Letters for a Newfoundland Dog and other encounters with nonhuman animals; Bird’s Work

• Main Author: Marlatt, Cameo Rae-Ann
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: PR English literature; Newfoundland
• Online Access: http://theses.gla.ac.uk/30584/; http://theses.gla.ac.uk/30584/7/2018MarlattDFA.pdf; https://eleanor.lib.gla.ac.uk/record=b3313140

This project encompasses a collection of lyric essays and a collection of poetry engaging with the topic of zoopoetics, which as a field is interested in the way that attentiveness to the poiesis of nonhuman animals can shape human creative forms. The lyric essays, which form my critical component, are each centered on what Donna Haraway would refer to as a ‘companion species,’ a term that extends beyond companion animals such as pets to include any animals we share our lives with. Looking at frogs, dogs, whales, cats, bats, and parrots, I explore my personal history with specific animals of these species, and also analyze their representation in literature, art, and popular culture. Within a zoopoetic framework, the essays engage with scholarship around anthropomorphism, animals and gender, animal captivity, and animal history. The poetry collection, which forms my creative component, explores various ways of writing nonhuman animals. Writing with curiosity and attentiveness towards non-human animals, I aim for my poems to embody the shared animal-human poiesis at the heart of zoopoetics.