Finding Peace in a City at War: d.a. levy's "Suburban Monastery Death Poem"

In this paper, I will examine the work of d.a. levy through a close reading of his epic, Suburban Monastery Death Poem (1968). Despite providing a unique perspective of the 1960s in America, levy’s work has been ignored by mainstream academic literary studies. Most of the existing investigations into levy or his work have been completed by a small circle of his friends or by outsiders who tend to focus too much on his life and the mythology surrounding him. Ultimately, in this thesis, I would like to focus the critical conversation not on levy’s personal and legal troubles, but on his work. I argue Suburban Monastery Death Poem should not be read as hopeless and death-centric, as the title might suggest, but as a modern epic about finding peace in a city at war. An emphasis on the way the monastery, the muse and the suburb work within the poem provides insight to the world in the text. Lastly, discussions about levy’s work are incomplete without addressing the way the poet interacts with Cleveland, his lifelong home. Through my discussion of Suburban Monastery Death Poem, I hope to bring more attention to levy as a masterful and culturally useful poet.

Name thesis:degree_name

Bachelor of Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

bachelors

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

English

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Toledo Honors Theses

Year dc:date

2012

Author dc:creator

• Fetters, Sam

Contributors dc:contributor

• Gregory, Melissa
• Lipman, Joel

• Literature
• d.a. levy
• Suburban Monastery Death Poem
• Cleveland
• poetry
• mimeograph revolution
• midwestern poetry

Statement dc:rights

• unrestricted
• This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=uthonors1355446425

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:etd.ohiolink.edu:uthonors1355446425