Bohn, Jerrod E., authorBeachy-Quick, Dan, advisorSteensen, Sasha, committee memberCooperman, Matthew, committee memberPrince, Eric, committee member2022-04-082022-04-082010https://hdl.handle.net/10217/234651Covers not scanned.Print version deaccessioned 2022.My thesis manuscript entitled Of is a book-length collection of poems broken into five sections. Over the course of the book, the poems move from concerns over the nature of the erotic to an examination of how consummation of the flesh can give rise to a creation. In this case, what is created or birthed is the hymn or song that names the world. Along with this naming comes an anxiety over language’s relationship to the natural world: by affixing names and “meaning” to natural objects are we allowing words and phrases to replace the actual objects themselves? Moreover, does language risk misnaming an object which, in a sense, causes damage to that object’s integrity that can be difficult to repair or recover? Drawing on Classical Greek and Roman poetry, ritual, and mythology as well as Judeo-Christian cosmology and iconography as source material, Of attempts to break down and reunite dichotomous ideas that ancient cultures viewed as harmonious rather than opposed. These dichotomies include: the Apollonian / the Dionysian, male / female, erotic / spiritual, song (poetry) / meaning (naming), and language / natural objects. The book remembers that the preposition “of’ is relational, that all things are always “of” or “emanated from” something else.masters thesesengCopyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.PoetryTextAccess is limited to the Colorado State University community only.