Date of Defense
6-30-2021
Date of Graduation
8-2021
Department
English
First Advisor
Elizabeth Bradburn
Second Advisor
Jeffrey Abshear
Abstract
Who gives a voice to the voiceless? When do we hear from those who are left behind, abused, abandoned, silenced? Mythos is an exploration of lost voices in mythology, antiquated, biblical, and personal: the women, the minorities, the marginalized. What would they say, if finally given the chance? Perhaps Helen of Troy chose to run away. Maybe Philomela was always meant to become a nightingale, and sing the world to sleep. Maybe fallen angels like making lentil soup for dinner. Maybe dead dragons are reincarnated as accountants. Maybe the stories got it all wrong.
A book of 13 poems, 6 with original accompanying illustrations. Mythos started as a series of poems, loosely connected, but unfinished. In pursuing completion, poems were edited, compiled, and arranged into a narrative. This book was entirely created by hand, beginning with its genesis as poetry. All of the printing was completed with movable lead type, set letter by letter and line by line, and printed on a Vandercook press. All illustrations were hand-carved into linoleum blocks and printed likewise, some with multiple layers. After printing, pages were folded, coalesced, hole-punched with an awl, and sewn into a set of 40 books for distribution and personal archival.
Recommended Citation
Holmgren, Hana, "Mythos" (2021). Honors Theses. 3463.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/honors_theses/3463
Access Setting
Honors Thesis-Open Access
Reflection
Mythos PowerPoint.pdf (4153 kB)
Defense Presentation