Semester
Spring
Date of Graduation
2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
MFA
College
Eberly College of Arts and Sciences
Department
English
Committee Chair
Jenny Johnson
Committee Member
Glenn Taylor
Committee Member
Mary Ann Samyn
Abstract
The following collection of poems explores Dolly Parton, country music, self-love, hypersexuality, loneliness, alcoholism, Appalachian heritage, Queer ecstaticism, and domestic violence. The preface details the author’s deeply rooted Appalachian upbringing, exploring how music, specifically Bluegrass and Country, influences the radical self-love it takes to be a Queer body in a heteronormative world. The author outlines the duality of Appalachia and the Closet, bringing in poetic influences such as Walt Whitman, Benjamin Garcia, Sam Sax, and Morgan Parker with others. Almost all of the poems in this collection are written in free verse with several persona poems. The poems are organized across five sections, set apart by song titles and lyrics by Dolly Parton. The collection is written in English, and contains a critical preface, a table of contents, and 45 poems. From start to finish, the collection takes about two hours to read.
Recommended Citation
Stokes, Jonah Gabriel, "The Closet of My Tennessee Mountain Home" (2024). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 12344.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/12344
Embargo Reason
Permanent Embargo – MFA Creative Writing