Leaping Streams: A Postmodern Epic and an Evaluation of Becoming and Being

Leaping Streams explores the ways in which an epic poem form can be revived and repurposed to subvert traditional vampire narratives and mythology. I have experimented with writing in the genre of epic poetry, and I will highlight an unnamed, ungendered vampire protagonist. In an attempt to stretch the boundaries of the classic epic, I strayed from the typical heroic journey plot in a way that the protagonist is unaware that they are on a quest to become a different version of themselves. I also subverted the traditional epic meter in favor of free verse. Similarly, through attempting to recreate the vampire character, I imagined new ways for a vampire to manifest in society. The larger goal was to make the epic poem and the figure of the vampire more relatable and down-to-earth; which manifests as a postmodern text. Over the past two years, this project has challenged and extended me as a writer. It has produced a new, invigorating style of the epic poem as well as a refreshing dip into the mythology of the postmodern vampire.