“The Opposite of the Skeleton Inside of Me”: Women’s Poetry as Feminist Activism

Authors

  • Kristin LaFollette Bowling Green State University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18432/ari28922

Keywords:

feminism, feminist theory, women’s studies, creative writing, poetry

Abstract

This article provides an exegesis and utilizes the author’s original poetry to show that women’s poetry is a form of feminist activism. The exegesis discusses Audre Lorde and Sylvia Plath, authors who have traditionally used poetry as an outlet for opposing the patriarchal oppression that women face. The author follows the exegesis with seven of her poems as a representation of how poetry can further feminist activism and work toward breaking down outdated gender norms and patriarchal ideology.

Author Biography

Kristin LaFollette, Bowling Green State University

Kristin LaFollette is a PhD candidate in Rhetoric and Writing at Bowling Green State University where she recently completed a graduate certificate in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Her scholarly interests include feminist and queer theories, multimodal and digital composing, creative writing, and the intersections of art and writing.

References

Plath, S. (1975). Letters home: Correspondence, 1950-1963. Aurelia Schober Plath (Ed.). New York, NY: Harper & Row.

Plath, S. (2008). The collected poems. Ted Hughes (Ed.). New York, NY: Harper Collins.

Reed, T.V. (2017). The poetical is the political: Feminist poetry and the poetics of women’s rights. In Carole R. McCann and Seung-Kyung Kim (Eds.) Feminist theory reader: Local and global perspectives (pp. 89-102). New York, NY:Routledge.

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Published

2018-03-01

How to Cite

LaFollette, K. (2018). “The Opposite of the Skeleton Inside of Me”: Women’s Poetry as Feminist Activism. Art/Research/International:/A/Transdisciplinary/Journal, 3(1), 178–189. https://doi.org/10.18432/ari28922