ENGLISH 235 WRITING POETRY: FORMS, STYLES, VOICES
spring 1998
INSTRUCTOR: BRYAN TOMASOVICH

office: Curtin Hall 514
tel: 229-4243
E-mail: tomasovi@csd.uwm.edu

235 will further students' understanding of poetic structures and techniques through analysis of a range of poetry, that written by students and published poets across time and the world. The course is half literary seminar and half workshop. Students will improve their critical reading skills and increase their confidence and abilities in writing poems through PRACTICE. Students are encouraged to enjoy their development in these areas; to do so they must recognize that there is room for improvement.

We will examine the power of crafting syllable sounds, words, meter, lines, imagery, rhyme, diction, and voice. Many poetic forms are made by unique and sometimes laborious combinations of these elements, and we'll look at various examples of poems which practice traditional and contemporary forms: epics, ballads, elegies, odes, sonnets, sestinas, villanelles, blank, and prose--to themes in free verse: love, nature, urban, ethnicity, war, violence, death, politics, race, the human body, news, art, music, architecture, sexuality, family, science, animals, religion, weather and so on.

These and many other themes are rooted in intricate uses of language; of course, students will further develop a lexicon to discuss poetic craft. We can then more accurately talk about combinations of themes and forms and measure their success.

CLASS:

235 is a step up from the introductory creative writing courses, 203 or 233. Therefore, we will take the entire semester to focus on POETRY and the CRAFT OF MAKING poetry. We should attempt very early on to make an atomosphere in which we can genuinely and sincerely assess the poems of fellow students and learn by reading and evaluating the poetry from previous generations.

ASSIGNMENTS:

1. Weekly writing assignments to be workshopped in class.
2. Making a final portfolio of 12-15 pages of poetry written during the semester.
3. Weekly reading assignments to be discussed in class.
4. Making an anthology of 10-15 poems by other authors, typed and partially memorized.
5. A short oral report (10 minutes) which presents a literary magazine to the class.
6. Joining a group of students to participate in in-class poetry readings.

CONFERENCES:

One individual conference at mid-term is mandatory, although I'll also be available during office hours to speak to students about the serious stuff of poetry.

GRADES:

Final grades will be determined by the quality of students' portfolios--which usually are made by participating in class, completing required assignments, good attendance, and a great deal of EFFORT. Chances are that all students will not receive an "A."

TEXTS:

1. POETRY MAGAZINE, 85th anniversary issue (sold at People's Books).
2. Instructor's ANTHOLOGY (sold at Clark Graphics).
3. Aforementioned student anthology of 10-15 poems to be shared with class.