Nonfiction forms in contemporary poetry by Black and Asian American Writers

<p>Writers experiment with form inside poetry for various reasons, including a desire for play. Creating poetry is a creative process that involves experimentation. This research highlights poetry that adapts established nonfiction forms into poetry forms, examining poetry published in 2000-2024 by Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander American (AANHPI) writers and Black writers (writers of African ancestry) within the United States. For writers of color especially, nonfiction forms can provide a different way of entering into conversations about race, ethnicity, gender, identity, power, privilege, and authority. This research examines poetry by A. Van Jordan, Franny Choi, Alison C. Rollins, Victoria Chang, and Brittany Rogers. The forms these writers employ are varied including definitions, flow charts, tables, and obituaries. Sometimes adaptations of nonfiction forms are a better fit for the subject matter writers seek to express through poetry.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA)

Level thesis:degree_level

Open Access Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

English Language and Literature

Year dc:date.available

2025

Author dc:creator

• Mitchell, Elizabeth J.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Christine Hume, Ph.D.
• Laura J. George, Ph.D.

• African American poetry
• Asian American poetry
• Experimental poetry
• Nonfiction forms
• American Studies
• Creative Writing
• English Language and Literature

Repository record dc:identifier

https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1272

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:commons.emich.edu:theses-2619