22nd Annual Student Research Conference
A Ham in America
Raymond C. Holmes
Dr. James D'Agostino, Faculty Mentor
In 1953, Robert Rauschenberg introduced "Erased de Kooning Drawing", a piece created entirely by erasing a preexisting Willem de Kooning drawing. His purpose: to see "whether a drawing could be made out of erasing". Similarly, Mary Ruefle's book A Little White Shadow showcases this philosophy in literature; she sought to find new poetry within an already published story. From Tom Phillips' A Humument to Jen Bervin's Nets, the use of erasures in literature has created a niche for itself as both a form of creative excavation and a bridge fusing the reading-writing process. My project, entitled "A Ham in America", continues with this tradition. Through conscientiously whiting-out the pamphlet Abraham Lincoln: Self-Made in America, I have chiseled a poetic narrative following the fictional everyman character Lincoln. This project will coincide with the Lincoln Bicentennial and explore the use of found literature as well as literature as a visual art.
Keywords: Poetry, Found Literature, Lincoln, Erasure
Topic(s):English
Lincoln Bicentennial
Art
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 34-3
Location: OP 2210
Time: 1:45