Art

Throughout the novel, Eileen’s passion for art is portrayed as one of the defining factors in her life. Most of the major life decisions that Eileen makes are based on her pursuit of artistic fulfillment. For example, Eileen decided to move to New York from Boston after realizing that poetry was one of the most important things to her and that New York would be the best place to practice her craft. Once in New York, most of Eileen’s activities were determined by her continued attraction to art and the communities that support artistic pursuits. She went to graduate school to study poetry, and then after she dropped out of that program, she sought out other artistic communities in the city. One major example of this would be the St. Mark’s Poetry Project, with which she would soon become involved and eventually serve...