:53Z","subjects":["Appalachia","Masculinity","Men","Mountains","Poetry","Poverty"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright 2019 Matthew Parsons"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/639","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Parsons, Matthew"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Master Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English and Theatre"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master's"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Fine Arts (MFA)"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Eastern Kentucky University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Appalachia","Masculinity","Men","Mountains","Poetry","Poverty"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2019 Matthew Parsons"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/639"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Men have a peculiar way of teaching young boys how to be men. The peculiarity of it is in those men’s relationship with their emotions. Especially in Appalachia, boys are encouraged to “be a man” and not to “cry like a girl.” They are encouraged to suppress their emotions, to solve problems with violence, and to dismiss the feelings of others. The irony of this collection is that poetry is an emotional artform, exploring with complex language the feelings an interaction or object can invoke. However, the directness of the language is meant to highlight the storytelling I learned from my poppy, Sidney Floyd Moye. It’s a voice that men from Appalachia know well and can relate to. This is a collection about men and is meant, primarily, for men.
Each poem is in a loosely formed section of pieces leading up to a character sketch of an influential male figure I have known. Some of these men are friends and some are family, but they all share ubiquitous and subtle traits of the masculine ideal. The poems in this collection are meant to subvert the expectation of what is truly masculine. It is meant to give a man a chance to cry, and anyone else an opportunity to understand it.
"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/PDF"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Mountain Roosters"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Parsons, Matthew"],"dc:description.abstract":["Men have a peculiar way of teaching young boys how to be men. The peculiarity of it is in those men’s relationship with their emotions. Especially in Appalachia, boys are encouraged to “be a man” and not to “cry like a girl.” They are encouraged to suppress their emotions, to solve problems with violence, and to dismiss the feelings of others. The irony of this collection is that poetry is an emotional artform, exploring with complex language the feelings an interaction or object can invoke. However, the directness of the language is meant to highlight the storytelling I learned from my poppy, Sidney Floyd Moye. It’s a voice that men from Appalachia know well and can relate to. This is a collection about men and is meant, primarily, for men.
Each poem is in a loosely formed section of pieces leading up to a character sketch of an influential male figure I have known. Some of these men are friends and some are family, but they all share ubiquitous and subtle traits of the masculine ideal. The poems in this collection are meant to subvert the expectation of what is truly masculine. It is meant to give a man a chance to cry, and anyone else an opportunity to understand it.
"],"dc:format":["application/PDF"],"dc:identifier":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/639"],"dc:publisher":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2019 Matthew Parsons"],"dc:source":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"],"dc:subject":["Appalachia","Masculinity","Men","Mountains","Poetry","Poverty"],"dc:title":["Mountain Roosters"],"dc:type":["Master Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English and Theatre"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master's"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Fine Arts (MFA)"],"thesis:institution_name":["Eastern Kentucky University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:53Z"}