Acknowledgements

This monograph would not exist in this form without the guidance, support, and encouragement of my wonderful family, friends, colleagues, and fellow poetry readers and writers.

First, since this book is based on my doctoral thesis, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisors Alexander Onysko and Ray Gibbs. Alexander’s expertise and support have been invaluable, and Ray has taught me more about academia, life, and the beauty of metaphor than anyone else. I am also very grateful to Szilvia Csábi for her friendship.

Furthermore, I am deeply thankful to my mentor, Herb Colston. His relentless encouragement and our many inspiring conversations have contributed so much to the completion of this and other projects and the eventual publication of this monograph.

I am also grateful to the students from the University of Alberta who took part in the study on poetry interpretation, and to the many poets from all around the world who have so generously shared their insights on the meanings and functions of poetic metaphors with me, and who granted me permission to reprint the poems analyzed in this monograph. I am particularly grateful to James Arthur who has always been on hand with help and advice. Another special thank you goes out to Robert Kleindienst whose poem + 143 − serves as the Epigraph to this book.

For a decade, I have considered myself fortunate in calling the University of Klagenfurt my second home. It has allowed me to grow personally and professionally and presented me with precious relationships. In particular, I would like to thank Friederike Wall who has been supporting me in my networking and the realization of various international and interdisciplinary projects, and who is now sharing my fascination with metaphors. Additionally, the many scholarships that had been awarded to me by my university enabled me to attend international conferences and conduct research stays at the University of California, Santa Barbara, at Lancaster University, UK, and at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. My last two years as a doctoral student were funded by the Austrian Academy of Sciences. I am thankful for all the support.

In addition, I am grateful to the Association for Researching and Applying Metaphor (RaAM) for giving scholars the opportunity to meet and explore the precious complexities of metaphor. I am so happy to be friends with many members of this wonderful group of outstanding researchers. Jeannette Littlemore, in particular, has been incredibly supportive and inspiring throughout.

Furthermore, my heartfelt gratitude goes out to my friends and family for their emotional and intellectual support. I am very thankful to my best friend Iris van der Horst for always being there for me and making me laugh. To my parents, Lilija and Robert Rasse, I am immensely grateful for their love and understanding. Nothing would have been possible without them.

Last but not least, I thank Esther Roth, the acquisitions editor of John Benjamins, and the series editors Angeliki Athanasiadou and Herb Colston for their feedback, guidance, encouragement, and for giving my book a home.