English 100P - Fall, 2011

Creative Writing: Poetry

Class Information

Instructor: Clover, Joshua
Time: TR 6:10-7:30
Location: 156 Voorhies

Description

This course has one basic interest: writing poetry in ways that do not accept, implicitly or explicitly, the main conventions of the era. We proceed from the assumption that we have all inherited habits and rules, even if we don't know it. The goal is to uncover and unlearn these things, to increase the possibility of more autonomous choice in the writing process. We will pursue this with singleminded persistence, in our own weekly writing (often via specific assignments, in discussion, and in our regular reading of contemporary poetry. There will also be some brief critical responses to readings.

Grading

Grading is entirely based on one's participation in the collective enterprise: weekly attendance and thoughtful, engaged, carefully prepared response to peer work and other assignments, and timely submission of all assignments including final portfolio. If you're not interested in discussing poetry and related issues seriously in a group, this may not be the course for you. No one will be graded on perceived artistic merit.

Texts

Poems for the Millennium Vol.II, Rotherberg & Joris,eds