Thylias Moss

Thylias Moss[10†]

Thylias Moss, born in 1954, is an American poet, writer, and experimental filmmaker known for her diverse heritage and pioneering work in "Limited Fork Theory". Her early poetry, influenced by the Black Arts Movement, explored themes of racial justice. Over time, her work evolved to challenge traditional boundaries of genre and poetry, culminating in the creation of the POAM (product of act of making). Moss’s contributions span poetry, essays, children’s books, and plays, reflecting her deep engagement with the interplay of text, meaning, and artistic form[1†][2†][3†][4†].

Early Years and Education

Thylias Moss was born on February 27, 1954, in a working-class family in Cleveland, Ohio[1†]. Her father chose the name Thylias because he decided she needed a name that had not existed before[1†]. According to Moss, her first few years of life were happy, living with her family in the upstairs rooms of an older Jewish couple named Feldman (who Moss believes were Holocaust survivors). The Feldmans treated Moss like a grandchild[1†].

When Moss was five, the Feldmans sold their house and moved away. Her parents continued to live in the house with the new homeowners and their 13-year-old daughter, Lytta, who began to babysit Moss after school[1†]. Moss experienced constant harassment from Lytta and several traumatic events before the age of nine[1†]. She later said about her trauma: "I never said a word of this to anybody…I was there witnessing things that only happened when I left that house."[1†]

At age nine her family relocated, causing her to be sent to school in a predominantly white district[1†]. After enduring bullying and racism from both her peers and teachers, she withdrew from social interaction at school and did not speak freely in classes until many years later in college[1†]. It was during this time she gave more attention to writing poetry, an activity she had begun two years earlier[1†].

Moss married at age 16 before attending Syracuse University from 1971 to 1973[1†][2†][5†][4†]. She eventually left university due to racial tensions and entered the workforce for several years[1†][2†][5†][4†]. During this time she had two sons, Dennis and Ansted[1†][2†][5†][4†]. She enrolled in Oberlin College in 1979 and graduated with a BA in 1981[1†][2†][5†][4†]. She later received a Master of Arts in English, with an emphasis on writing, from the University of New Hampshire[1†][2†].

After finishing school, Moss taught English at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts[1†]. Since 1993, she has been a Professor of English and a Professor of Art and Design at the University of Michigan[1†][2†] in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Career Development and Achievements

Thylias Moss’s career is marked by a rich tapestry of achievements in various fields, including poetry, writing, experimental filmmaking, sound art, and playwriting[1†][2†][6†][4†]. Her work has been published in numerous collections and anthologies, and she has also published essays, children’s books, and plays[1†][2†][6†][4†].

Moss’s early work is considered part of the legacy of the Black Arts Movement, taking influence from West African praise poetry and concerning themes of racial justice[1†]. Throughout her career, her work has become more experimental, stretching the boundaries of genre and the definition of poetry[1†]. Her fixations still include justice, but she expanded into a fascination with text placement’s effect on meaning[1†]. These experiments with form culminated in her development of Limited Fork Theory and the invention of the POAM (product of act of making)[1†].

After finishing school, Moss taught English at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts[1†]. Since 1993, she has been a Professor of English and a Professor of Art and Design at the University of Michigan[1†][2†] in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Moss has also authored a memoir, Tale of a Sky-Blue Dress (1998), about her childhood in Cleveland, Ohio, and published several children’s books[1†][2†]. Known for her expansive, eclectic poems, she has earned multiple awards, including the Witter Bynner Prize, an NEA grant, and fellowships from the MacArthur Foundation and Guggenheim Foundation[1†][2†].

First Publication of Her Main Works

Thylias Moss’s literary journey is marked by a series of remarkable works that have significantly contributed to the field of poetry. Here are some of her main works:

• Hosiery Seams on a Bowlegged Woman (1983): This is one of Moss’s earliest works, marking the beginning of her illustrious career in poetry[2†][6†][7†].
• Pyramid of Bone (1989): This collection of poems further established Moss’s reputation as a powerful voice in contemporary poetry[2†][6†][7†].
• At Redbones (1990): This work continued to showcase Moss’s unique poetic style and her ability to weave complex themes into her poetry[2†][7†].
• Rainbow Remnants in Rock Bottom Ghetto Sky (1991): In this collection, Moss explores themes of identity, race, and the human condition[2†][7†].
• Small Congregations: New and Selected Poems (1993): This anthology includes both new works and selected poems from her earlier collections[2†][6†][7†].
• Last Chance for the Tarzan Holler (1999): This collection showcases Moss’s innovative use of language and form[2†][7†].
• Tokyo Butter (2006): In this work, Moss continues to push the boundaries of poetry, exploring new themes and forms[2†].
• Wannabe Hoochie Mama Gallery of Realities’ Red Dress Code: New & Selected Poems (2016): This recent collection includes both new poems and selected works from her previous collections, offering a comprehensive view of her poetic journey[2†].

Each of these works reflects Moss’s evolving style and her continuous exploration of new themes and forms. Her poetry combines the African-American concept of “witnessing” with a variety of Western poetic traditions[2†][6†]. Known for her startling metaphors and vivid imagery, Moss’s work demonstrates an expansive imagination that seeks to connect at times wildly disparate subjects[2†].

Analysis and Evaluation

Thylias Moss’s work is characterized by its expansive and eclectic nature, which often explores themes of race and gender[2†]. However, these subjects are merely starting points for her work. Her poetry makes such facts of identity seem unfamiliar, their meanings not to be predicted, unavailable to the naked eye[2†]. This approach allows her to explore these themes in a unique and innovative way, challenging the reader’s preconceptions and encouraging them to see these issues from a new perspective[2†].

One of Moss’s notable works, “Slave Moth: A Narrative in Verse” (2004), is a prime example of her innovative approach to poetry[2†][8†]. The book depicts psychological experimentation on the enslaved and also subverts assumptions about poetry[2†][8†]. Through her formal innovations in “Slave Moth,” Moss demonstrates how the epistemology that produced such historical experiments indirectly shapes criticism on lyric in particular[2†][8†].

Moss’s work is not only innovative but also deeply personal. She has described her writing process as one of unanticipated discovery, where the dance of dust mirrored in the hoof of some unspecified beast offers delight and insight that perhaps she would miss were she regularly more interested in imposing certain agendas on her poems[2†]. This approach to writing reflects her commitment to authenticity and exploration, qualities that are evident in her poetry[2†].

Moss’s work has had a significant impact on contemporary poetry. Her innovative use of language and form, combined with her exploration of complex themes, has earned her a place among the most influential poets of her generation[2†]. Her work continues to inspire and challenge readers, offering a unique perspective on the world and our place in it[2†].

Personal Life

Thylias Moss was born as Thylias Rebecca Brasier in a working-class family in Ohio[1†]. Her father chose the name Thylias because he decided she needed a name that had not existed before[1†]. According to Moss, her first few years of life were happy, living with her family in the upstairs rooms of an older Jewish couple named Feldman (who Moss believes were Holocaust survivors). The Feldmans treated Moss like a grandchild[1†].

When Moss was five, the Feldmans sold their house and moved away[1†]. Her parents continued to live in the house with the new homeowners and their 13-year-old daughter, Lytta, who began to babysit Moss after school[1†]. Moss experienced constant harassment from Lytta and several traumatic events before the age of nine[1†]. She later said about her trauma: "I never said a word of this to anybody…I was there witnessing things that only happened when I left that house."[1†]

At age nine her family relocated, causing her to be sent to school in a predominantly white district[1†]. After enduring bullying and racism from both her peers and teachers, she withdrew from social interaction at school and did not speak freely in classes until many years later in college[1†]. It was during this time she gave more attention to writing poetry, an activity she had begun two years earlier[1†].

Moss married at age 16 before attending Syracuse University from 1971 to 1973[1†][4†]. She eventually left university due to racial tensions and entered the workforce for several years[1†][4†]. During this time she had two sons, Dennis and Ansted[4†]. She enrolled in Oberlin College in 1979 and graduated with a BA in 1981[1†][2†][4†].

After finishing school, Moss taught English at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts[1†]. Since 1993, she has been a Professor of English and a Professor of Art and Design at the University of Michigan[1†] in Ann Arbor, Michigan[1†].

Conclusion and Legacy

Thylias Moss’s work has left a significant impact on the literary world. Her early work is considered part of the legacy of the Black Arts Movement, taking influence from West African praise poetry and concerning themes of racial justice[1†][9†]. Throughout her career, her work has become more experimental, stretching the boundaries of genre and the definition of poetry[1†][9†]. Her fixations still include justice, but she expanded into a fascination with text placement’s effect on meaning[1†]. These experiments with form culminated in her development of Limited Fork Theory and the invention of the POAM (product of act of making)[1†].

Perhaps no contemporary African American poet has committed herself more emphatically to this simultaneously critical and celebratory tradition than Thylias Moss[1†][9†]. This commitment to praise emerges after twenty years of wrestling with the legacy of the Black Arts Movement[1†][9†]. Her ongoing poetic project parallels Fred Moten’s and Eve Kosofsky Sedwick’s arguments that literary studies must explore not just more “hope ful[[?]]” affects but “reparative” modes of thinking that are socially “ameliorative.”[1†][9†]

Moss seeks to use a praise poetics as a means of approaching that which is distant and even transgressive in order to better understand the external and internal mechanisms through which categories of difference are imposed[1†][9†]. Praise, in this way, becomes an acknowledgement of an adjacency we too easily deny and a rhetorical means for learning how to live more justly within community[1†][9†].

Key Information

• Also Known As: Thylias Rebecca Brasier[1†]
• Born: February 27, 1954, Cleveland, Ohio[1†][2†][1†]
• Nationality: American[1†][2†][1†]
• Occupation: Poet, writer, experimental filmmaker, sound artist, and playwright[1†][2†][1†]
• Education: BA from Oberlin College in 1981, MA from the University of New Hampshire in 1983[1†][2†][1†]
• Notable Works: “Wannabe Hoochie Mama Gallery of Realities’ Red Dress Code: New & Selected Poems” (2016), “Tokyo Butter” (2006), “Last Chance for the Tarzan Holler” (1999), “Small Congregations: New and Selected Poems” (1993), “Rainbow Remnants in Rock Bottom Ghetto Sky” (1991), “At Redbones” (1990), “Pyramid of Bone” (1989), and “Hosiery Seams on a Bowlegged Woman” (1983)[1†][2†]
• Notable Achievements: Witter Bynner Prize, an NEA grant, and fellowships from the MacArthur Foundation and Guggenheim Foundation[1†][2†]

References and Citations:

1. Wikipedia (English) - Thylias Moss [website] - link
2. Poetry Foundation - Thylias Moss [website] - link
3. Poem Hunter - Thylias Moss - Poet Thylias Moss Poems [website] - link
4. Wikiwand - Thylias Moss - Wikiwand / articles [website] - link
5. Modern American Poetry - Thylias Moss [website] - link
6. MacArthur Foundation - Thylias Moss - MacArthur Foundation [website] - link
7. LibraryThing - Author - Thylias Moss [website] - link
8. Oxford Academic - MELUS - Genre Experiments: Thylias Moss’s Slave Moth and the Poetic Neo-Slave Narrative [website] - link
9. Oxford Academic - MELUS - “Inexhaustible Splendor”: Thylias Moss, Praise Poetry, and Racial Politics [website] - link
10. UToledo News - Thylias Moss to give reading at Poetry Speaks @ Your Library event [website][archive] - link