The Canción Cannibal Cabaret and other songs: Feminists of a dystopian future repurpose a punk past

Author

Amalia L. Ortiz, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Date of Award

5-2016

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Department

Creative Writing

First Advisor

Emmy Pérez

Second Advisor

Dr. Marci McMahon

Third Advisor

Dr. Cathryn Merla-Watson

Abstract

This collection of poem-songs is an experiment in combining poetry and theatre. Focused on the theme of revolution and inspired by current issues of social justice, the manuscript is set in a not-so-distant future. After an environmental apocalypse, a refugee raised under an oppressive state, La Madre Valiente studies secretly to become the leader of a feminist revolution. Her emissaries roam the land telling her story, educating others, and enlisting allies in revolution. My goal is to transform the text into live theatrical performances so that the manuscript serves both as a poetry collection and as a script. Some critics have expressed a disdain for performance poetry arguing that it relies on theatrics, and have argued that overtly political poetry is too didactic and not subtle enough for some tastes. This manuscript is decidedly political and deliberately theatrical in order to build a case for the need for performance poetry. Images and links to online video from works-in-progress performances of the manuscript are also included in the documentation of the text as a three-dimensional art form.

Comments

Copyright 2016 Amalia L. Ortiz. All Rights Reserved.

https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/canción-cannibal-cabaret-other-songs-feminists/docview/1810996023/se-2?accountid=7119

Recommended Citation

Ortiz, Amalia L., "The Canción Cannibal Cabaret and other songs: Feminists of a dystopian future repurpose a punk past" (2016). Theses and Dissertations. 76.
https://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/etd/76