To the Beloved: On the Romantic Poetics of Rebecca Lindenberg, Sandra Lim, and Tina Chang

Abstract

In navigating the torrid and varied terrain of love poetry, my thesis close-reads three poems by contemporary poets: “Litany” by Rebecca Lindenberg, “Something Something Something Grand” by Sandra Lim, and “Love” by Tina Chang. I examine how these poets portray the self in relation to the beloved within the intimate landscapes and internal confines of poetry. These three poems deepen, elevate, and complicate the extremities of love poetry, encompassing thematic concerns such as elegy, prayer, embodiment, memory, and family. Through my readings, I will explore how the poetics of romance can offer a doorway to the lyric self, a self that is as artificial as it is confessional.