Although this is a workshop course, we will devote considerable time, especially in the beginning of the semester, to discussing craft and defining poetic elements: image, figurative language, repetition, meter, forceful use of the line. In-class writing exercises will be designed to help you put those elements into practice. We will read a wide range of modern and contemporary poets and use as our central text an anthology of contemporary poetry.

Students will be expected to produce a portfolio of eight to ten new poems, write a short response paper, and give a short presentation which will include memorizing a poem.

Texts: The Vintage Book of Contemporary Poetry, Ed. J.D. McClatchy

In the Palm of Your Hand: The Poet’s Portable Workshop Steve Kowit