the same sandals tomorrow

Author

• Lisa M. KouroupisFollow

Year of Award

2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Degree Name

Creative Writing (Poetry)

Department or School/College

English

Committee Chair

Brian Blanchfield

Commitee Members

Sean Hill, Steven Krutek

Keywords

ontology, fragmentation, embodiment, climate

Subject Categories

Art Practice | Feminist Philosophy | Interdisciplinary Arts and Media | Syntax

Abstract

Driven by sonic and visual arrangement, the poems of the same sandals tomorrow take for their material the language of daily observation, sensation, dialogue, and thought. Together this material conveys an experience of being–one that is oriented toward a sensibility over a narrative or singular identity. What does one notice, and how? What protrudes into awareness, and how does that inform or disrupt an understanding of a cohesive self? The speaker in these fragmented poems presents as both persistently separate and relationally connected. The word “pace” is defined as a rate of movement, or a rhythmic animation. The collection considers the ways of moving within the world and relating to its happenings. A sense of ongoing-ness is present, of a felt repetition enacted by subtle syntactical variations and rearrangements. Reading at times like a daybook and at others a lyric collage, the process of shaping language to experience is paramount, and with it the value of the practice itself–of awareness, of composition.

Recommended Citation

Kouroupis, Lisa M., "the same sandals tomorrow" (2026). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 12742.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/12742