ENG 580: Poetry Writing
Joseph T. Thomas, Jr.
email: jtthomas@mail.sdsu.edu
Class Meetings: 2:00-3:15PM Tues & Thurs
Office: AL 245
Class Room: HH-150
Phone: (619)-594-8430
Office Hours: Tues: 3:30-4:30PM; Wed: 1:30-3:30PM; (& by appointment)
!!!! IMPORTANT: Online Schedule !!!!
(Note: As our course is a writing class, our schedule is tentative and open-ended, so as to allow us to organically respond to the class's needs and interests. This schedule, then, may be revised often. So revisit often.)
The men on the hill, they say, 'learn the rules, then break them.' I like to 'think the reverse' wherever possible and even if not: break 'em enough times you won't have to learn 'em, or the rules will have changed, or you will change them, or make up your own rules and don't follow those either, anyway whose rules are they? I didn't see the signs, musta missed them in the duststorm, or as we say in Medias Res (Medias Res, Nevada) - rope 'em and then learn 'em, shoot 'em and then cook 'em (chop up fine before marinating indefinitely), float jerkily and carry a Bic pen at all times, where am I? Is this my fear/or did I just step into the public sphere?, are you there Mordred? Give me your tired Tuxes, your tattered nabobs of oligarchy yearning to Keep Smut Off the Net, thank your Senator Exxon the open spaces around here were scaring me, how many syllables can you fit on the head of a pin cushion? What's that spell, Mario? Who are you calling a verse? That's not what I meant y'all, not what I meant at all.
--"The Revenge of the Poet-Critic, or The Parts are Greater Than the Sum of the Whole," from My Way, Speeches and Poems University of Chicago Press, 1999.
| In this course we will be reading and writing poetry and poetry-like things. Expect to engage both conventional and experimental poetic forms, and, in the process, complicate and expand your notions of what poetry is. We will not "workshop" our poems, per se, but we will read them to each other and talk about what we are trying to accomplish and how we might better accomplish those ends. |
Texts (required):
The Tapeworm Foundry: andor the dangerous prevalence of imagination
Darren Wershler-Henry
$10.95
# Publisher: House Of Anansi (April 1, 2000)
# Language: English
# ISBN-10: 0887846521
# ISBN-13: 978-0887846526Exercises in Style
Raymond Queneau
$12.95
# Publisher: New Directions Publishing Corporation; 2nd edition (February 1981)
# Language: English
# ISBN-10: 0811207897
# ISBN-13: 978-0811207898Rhyme's Reason: A Guide to English Verse
Donald Hall
$11.95
# Publisher: Yale University Press; 3rd edition (March 1, 2001)
# Language: English
# ISBN-10: 0300088329
# ISBN-13: 978-0300088328Exaltation of Forms: Contemporary Poets Celebrate the Diversity of Their Art
Annie Ridley Crane Finch & Kathrine Varnes
$25.95
# Publisher: University of Michigan Press (February 20, 2002)
# Language: English
# ISBN-10: 0472067257
# ISBN-13: 978-0472067251Online Texts:
Craig Douglas Dworkin, The UBUWEB: Anthology of Conceptual Writing
Late Work:
Work will be turned in on the date due or not at all. We all have schedules, and it is imperative that we keep to them. However, I am not completely draconian. In extreme cases I may accept late work, but don't count on it.
Assignments/Grade Distribution:
25%: Participation/In-Class Writings
15%: Prepared Writings
20%: Traditional Formal Poems (10% each)
40%: Final Portfolio
Participation/In-Class Writings: (25%)
I expect you to come to class with something to say. In addition to researching the authors we read, think about when they were publishing, reacquaint yourself with historical context that surrounds them, their works' reception, etc. Make connections between the content of this course and others you have taken, and apply whatever theoretical, philosophical, or pedagogical rubrics you feel are appropriate (check out the poetry and theory links on my links page. And use print sources as well. The library is a wonderful place).
We will also be doing a great deal of writing in class. This writing cannot be made up. Your “Participation/In-Class Writings” grade has three components: the writing itself, your willingness to engage with the writing of your classmates, and your willingness to share and discuss your own writing. All writings that you prepare for class are public writings. So don't produce anything you feel uncomfortable sharing with me or your classmates.
Prepared Writings: (15%)
‘Prepared Writing’ refers to any writing prepared out of class. We will discuss these works as a class and in small groups. All prepared writing, unless I say otherwise, is to be typed.
Traditional, Formal Poems (10% each)
Over the semester you will produce two traditional, formal poems of at least 14 lines. The choice of the form you use is largely up to you: "largely," because I must approve your choices. You will turn in the poem along with a description of the formal characteristics of the form and a short discussion of its history, mentioning famous (or at least notable) uses of the form by other writers. The description and history will take the shape of a short, approximately two page (500-700 words) bit of prose, paragraphed and written in conventional English. In this introduction you may also discuss particular problems or challenges or joys you experienced while writing the piece. Also, include two typed examples of the form written by other authors. (Don't cheat on this: typing out someone else's work--especially formal work--can help you internalize formal techniques. Don't just cut and paste.)
The first formal poem must be submitted to me, typed, on or before March 9th; the second must be submitted to me on or before April 27.
Final Portfolio: (40%)
Your final portfolio will be a collection of representative works you've produced for our class. You will be writing poems and performing exercises throughout the semester, and any of these are fair game for the portfolio. We'll discuss the portfolio more as the semester progresses.
Your portfolio will also include your two formal poems and commentary, as well as a critical, reflective introduction. More on this as the semester progresses.