Advanced Poetry Writing (306-0-20)
Instructors
Charif Shanahan
Meeting Info
University Hall 418: Mon, Wed 12:30PM - 1:50PM
Overview of class
A combination of seminar and workshop. In this advanced poetry workshop, we will read deeply and write frequently, focusing on the fundamental elements of poetic craft, including imagery, metaphor and simile, line, stanza, music, rhythm, diction, and tone. The course reading will consist primarily of work by contemporary poets exploring the intersections of cultural identity, nationhood, race, gender, and sexuality. As we study how their poems are built, we will also consider the ways in which, and the reasons why, these poets are indebted and/or resistant to the poetry of the past, paying special attention to the ways in which poets are in dialogue, through their work, over time and space, shaping their poems in response to those of others.
Our meetings will consist alternately of performing close readings of selected poems and of workshopping student writing. In the process, we will read as writers, clarifying our sense of what a poem is and where ours might come from; deepening our comprehension of poetic craft and tradition; and further developing the critical language with which to discuss your poems and the poems of others, in service of writing your strongest, most fully realized poems.
Teaching Method
A mixture of workshop and discussion of assigned reading.
Evaluation Method
Process Essay drafts/weekly poem assignments - 20%
Ability to Critique/Class Participation - 20%
Presentation/Leading Discussion - 20%
Final Portfolio: journal, 6-8 poems, final essay - 40%
(Reading Journal - 20%)
(Poems and final craft/process essay - 20%)
Class Materials (Required)
PDFs of poems prepared by the instructor, critical guides/handouts, craft essays, and the creative work of other students, all distributed via Canvas. Students will be responsible for presenting one full-length collection by a contemporary poet that they obtain on their own.
Enrollment Requirements
Enrollment Requirements: Prerequisite: ENGLISH 206-0, ENGLISH 207-0, ENGLISH 208-0, or Department consent.