Senior Project Advisor

Thomas Hummel

Document Type

Project

Publication Date

Spring 2024

Keywords

Tarot, poetry, hybrid form, creative writing, arcana

Abstract

A Hope More Violent Than Any Despair is a book-length poetic sequence inspired by and organized according to the twenty-two cards that constitute the tarot’s major arcana. The work takes its name from a section of The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector. As the foundational figures of the tarot, the major arcana are The Fool, The Magician, The High Priestess, The Empress, The Emperor, The Hierophant, The Lovers, The Chariot, Justice, The Hermit, The Wheel of Fortune, Strength, The Hanged Man, Death, Temperance, The Devil, The Tower, The Star, The Moon, The Sun, Judgement, and The World. Given their narrative foundations, as well as their malleability and interconnectedness, the active work of tarot becomes a complex process of reflection and communication where the potential and possibilities are integral to the final product. In A Hope More Violent Than Any Despair, these processes are embodied through hybrid works and fragmented narratives that work with how we read and how we see ourselves and others in the written word. The book explores themes of childhood, nature, the senses, death, sex, self-expression, care, structure, reason, intoxication, hope, and more.

Department

Honors

Type

Text

Rights

Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission.

Language

English

Format

application/pdf

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Included in

Poetry Commons

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