Abstract

Contemporary poets such as Richard Siken are known for their sexual and explicitly queer nature. Others have debated the spiritual dimension of queer poetry such as Siken's, with individuals such as Marta Figlerowicz arguing that though one of Siken's poems calls itself a litany, it does not match all the rules of a litany due to not being clearly devotional. Using an outside-in analytical approach to Richard Siken's "Snow and Dirty Rain," Kayleb Rae Candrilli's "There is a Point at Which I Tire of My Own Fear," and Jericho Brown's "Eden", I argue that spirituality can be found in explicit queer poetry through symbols and meanings found between the lines. I specifically use Eden symbolism and trace the history of queer Edenic narratives to examine how each of these poems function as narratives of queer Eden in their own right. Ultimately, I conclude that Siken, Candrilli, and Brown make space for queerness in Eden through a focus on choice and agency.

Degree

College and Department

Humanities; English

Rights

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