Publication Date
5-2025
Date of Final Oral Examination (Defense)
3-12-2025
Type of Culminating Activity
Thesis
Degree Title
Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing
Department
Theatre, Film, and Creative Writing
Supervisory Committee Chair
Martin Corless-Smith, Ph.D.
Supervisory Committee Member
Sara Nicholson, Ph.D.
Supervisory Committee Member
Mac Test, Ph.D.
Abstract
The thesis is a poetry collection, titled To turn to wind. Each poem is distinct but connected, in turn creating a narrative, serial poem that explores an individual’s relationship with poetry and nature. There are four sections where the speaker a metamorphic journey, and the end of each section leads to the beginning of the next. The poems are written in free verse, and each individual line is indicative of the poet’s breath and wind patterns to further develop the themes of unity and poetry, as well as “form as an extension of content”.
The poems are inquisitive and seek to develop an understanding of the Poet’s place in the natural world. They frequently ask questions not for the sake of answers, but for the act of discovery. Each poem builds to the end, where the speaker turns into the wind through writing. All the poems except the last few are written in the first person, but the pronoun is dropped at the end to show that the speaker has become an unnamed collective. This loss of individuality is not a tragic one, as this is the realization that the speaker has arrived at: to sing about the natural world, one must join it.
These poems were written after exploring Idaho’s landscape. They were given attention to both sight and sound, specifically of the wind against leaves. The speaker at times expresses a frustration with wanting to capture the sound of the landscape with the knowledge that they cannot put into words the sounds that they hear. The work focuses on human’s separation and then connection with the natural world.
Recommended Citation
Butler, Savannah, "To Turn to Wind" (2025). Boise State University Theses and Dissertations. 2324.
https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/td/2324
Comments
At the request of the Department of Theatre, Film, and Creative Writing, the document available on this record contains only the front matter of the corresponding thesis. The document in its entirety is not available for general viewing.