Abstract
Project Mentor(s): Katharine Whitcomb
This paper explores the concept of literary discourse as a networked form, using Caroline Levine’s theory of “networks” as expansive systems of meaning. Through the poetry of several postmodern poets and their texts such as Terrance Hayes’ American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin, Anne Carson’s The Beauty of the Husband, and Maggie Nelson’s Bluets, this essay analyzes how contemporary poets use intertextuality, historical references, and classical forms not as rigid structures but as connective nodes in a broader literary web. These texts illustrate how poetry continues to participate in an evolving cultural and literary conversation that transcends time, geography, and genre to communicate common human experiences. Through this networked discourse, poets challenge hierarchical traditions and assert marginalized voices, while also engaging in an ongoing dialogue with the past. Literary networks provide a lens for understanding the interconnectivity of texts that perpetuate the enduring human desire to find meaning through shared cultural memory. This specialized discourse is foundational and expandable to the growing inclusivity of the literary canon and community. Presentation recording available in the SOURCE 2025 playlist: https://www.youtube.com/@cwusource5518
SOURCE Form ID
274
Recommended Citation
Riffel, Rachel
(2025)
"Literary Networks Everywhere: An Analysis of Literary Connections Across Time and Culture,"
Journal of the Symposium of University Research and Creative Expression: Vol. 1, Article 6.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/jsource/vol1/iss1/6