Almanac

• Main Author: Hartley, Amy M.
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: Poetry; Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing; Fairbanks; Gemini; Beluga; Beluga*; Alaska
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11122/12735

Thesis (M.F.A.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2010 "Almanac is a collection of poetry that speaks to the various influences that have affected the poet as an Alaskan woman inhabiting the roles of daughter, mother, wife, professional, and daydreamer. The collection includes a shifting I, which inhabits a variety of characters, from the poet herself, to a crazed Cleveland murderer. Based on subject matter, the 56 poems of Almanac are split into five sections, covering the seasons to current events. The word, almanac, can be traced to the medieval Arabic word for climate. As such, the lyrical free verse poems in this collection illustrate the climate of Hartley's life over a six-year period, weaving together personal experience, philosophical ruminations, science, as well as current events in Alaska and elsewhere. Poetic influences on the work include Emily Dickinson, Elizabeth Bishop, Frank Bidart, Billy Collins, and others"--Leaf iii Seasons -- Nocturnal -- Snowflakes -- Winter sunrise -- Winter mutations -- Melt -- Forgive me -- Autumn reflection -- Remind me -- Autumn reflection -- Remind me -- An autumn hillside -- Questions for a birch -- Nature & husbandry -- Homily -- Ghosts -- Wildfire -- How to get here : directions for a new dog handler -- Hot springs -- Migration -- A sled dog -- Beluga point -- Collision -- Diligence -- A secret -- Soul of a musher -- Hersus major -- Health, home & heritage -- The moment you die -- I'm not going gray! -- When did I first lie here? -- Contribution -- Pecans -- Fine China -- Glacial facial -- Patchwork memories -- Tectonics -- Dressing for battle -- Aging -- The touch -- Words -- The moment you are born -- Cosmology, monsters & mystery -- When the switch -- Strength -- Gemini -- Message in a dream -- Meth mouth -- My bisclavret -- They might be able to -- Study of a black cat -- Twins -- Agoraphobic -- Ars poetica -- News & Miscellany -- Nelson Lagoon refuses free oil -- Enlightenment -- Clipping -- News -- Albedo -- Witness statement -- Some ...