In-between: a collection of poems of loss and memory

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Date

2022

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

University of the Western Cape

Abstract

My mini-thesis in Creative Writing aims to explore memory and childhood through the lens of spatial and temporal consciousness. The vehicle for navigating these memories, whether individual or collective, real or surreal, is a collection of original poems based in and around the Cape Flats. Childhood specifically is the central theme of these poems, as it provides the basis for all the related memories in the collection. To me memory is like a map, dotted by landmarks in time. I will explore these landmarks in the poems to discover if there are patterns in the way that memories are made and stored. I will also explore changes in the physical environment – be these ecological or to do with human development – and how these changes intersect with memory. My aim in the collection is to channel the voice of a central character – a young boy – who is trying to find his place against the backdrop of the Cape Flats setting, while contending with all its challenges. My creative writing mini-thesis will also be accompanied by a reflexive essay that discusses the concepts of memory and spatial and temporal awareness and how these are manifest within my collection of poems.

Description

Magister Artium - MA

Keywords

Poetry, Memory, Childhood, Temporality, Cape Flats

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