Imprimatur: A Poetry Portfolio

<p>In short, I believe poetry is God's gift to me to help sort out life's challenges. Over time, the quest for fame – or at least acknowledgment from my parents – became my life's goal. Poetry began to define who I was, and it became a burden and a crutch. When I rededicated my life to Christ twelve years ago, I realized Jesus is the true gift, and poetry is a benefit of knowing Him. At that point, I made a deal with God that I would throw away any poem that didn't give Him glory. Out of three hundred poems, I was left with one, and threw it in the heap. I did not write again until the desire for fame left. The MAPW program is my second chance at getting it right, and with the culmination of this capstone, I have enjoyed every step of the process.</p> <p>I would like to thank the Kennesaw State University English Department and Faculty of the Master of Arts in Professional Writing, including, but not limited to, Dr. Ralph Wilson and Professor JoAnn LoVerde-Dropp; Dr. Shiela Smith McKoy and Professor Anthony Grooms; Dr. Elizabeth Burmester, Dr. Lara Smith-Sitton, and Dr. Rochelle Harris; Dr. Mary Lou Odom, Professor Rachel Greil, and Dr. Laura McGrath; Dr. William Rice and Dr. Christopher Palmer; and Professor Jenny Sadre-Orafai and Professor Christopher Martin. I also extend sincere appreciation for my fellow MAPW alumni, Allison Bennett, Molly Pascal, Kristen Tardio, and Nancy Tompkins.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts in Professional Writing (MAPW)

Level thesis:degree_level

Capstone

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

English

Year dc:date.available

2018

Author dc:creator

• Smith, Valerie

Contributors dc:contributor

• Dr. Ralph Wilson
• Professor JoAnn LoVerde-Dropp

• poetry
• family
• nature
• religion
• race
• gender
• Creative Writing

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/mapw_etd/39

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu:mapw_etd-1036