¡POP! GOES THE POETRY!
Presenter: Suzanne Garcia
Suzi F. Garcia is a poet in the MFA Program at the University of Notre Dame, minoring in Gender Studies. She is a Teaching Apprentice for Introduction to Gender Studies, a Poetry Editor at Noemi Press, and a nightmare dressed as a daydream. Suzi’s work can be found in Word Riot, The Offing, Pinch Journal, and more.
Marginalized peoples continue to lack representation in academia, and in reaction, often we turn to popular culture in order to see ourselves reflected back to us. In this collection, I am striving to push language and poetic traditions by utilizing popular culture to create new entry points. To craft access points for myself and readers, I am working in personal codes such as art, music, celebrity, & television. Furthermore, using pop culture in my writing produces unique, individual expressions of self.
A portion of ¡POP! GOES THE POETRY! is a series of letters to Dorothy Gale, an attempt to convince her to escape the asylum and return to Oz with the speaker. These letters engage in the lesbian continuum, as described by poet and theorist Adrienne Rich. In this collection, I employ contemporary pop culture scholarship and criticism, celebrity, music, art, and television as conduits to topics such as sexuality, gender, race, and class. Though poetry is often considered an inaccessible “high art,” I am writing to create a space that values both Keats and Kanye.
October 30, 2015
Noon – 339 O’Shaughnessy
¡POP! GOES THE POETRY! - Poster
¡POP! GOES THE POETRY! - Abstract
In order to advance the program’s commitment to inter-disciplinary research and inquiry into the subject of gender, the Gender Studies Program is pleased to announce an upcoming series of research workshops. The events will include presentations by advanced undergraduates majoring in Gender Studies as well as graduate students and faculty members from a variety of departments who work in the area of gender and sexuality. The workshop will begin with the week’s presenter giving a brief lecture on his or her current research in the field, followed by a seminar-style discussion.
Workshops are held on Fridays from 12:00 – 1:00 pm in 339 O’Shaughnessy.
If you would like to reserve a date for a presentation at one of the Research Workshops please contact one of our Research Workshop coordinators: Eric Lewis or Melissa McCoul.