English 416-001
Poetry Workshop
Instr: Firer, Susan
Office: CRT 576; 229-6993
e-mail: sfirer@uwm.edu
Office hours: MW; 2:00-3:00pm
Course Information: MW; 12:30-1:45pm; CRT 284
Course Description
Richard Hugo writes, "I've come to believe that one learns to write only by writing." While I share Hugo's belief, I also believe one learns strategies of writing from reading. The concentration in the 416 Poetry Workshop will, therefore, be twofold: we will read, listen, and respond to/critique students' writings, and we will also read and discuss established writers' works found in the class texts and in literary periodicals. When Raymond Carver took Creative Writing 101, his instructor John Gardner told him that literary periodicals were "where most of the best fiction in the country and just about all of the poetry was appearing." We will study literary periodicals in order to observe the diversity of contemporary poetry and then experiment with techniques identified through these readings.
Required Texts: A literary review or "little magazine" of the student's choice. A volume of The Best American Poetry. This anthology is published annually - the student chooses the year she or he wishes to use.Grades will be based on the following: attendance and participation,* reading journal,** oral report,*** and final project consisting of a poetry manuscript and writer's notebook.****
*Regular attendance and participation. In a workshop, most of the learning goes on in the classroom. Attendance is, therefore, mandatory and figured into the student's grade. After three absences, the final grade will be lowered a third of a grade with each subsequent absence. For example, a B will become a B- after your fourth absence. Exceptions will be made only under extreme circumstances.
**A reading journal compiling and responding to ten contemporary poems by authors not discussed in class. Select these poems from diverse literary periodicals, accessible at the UWM Library or local bookstores.
***An oral report on a "little magazine." Analyze a minimum of three issues of a literary magazine. Discuss from the viewpoints of both a reader and a possible contributor. A reader might be interested in the following types of issues: format, types of poems included, percentage of magazine devoted to poetry, and other distinguishing characteristics. A potential contributor might attend to other issues: reading periods, types of authors published, payment or contributors' copies and other pertinent observations.
****An original poetry manuscript of ten pages with each poem taken from a class assignment and a writer's notebook with an entry for everyday of the semester. Completion all of the above requirements will earn a B in the course. An A will be given if work in any of the two listed areas is superior or sufficiently beyond the mentioned requirements.
For extra credit, students may attend and critique English Department readings.
Final projects are due on: TBA
Because so much of the class depends on responses to students' writings, it is impossible to chart an exact day-to-day syllabus.
