ENGL 200-01, Introduction to Poetry Writing, Fall 2010

Abstract

In this workshop we will read, discuss, write, and revise poetry. But what is poetry? What is it about? How does it behave? What are its different breeds? And what are the generally held standards of excellence? These are the questions that will guide our class—how to define your own poetry as you write it and how to develop our own aesthetic. To do this, we will read a lot of post-war contemporary poetry to ascertain its breadth of style and subject, and to see how other writers solved these same problems. You will also write a lot of poetry—springing both from your own ideas and from several exercises and formal prompts I will give you. And you will present this work to the class, which we will discuss in a workshop format, looking at each poem to discern how it works and how well it works—what it’s trying to communicate and why it’s communicating it in this specific form. Throughout the semester, we will compile a working definition of what makes a successful poem. Our Typical Week: What we won’t read in this class is a standard practical poetry handbook, outlining different techniques. Instead, I will supplement the class with technical info and mini-lectures, leaving us more time to concentrate on actual poetry, both from your peers and from other published poets. I will tend to insert this craft-technique info on Mondays. Also, Mondays and Wednesdays will generally be devoted to reading and critiquing the poetry from the Vintage anthology and the individual collections. Fridays will be frequently devoted to workshopping your poetry, with the class divided into four workshop groups. (More info on this below.)