In Times of War: Salvadoran-American Counterpoetics

Abstract

This thesis is a collection of poems and poetic prose that highlight the feminine and indigenous voice(s) of contemporary El Salvador as they come to terms with the memories and traumas caused by their “othering” in history and society. In the “poems” sections I utilize standard, fragmented poetic forms that play with spacing, rhythm, and narrator. The pieces in this section serve to illuminate the narratives that are not part of the national history by showing the internalized thoughts and feelings women and indigenous peoples face daily. In the “prose experimentations” I provide three pieces that highlight my personal experiences migrating to the US and finding my place as a feminist in my family. These pieces were the most difficult to write because of my dislike towards prose, but I wanted to honor the form in which they came during my writing process.