"In this extraordinary collection, I found a letter written on the day my son was conceived. His moment to choose earth, ours to choose heaven. In the travel between dialogues, between the lessons in these letters, maybe our past gets revealed as students floating in the other's eye." — Edwin Torres
Contemporary Poetry, Poetics, and Letters
"... I do wish to cause a flurry, to divert or subvert the poet's riveted attention away from the worship of any stylish cookie-cutter vocabulary or self-important drone that seems, too often of late, to precede or diminish a certain spirit of investigatory delight in doing what we do best."
— Kathleen Fraser, in her letter to Patrick Pritchett in Letters to Poets
Eugene Lang College Syllabus
Course Description:
In this course we will consider both the poet as an individual and poets as a community.
As we examine the poet as an individual we will explore questions such as: What does it mean to be a poet? How are one's aesthetics determined? What methodologies does one use to conceptualize and craft a poem? How might political/cultural/personal events inform one's work? What writers inform one's work? What poetic and other challenges confront contemporary poets?
In examining ideas about poetry communities, we will explore such questions as: What makes a poetry community? How do communities develop? What dialogues/activities occur there? How can a poetry community be inclusive of diverse and possibly conflicting cultures, ideas, aesthetics and politics? Should it be?
To further these inquiries, we will study Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet and the recent anthology, Letters to Poets: Conversations about Poetics, Politics and Community. Through discussion of the poems and letters of Rilke, and contemporary poets including Anne Waldman, Eileen Myles, Quincy Troupe, Victor Hernández Cruz and Wanda Coleman, we will look at their individual and communal struggles and concerns. These will include poetry as activism, the constructs of a mentoring relationship, the cultivation of poetry and poets within academia, and poetry in relation to race, class and gender. We will also create our own poems, poetics, letters and dialogues in response to this work.
Ultimately, this course will challenge, extend and further develop your techniques, processes and practices in order to better inform your writing. In addition, your critical and analytical thinking skills will be honed through the discussions and critiques of contemporary poems and poetics.
Attendance & Participation:
Attendance is mandatory. There will be a 1/3 grade reduction for each unexcused absence (A to A-, A- to B+, etc.) up to three, and an automatic failure at four. Three tardies will count as one absence. If you have an emergency, you should contact me prior to your absence.
Course Requirements:
-
Workshops: 3 workshops per student. You must distribute your poems at the beginning of the class prior to your assigned workshop day, with process notes attached to your poem. Comments about a classmate's poem should be written before the workshop. Your workshop poem must be based on one of the assigned poetry experiments. There are no make-ups for workshops. Missing a workshop will negatively impact your final grade.
-
Poetry Experiments: Creative exercises that correspond to the weekly readings. Please post your experiments weekly on Blackboard.
-
Portfolio: Include (1) a folder that incorporates all of the assigned poetry experiments with revisions for each experiment (revisions should be marked "Revision" and be placed in front of previous drafts. (2) a chapbook of final poems in an order that suits the work best, along with a poetics statement about your work. You can include additional poems of yours (not from this class) in this chapbook. All of your work should be clean and presentable, as if being submitted for publication.
-
Reading Notebook: Weekly responses to the assigned readings. This notebook will be collected twice.
-
3 Reviews of Poetry Readings
-
Letter and presentation: You will be writing a 2-5 page letter to an assigned classmate about his/her work and presenting your "research" about it.
-
Facilitation of Discussion: You will be responsible for leading a class discussion.
-
Participation: Because this is a seminar-style course, it is important that we use the classroom as a shared community space. Participation is 15% of your grade, so active engagement in large and small group discussions, workshops and poetry experiments is extremely important and necessary.
Grading:
|
20% |
|
10% |
|
10% |
|
35% |
|
10% |
|
15% |
Plagiarism:
Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of someone else's work as one's own in all forms of academic endeavor (such as essays, theses, examinations, research data, creative projects, etc), intentional or unintentional. Plagiarized material may be derived from a variety of sources, such as books, journals, internet postings, student or faculty papers, etc. This includes the purchase or "outsourcing" of written assignments for a course. A detailed definition of plagiarism in research and writing can be found in the fourth edition of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, pages 26-29. Procedures concerning allegations of plagiarism and penalties are set forth in the Lang catalog.
Disabilities:
In keeping with the University's policy of providing equal access for students with disabilities, any student requesting accommodations must first meet with Student Disability Services. Jason Luchs or a designee from that office will meet with students requesting accommodations and related services, and if appropriate, provide an Academic Adjustment Notice for the student to provide to his or her instructors. The instructor is required to review the letter with the student and discuss the accommodations, provided the student brings the letter to the attention of the instructor. This letter is necessary in order for classroom accommodations to be provided. Student Disability Services is located at 79 Fifth Avenue - 5th Floor. The phone number is (212) 229-5626. Students and faculty are expected to review the Student Disability Services webpage. The webpage can be found at http://www.newschool.edu/studentaffairs/disability and the office is available to answer any questions or concerns.
Schedule:
Week One
T 1/27: Introduction
Th 1/29: Rilke's "Duino Elegy One" / Presentation of Students' Poems
Poetry Experiment: After reading Rilke's poem, write your own elegy.
Week Two
T 2/3: Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet / Workshop One
Th 2/5: Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet / Workshop Two
Poetry Experiment: Write an epistle to a poet about his/her work, describing how it has influenced you. If you like you can respond directly to a specific poem by this poet.
Week Three
T 2/10: Berrigan's & Yau's Poems / Workshop Three
Th 2/12: Letters to Poets—Berrigan's & Yau's Letters / Workshop Four
Poetry Experiment: Write a poem that is destabilized by its shifting speakers and subjects–a journey of sorts that teeters on the bizarre. Review John Yau's poems and consider this statement from his letters: "... It might be that one is trying to write a poem addressed to all the voices (manifestations) one hears in one's head."
Weblinks to Berrigan's and Yau's Poetry:
http://www.coconutpoetry.org/aberrigan1.htm (read "To K")
Killer Wig Out
Russian Letter
Lost Love Song of The Ice Cream Truck
Week Four
T 2/17: Coultas' & Cruz' Poems / Workshop Five
Th 2/19: Letters to Poets— Coultas' & Cruz's Letters
Poetry Experiment: After reading the poems of Victor Hernández Cruz and Brenda Coultas, write a poem about place referring to as many specific aspects about this place as possible. Consider incorporating colloquialisms, overheard dialogue, adages, folklore and myths about this place. In addition, you might want to include specific details about the physical landscape, the local politics and the religions and cultures within this place.
Weblinks to Coultas' and Cruz's Poetry:
http://www.kickingwind.com/71906.html (Read "Born Eye," the poem listed below the interview)
http://www.fascicle.com/issue02/poems/coultas1.htm (There are four poems here, you need to turn the pages)
The Lower East Side of Manhattan
Problems with Hurricanes
Cruz's Website:
http://www.victorhernandezcruz.com/main.htm
Week Five
2/24: Tran's & Coleman's Poems / Workshop Six
2/26: Letters to Poets—Tran's & Coleman's Letters
Poetry Experiment: Write a poem that interrogates the concept of identity while simultaneously using a formal constraint (e.g. See the "jazz sonnets" by Wanda Coleman, or Truong Tran's poem "eight margins."). Think about how your interrogation around identity might relate to the formal constraint you choose.
Weblinks to Tran's and Coleman's Poetry:
Eight Margins
From Perceptions
American Sonnet (10)
American Sonnet (35)
In That Other Fantasy Where We Live Forever
Week Six
T 3/3: Pritchett's & Fraser's Poems / Workshop Seven
Th 3/5: Letters to Poets— Pritchett's & Fraser's Letters
Poetry Experiment: Write your own exphrasis poem using an image that you find compelling. See Kathleen Fraser's description of a photograph in the beginning of her first letter.
Weblinks to Prtichett's and Fraser's Poetry:
A Song of Degrees (The Union of the Tablets)
The Real Real
re:searches
http://epc.buffalo.edu/authors/fraser/wing.html
HOW2
Week Seven
T 3/10: Ghori's & Arteaga's Poems / Group Workshop One
Th 3/12: Letters to Poets— Ghori's & Arteaga's Letters
Poetry Experiment: In response to Hajera Ghori's and Alfred Arteaga's poetry, write a speculative poem about faith, religion and/or spirituality.
Weblinks to Arteaga's and Ghori's Poetry:
Illumination Mine
Canto Primero. Arrival
Week Eight
T 3/24: Firestone's & Myles' Poems & Letters / Group Workshop Two
Th 3/26: Guest Speaker: Eileen Myles
Poetry Experiment: Write a poem that travels musically and tonally down the page in a fluid and organic manner (think of Eileen Myles' poems), yet allow for rifts, tensions, transitions, transformations, entanglements, fragments, surprises and detours to unfold as the poem progresses.
Weblinks to Firestone's and Myles' Poetry:
http://www.marclweber.com/sugarmule/19frame.htm
http://www.mipoesias.com/Poetry/firestone_jennifer.html
http://chax.org/eoagh/issue3/issuethree/myles.html
http://www.eileenmyles.net/poems.htm
D.H.
Myles' Website:
http://www.eileenmyles.com/home.html
Week Nine
T 3/31: Weiser's & Waldman's Poems / Group Workshop Three
Th 4/2: Letters to Poets— Weiser's & Waldman's Letters
Poetry Experiment: Considering the poems of Karen Weiser and Anne Waldman, observe and research the animal world, and write from or about animals' perspectives. Think about how your diction, imagery, and rhythm might adapt to shaping an animal's perspective.
Weblinks to Weiser's and Waldman's Poetry:
Four Poems
http://www.mipoesias.com/April2004/weiser.htm
Cabin
Manatee/Humanity
Week Ten
T 4/7: Magi's & Vicuña's Poems / Workshop One
Th 4/9: Letters to Poets— Magi's & Vicuna's Letters / Workshop Two
Poetry Experiment: After reviewing Cecilia Vicuña's poetry, research the origin of a word and use your research to write an exploratory poem about this word.
Weblinks to Magi's and Vicuña's Poetry:
Text andIimages
Shadowtrain
The Origin of Weaving
Origin of Weaving (Variation)
http://wings.buffalo.edu/epc/rift/rift04/vicu0401.html
Magi's and Vicuña's Websites:
http://sites.google.com/site/jillmagi
http://www.ceciliavicuna.org
Week Eleven
T 4/14: Gourdine's & Troupe's Poems / Workshop Three
Th 4/16: Letters to Poets— Gourdine's & Troupe's Letters
Poetry Experiment: In their letters, Traci Gourdine and Quincy Troupe write extensively about the impact of music, particularly jazz, on their poetry. Choose any piece of music without lyrics and let the sounds influence both the form and content of a poem you write. Please bring a copy of your musical selection to class.
Weblinks to Gourdine's and Troupe's Poetry:
Traci Gourdine reads at the Multicultura
The Day Duke Raised: May 24th, 1974
After Hearing a Radio Announcement
Father Faith
Untitled
We Went Home After This
Week Twelve
T 4/21: Scalapino's & Goldman's Poems / Workshop Four
Th 4/23: Letters to Poets— Scalapino's & Goldman's Letters / Workshop Five
Poetry Experiment: In Letters, Leslie Scalapino writes of "the relation of writing to events." In Scalapino's work, the actual event of writing and the events that one is writing about aren't separate entities. Using only found texts, piece together a poem in which you write the events of/in your world as you encounter them.
Weblinks to Goldman's and Scalapino's Poetry:
I am in Disguise
Krupskaya PDF
DeLay Rose
Avril
http://www.obooks.com
Week Thirteen
T 4/28: King's & Cortez's Poems & Letters / Workshop Six
Th 4/30: Class Project
Poetry Experiment: Jayne Cortez and Rosamond S. King are influenced by many art genres: the visual arts, dance, music, etc. Choose one art form and investigate a technique or element of the discipline to inform your approach and the development of a poem.
Weblinks to Cortez's Poetry:
Jayne Cortez: Online Poems
Jazz Fan Looks Back
Talking About New Orleans
Link to King's Poetry
Algorithms
By the Rivers of Babylon
King's and Cortez' Websites:
http://rosamondking.com/home.html
http://www.jaynecortez08.com
Week Fourteen
T 5/5: Retallack's & Iijima's Poems / Workshop Five
Th 5/7: Letters to Poets— Retallack's & Iijima's Letters / Workshop Six
Poetry Experiment: After reading Brenada Iijima's and Joan Retallack's poetry, write a poem blasted from/based on the worlds of technology, medicine and/or science.
Weblinks to Iijima's and Retallack's Poetry:
http://www.dusie.org/iijima.html
http://www.toolamagazine.com/Iijima.html
Family Guide to the Splendors of
Más Preguntas
Iijima's Website:
http://yoyolabs.com
Week Fifteen
T 5/12: Lomax's & Braz-Valentine's Poems / Workshop Seven
Th 5/14: Letters to Poets— Lomax's & Braz-Valentine's Letters / Revision Workshop
Poetry Experiment: Using Claire Braz-Valentine's work as an example, write a political poem to a prominent public figure.
Weblinks to Lomax's and Valentine's Poetry:
http://www.shampoopoetry.com/ShampooEighteen/lomax.html
http://www.dusie.org/lomax.html
An Open Letter to John Ashcroft, Attorney General of the United States
Braz-Valentine's Website:
http://www.brazvalentine.net
Week Sixteen
T 5/19: DeSilver's & Hoover's Poems & Letters
Th 5/21: Class Reading
Poetry Experiment: Make up a false translation for a poem in another language using the sound or the look of the words to arrive at its new meaning in English.
Weblinks to DeSilver's and Hoover's Poetry:
http://www.coconutpoetry.org/desilver1.htm
See Albert's Armhole Feller in the Letters
Poem in Spanish
Paul Hoover's Poetry Blog
DeSilver's and Hoover's Websites:
http://www.theowlpress.com/desilver.html
http://www.paulhooverpoetry.blogspot.com