My Life Examined & Tweaked

Authors

Shana-Kay Smith, Bryant University

Document Type

Dissertation

First Faculty Advisor

Dean, Janet

Keywords

poetry; literature; personal; reflection; analysis;

Publisher

Bryant University

Abstract

My project is an exploration into my love of poetry. It consists of a collection of twenty-seven poems that I have written and revised over the course of a year. Over that time period, I have worked on approximately forty-five poems, but I chose only twenty seven for my final portfolio. To demonstrate what my writing process is like, I have kept a book (separate and apart from the final portfolio) of all my thoughts, inspirations, drafts and revisions for the poems I write, so that the growth of each can be seen.

The majority of my poems are in some way based on my life. They relate either to my own experiences (the people I have met, the place I have been) or my perspective on the experiences of others, which why I have decided to call it “My Life Examined & Tweaked.” I moved to the United States from Jamaica recently and I have found that a lot of my poems are about my memories of Jamaica, or the issues associated with moving to another country. I explore these issues in a narrative reflection of four of my works: “Chamyu”, “I Meant to Say”, “Reclaim”, and “Quiver & Quail.” All of these poems deal with complications resulting from migration, with a particular emphasis on language and place and their impact on identity. I analyzed these poems in conjunction with the works of two my favorite authors, Bassey Ikpi’s “Homeward”, and Louise Bennett’s “Bans a Killing” and “Back to Africa”.