ENGL
4/5210-02W
Advanced
Creative Writing/Poetry
Dr. Gregory Fraser
W
Office Location: 2242 TLC
Office Phone: 678-839-4856
Office
Hours: MW
Prerequisite: ENGL 3200.
May be taken for 3 hours of WAC requirement.
Course Description
Strong poetry grows from, converses with, and revises other strong poetry. With that in mind, we will read and discuss the work of established poets who write in a variety of styles, from a range of cultural and aesthetic backgrounds. These writers will include Elizabeth Bishop and Derek Walcott, Lorna Dee Cervantes and Fernando Pessoa, Gwendolyn Brooks and Wislawa Szymborska, Frank O’Hara, Sylvia Plath, Robert Penn Warren, and Ai, among many others.
Poets such as these can teach us a great deal about craft; about the intellectually rigorous ways in which the poetic imagination can engage with and transform the world; and about that restless, endlessly revisionary process of discovering one’s authentic poetic voice (or voices).
In group workshop sessions, students will offer constructive comments to, and receive them from, their peers. I intend to foster an atmosphere of energetic dialogue between students, and between their own poetic efforts and the wider universe of poems written in or translated into English. We will also study some of the majors tenets of romanticism, modernism, and postmodernism—those historical, philosophical, and literary “isms” that underlie the composition of serious poetry in our moment.
In addition to the in-class workshopping of texts, students will have frequent opportunity to meet with me individually for one-on-one discussion and critique. You will also be assigned a “questioning partner” (details to follow).
Texts
By the
end of the term, each student will purchase at least five poetry books of his
or her choosing and offer an in-class oral rationale for these selections.
Strongly Recommended Texts
The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Verse, ed. J. D. McClatchy
The Vintage Book of Contemporary World Poetry, ed. J. D. McClatchy
Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary (or comparable).
Roget's International Thesaurus (or comparable).
Required Materials
2-inch three-ring binder
Three-hole punch
Small notebook or memo pad—a constant companion
Learning Outcomes
with issues of poetic
technique.
Each member of the class will ultimately produce a chapbook of at least ten poems and write a critical introduction situating his or her work in the larger context of contemporary verse.
By the end of the semester, you will have worked in a variety of poetic modes, but the first movement of the course will concentrate on mastering the fundamentals of effective creative writing—including concrete vs. abstract language, innovative association, improv-ing, triggering sites, and so forth. The goal of the first part of the course is to create a poem or two that not only “coheres” but also “matters.” To help facilitate this goal, we will read a great deal of contemporary poetry. William Butler Yeats’s famous quote—“A style is found by sedentary toil and by the imitation of great masters”—will be one guiding principle you’ll be encouraged to heed.
During the semester, as I start to gain a firmer grasp on your individual aesthetic leanings and poetic interests, I will begin customizing assignments for each student. You each will also develop three assignments to be distributed to your peers. In addition, there will be periodic homework assignments, one of which will be to compile poetry guidelines from five literary journals.
Audio-Visual Components
There
will be a strong audio-visual component to this course, as well. Students will
study videos about major poets, listen to a great deal of recited poetry, and
create audio-video projects that promote the study and composition of poetry. As
the class unfolds, we will work together to select assignments and establish
due dates for the following audio-visual elements:
* viewing videos about poets and poetry
* small group production of DVD
* production of a tape or CD of a favorite book
* memorizations from distributed tapes
* audio improvs
* videotaped poet on the witness stand project
* slide-show assignments (images, history, music)
* student-designed pedagogy using A-V or internet technology
* student-designed A-V guest lecturer
Quests and Final Exam
In order to assess the progress of your thinking about
poetry writing and modern thought, and to gauge the depth with which you are
approaching the assigned readings, I will “quest” you periodically. (A quest is
a cross between a quiz and a test.) There will also be a final exam in which
you will address central concepts and concerns covered during the term.
Grading
I will determine grades by the following criteria:
* final chapbook with critical introduction 40%
* written and audio-visual assignments 30%
* quests and final exam 20%
* class participation, homework, miscellaneous 10%
of poetics, assigned readings, and larger philosophical questions
about language and the writing life
Your regular presence and participation in this class is a vital part of its success. The policy on absences is as follows: you are allotted two absences before your final grade begins to suffer. If you suspect that outside responsibilities might cause you to miss more than two classes, then you should probably consider dropping the course and taking it at another time. The penalties for missing more than two classes are: three absences—drops one final grade (e.g., from A to B); four absences—drops two final grades (e.g., from B to D); five absences—automatic failure of the class.
Academic Honesty
At
In this class, we will function as a community of writers and thinkers, sharing ideas and commenting on each other’s work. Plagiarism (broadly defined as passing off someone else’s work as your own) constitutes grounds for failure of the assignment in question, possible failure of the course, and the potential for further reprimands by the university.
A word about group critique. Workshops must combine honest praise with thoughtful criticism. Achieving a balance between the two means going beyond the superficial when reading a classmate’s work. All observations must be backed up by clear evidence and detailed analysis, rather than merely intuitive “I like it” or “I don’t like it” responses. Strive to make your insights constructive, never destructive, and approach your classmates’ texts with the respect that is their due. Remember that you will want specific, careful comments from others when your work is being discussed; offer the same to your fellow writers.
Grading Chart
A+ = 98
A = 95
A- = 92
B+ = 88
B = 85
B- = 82
C+ = 78
C = 75
C- = 72
D+ = 68
D = 65
D- = 62
F = No credit.
At times, I will assign “split” grades to indicate work that falls between two standard grading categories. For example, a student might receive a B+/A- grade, which translates mathematically to a 90.
(Subject to change at my discretion.)