16 pages • 32 minutes read
Natasha TretheweyTheories of Time and Space
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 2006A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Further Reading & Resources
Related Poems
“Miscegenation” by Natasha Trethewey (2006)
This poem, also from Trethewey’s award-winning Native Guard collection, deals intimately with the history of racism in Mississippi, as well as Trethewey’s feelings about her familial and personal identity. “Miscegenation,” like “Theories of Time and Space,” considers memory in a personal and historical sense.
“History Lesson” by Natasha Trethewey (2000)
“History Lesson,” from Trethewey’s Domestic Work collection, focuses on her childhood in Mississippi; like many of Trethewey’s other works, “History Lesson” considers the racially discriminatory laws of Mississippi through the lens of personal experience.
“Myth” by Natasha Trethewey (2006)
Trethewey’s “Myth” follows more formal constraints than many of other poems. It uses a repetitive form and refrain in order to contemplate personal loss. “Myth” essentially mythologizes personal loss and grief through continued returns to the same lines, themes, and feelings.
Further Literary Resources
"Interracial Marriage Laws History and Timeline" by Tom Head for ThoughtCo (2021)
Race and racial injustice play important roles in Trethewey’s work, and she often reflects upon these things in tandem with her personal experiences growing up in Gulfport, Mississippi during the 1960s and 1970s. To understand the historical and personal frameworks of Trethewey’s work, it is important to possess a basic understanding of the civil rights movement of the late-20th century and the reality of Jim Crow and other discriminatory laws that were still common in the United States during that time.
"How Poetry Can Guide Us Through Trauma" by Hannah Giorgis (2020)
In this Atlantic article, Giorgis discusses Trethewey’s work, with particular focus on her recent memoir. This article is timely in its relation to the socio-political struggles of the 2020s, but it also reflects upon Trethewey’s feelings regarding the violent loss of her mother, how grief has impacted Trethewey’s poetry, and how national trauma and personal trauma come together in her work.
"Natasha Trethewey’s Personal Story as American History" by Pearl Amelia McHaney (2012)
This academic article, written in 2012, explores the two key themes of Trethewey’s poetry: personal and national history. McHaney’s article analyzes some of Trethewey’s most important work and provides a thematic explanation of its importance.
Listen to Poem
In this 2005 presentation from Emory University, Trethewey reads “Theories of Time and Space” from her collection Native Guard.
Related Titles
By Natasha Trethewey
