ENG 371RWR 00P Creative Writing: Poetry Monday 2-5 p



ENG 304 Section 32658: Introduction to Poetry Writing

Spring Semester 2010

Tuesdays 4:30 - 6:50 p.m. ; VKC 209

Cecilia Woloch, Instructor (E-mail: woloch@usc.edu)

Office: THH-442

Office Hours: Tuesdays, 2 to 4:15 p.m.

Required Texts:

The Discovery of Poetry: A Field Guide to Reading and Writing Poems by Frances Mayes

Hip Logic by Terrence Hayes

Optional Text: Best American Poetry 2005, edited by Paul Muldoon & David Lehman

Description: This course will be run as a workshop for students with a serious interest in writing poetry and a desire to learn the craft through the study of literary models and experimentation with a variety of styles and approaches. We'll read extensively from contemporary poetry and from a text on craft. Reading assignments have been designed to facilitate and complement a series of writing exercises, which will utilize free-verse as well as traditional/received and invented forms, and encourage creative risk-taking. Students are expected to bring copies of writing assignments to class on the day assignments are due, to participate in class discussions of reading assignments, and to respond to one another's creative work with constructive criticism that shows an increasing grasp of the elements of craft. Each student will produce a final portfolio of poems written and revised over the course of the semester.

Jan. 12: Class introductions; discussion of syllabus

In-Class Writing Exercise: Wordplay

Reading Assignment: Purchase required texts (also available for order from ). Read from Mayes text, "Invitation” (foreword): also read first half of Hip Logic (to pg. 36).

Writing Assignment: “Gram of &’s” poem; bring copies (12) to next class.

Jan. 19: Discuss reading assignment; workshop “Gram of &’s” poems

In-Class Writing Exercise (time permitting): 1-page autobiography

Reading Assignment: Mayes, Chapter 1, "Sources and Approaches," and poems (to page 24); second half of Hip Logic; handouts by Ferlingetti, Ashberry, et al

Writing Assignment: Autobiographical poem; bring copies (12) to next class.

Jan. 26: Discuss reading assignment; workshop autobiographical poems (first half)

Reading Assignment: Mayes, Chapter 2, “Texture and Sound,” to pg. 50; second half of autobiographical poems. Make written comments on poems and bring two copies of your comments on each poem to the next class.

Feb. 2: Discuss reading assignment; workshop second half of autobiographical poems

In-class writing exercise: Pure description (sans simile, metaphor)

Reading Assignment: Mayes, Chapter 3, “Images: The Perceptual Field;” and poems on pages 109-115 and 130-137; from Best American Poetry (or handouts) poems by Nurske, Karr, Compton, Hirshfield.

Writing Assignment: Metaphor Poem/ "The Beach of My Mom”

Feb. 9: Discuss reading assignment; workshop first half of metaphor poems

Reading Assignment: Mayes, Chapter 4, “The Speaker: The Eye of the Poem;” read second half of Metaphor Poems and make written comments; bring two copies of your comments on each poem to the next class.

Feb. 16: Discuss reading assignment; workshop metaphor poems (second half) In-class exercise: "Why I Am Not a Painter"; read aloud "Somnambule Ballade"

Reading assignment: Mayes, Chapter 5, "Rhyme and Repetition;" from Best American Poetry (or handouts) poems by Bowman and Wilbur; handouts/poems by Alberti, St. John, et. al.

Writing assignment: Color/Obsession Poem

Feb. 23: Discuss reading assignment; workshop color poems (first half)

Reading Assignment for Week Seven: Mayes, Chapter 6: “Meter,” to pg. 253; second half of color poems and make written comments.

Mar. 2: Workshop Color poems (second half)

Discussion of meter; evolution of accentual/syllabic system of verse-making

In-class exercise: collaborative poem in the Anglo-Saxon manner; collaborative sonnet; collaborative rap/hip-hop/performance poem

Reading Assignment: Mayes, Chapter 7: “Free Verse;” handouts by Whitman (from “Song of Myself”), Ginsberg (“Howl” and “A Supermarket in California”), “Blues” poems by Trethewey and Young.

Impt: Bring copies of “Howl” to next week’s class.

Writing Assignment: A poem “to be read & sung” – i.e., to be performed. You need only bring two copies of the text to next week’s class – one for yourself and one for the instructor – but you should come prepared to read your poem out loud in as dynamic a manner as possible. Musical accompaniment is encouraged!

Mar. 9: Guest Poet (TBA)

Performances of poems to-be-read-and sung; critique by class.

Read “Howl” aloud as a class; discuss.

Reading Assignment: handouts (Ginsberg's "America;" Coleman's "Angel Baby Blues;" Kearney's "Creed;" Christina Lovin's "I Believe")

Writing Assignment due March 23: Catalogue Poem/Rant/Manifesto

Mar. 16: Spring Break (no class meeting)

Mar. 23: Discuss performance and readings. Workshop catalogue/rant poems (first half)

Reading Assignment: Mayes Chapter 8, "Traditional and Open Forms;" second half of Catalogue/Rant poems and make written comments.

Mar. 30: Workshop catalogue/rant poems (second half)

Discuss traditional/received forms

Reading Assignment: handouts on the pantoum, the villanelle and the sestina, with model poems.

Writing Assignment: formal poem (chose one of the above forms)

Apr. 6: Workshop formal poems (first half)

Reading assignment: Mayes, Chapter 11, “A Poet’s Handbook;”

second half of formal poems and make written comments.

Early dismissal (6 p.m.) to attend reading at downtown Library

Apr.13: No Class Meeting; begin assembling materials for final portfolio and schedule conference with instructor, if needed, for week of April 19.

Apr. 20: Discuss reading. Workshop formal poems (second half)

Discuss revision strategies; discuss portfolio requirements (see below*)

Writing Assignment: assemble final portfolio

Apr. 27: Last class meeting: turn in final portfolios; class party/poetry reading

CLASS POLICIES:

Please be on time for class and keep up with the reading assignments, which have been designed to complement the writing assignments.

Please bring all pertinent texts with you to every class meeting, along with all copies of hand-outs — especially the class poems for that week’s workshop.

You are responsible for typing your poems and for bringing copies for everyone in the class on the date each assignment is due. You are also responsible for offering your classmates constructive criticism on their work, both in class discussions and by way of written comments on their poems.

Absences: Because this class functions as a workshop, attendance and participation are of paramount importance. More than one absence will lower your grade. If you are absent when poems are handed out, it is your responsibility to obtain copies of the poems for discussion before the next class meeting, and to have prepared written comments on those poems.

Each week that a new writing assignment is due, we will distribute copies of your poems and workshop approximately half of them. The other half of the poems must be read before the next class meeting, and written comments – approximately one paragraph, 150 – 250 words – should be prepared and brought to class. Your comments should be typed, and should include your name and the name of the poem under discussion as well as its author. Bring two copies of your comments on each poem to the next class meeting: one to refer to during the discussion and to give to the author of the poem; the other to be handed in to me. You should also keep copies of your comments to include with your final portfolio. Your comments should provide evidence that you’ve read your classmates’ work carefully, and that you’ve read and understood the assigned readings on aspects of composition and craft. If you miss a class, it’s your responsibility to get copies of classmates’ poems and submit comments in a timely fashion. Failure to do so will lower your grade.

*You are required to turn in a portfolio of your work at the end of the semester, including all assigned poems (a total of 6 poems), with substantive revisions of at least two of those poems (attach revision to original and indicate which is which), as well as copies of the comments you made on your classmates’ poems and typed (but unrevised) versions of in-class writing exercises. Final portfolios MUST be submitted by the last class meeting; an electronic version of your portfolio may be submitted in lieu of a hard copy if received by the instructor via e-mail as a Word doc attachment no later than noon on April 27.

Your final grade will be determined by:

1). Class attendance and participation in workshop discussions/written comments - 30%

2). On-time completion of writing and reading assignments - 30%

3). Final portfolio - 40%

More than one unexcused absence from class will lower your grade by -

2nd absence: 1/2 letter grade (i.e., a B becomes a B-)

3rd absence: another full letter grade (i.e., the original B becomes a C-)

4 unexcused absences are possible grounds for failure

An absence will be excused if you present me with a note from a physician or from student health services within 2 weeks of the absence. In order for an absence to be excused, you must also obtain copies of all poems that were workshopped during the session you missed, make written comments on the texts, and hand them in to me within two weeks of your absence. You must also make sure that your classmates receive poems you should have submitted for any workshop sessions you missed, and ask them to make comments on your texts and suggestions for revision.

Please speak up during class discussions. Attending class but failing to participate in discussions may lower your final grade by as much as one half letter grade.

Failure to turn in your final portfolio by the due date may be grounds for failure.

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