Side by side : a narrative poetry collection
Abstract
All stories stem from two setups: a stranger came to town or someone went on a journey. For me, these stories are not an either/or situation but a both/and. I was born, along with my older brother, in my mother's hometown of Buckhannon, West Virginia. My childhood was spent in my father's homeland of Poland. My missionary parents moved back to America in 1996 when my grandmother, on my mother's side, died. As a stranger, I journeyed south to Florida with my family. I call Orlando home, after living here for a dozen years.
My story is how I journeyed with my family as a boy from Poland to America and along the way felt tugged by both my parents' heritages. I considered my homeland strange, but took root as a man in the States. The unknown became familiar. When I entered college, half my life had been spent in Florida, in a balance with my childhood in Poland. Now the majority of my life has been spent here in Florida. Narrative poetry is a self-investment on the page. A collection of such poetry is as close to memoir. I tell my life story in these poems: I chronicle my change from a stranger to a local in this collection, highlighting my international experience, and explaining how home is three different places: Buckhannon, Warsaw, and Orlando.
Notes
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Thesis Completion
2009
Semester
Spring
Advisor
Hemschemeyer, Judith
Degree
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)
College
College of Arts and Humanities
Department
English
Degree Program
English
Subjects
Arts and Humanities -- Dissertations, Academic;Dissertations, Academic -- Arts and Humanities
Format
Identifier
DP0022416
Language
English
Access Status
Open Access
Length of Campus-only Access
None
Document Type
Honors in the Major Thesis
Recommended Citation
Wiewiora, Chris, "Side by side : a narrative poetry collection" (2009). HIM 1990-2015. 864.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/honorstheses1990-2015/864