The Poet With Whom I Will be Dining This Evening

WRITING POETRY & CONTEMPORARY LIT.

Hey there,

In preparing for the dinner, I found some things by Mark Doty that might help you all as you prepare to write your poems.

This tracks the first images to the making of a specific poem.
http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/text/souls-ice

This essay is on Halloween, William Blake and devils. Just because.

Students One & All, (But Especially Contemporary Lit.)

Writing Poetry your links:

Sonnet. Sestinas. Pantoums and Villanelles can be found here: poetryfoundation.org as well as poets.org  

And these glossaries of literary and poetic terms should be useful to all classes.  (They can really help you with your imitation and formal assignments and are invaluable for class discussion).

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CONTEMPORARY LIT CLASSES VERY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:

I have to leave earlier than expected for the 30th Anniversary Celebration of Wick Poetry Center. My husband's sudden departure left me with some pressing responsibilities and the inability to address them all before I have to take off.

I have arranged for substitutes for both classes. Roll will be taken and a film will be shown. This is the one on Ezra Pound. It is fascinating and very important as we begin to discuss Modernism. Please be there and attentive to it. No phones, laptops or naps, please. This is a really interesting figure in poetry and I expect everyone to be quiz-ready and fully present for the showing. Make our class look good. Have a wonderful weekend. Email me with any questions or concerns.

Thanks for understanding. Please know that I go in representation of our fine school and all of you of whom I could not be more proud. See you next week!

All Classes

This is one of the best contemporary poets we've got. AND he is a visual artist. And a musician. Who says you can't be art-school all-around rock stars?

Watch this and we'll talk about some of his work later.

Contemporary Lit.

September 9-11

T: Quiz, Whitman discussion
Homework: Essay on Dickinson's Fasiscles
http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/a_f/dickinson/fascicles.htm


Biography
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/emily-dickinson

This link gets you to a listing of the poems
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/emily-dickinson#about

Please read the following poems:

A Narrow Fellow in the Grass

Because I Could Not Stop for Death

A Route of Evanescence

I Dwell in Possibility

I Felt a Funeral in my Brain

My Life had Stood--a Loaded Gun

Tell all the truth but tell it slant

There's a Certain Slant of Light

I Would Not Paint a Picture


Thursday: Dickinson discussion (be quiz-ready, look up an words you don't know as you are reading)

Contemporary Literature Section 01 & 02 Homework Week One

T Introduction.
Discussion of Course goals and readings. Your readings will be posted by author and title and you will be expected to locate the text.* This is my compromise in exchange for a textbook and I will be expected you to take full responsibility for finding the posted works. Please note that this course will be heavier in poetry content, as it is easy to discuss a smaller piece fully in class and to teach close reading through it. We will look at other genres, but if you have a real aversion to verse, this may not be the section for you. Homework: Re-Read: http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/013.html and come in with a 250 word minimum analysis of the poem. Note any literary techniques it employs. Rhyme scheme or lack. Everything you notice about its structure and construction. Then address content. What is a one line plot summary for the poem? What is the tone? Is any stanza more sincere than any other?

H Discussion of close reading. Literary techniques. How to read and discuss literature.
Homework: Come in with one title of a piece of writing that affected you.
Write down what it was and why, as well as anything you notice about its form and construction. We will discuss each of these in class next week.
Read: As a summer send-off, I thought we’d look at this poem by John Tobias (it gets taught in high schools, and you might have read it. If so, check it out again for discussion.)

http://www.cise.ufl.edu/~hsiao/verse/watermelon.html
Reflections On a Gift of Watermelon Pickle Received from a Friend Called Felicity

Also, this biographical essay on Walt Whitman http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/walt-whitman

and this one:
Adventures in Anaphora http://www.poetryfoundation.org/learning/article/246170

and this essay: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/article/246218

PLUS the following poems:
O Captain! My Captain! http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174742

When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer Speak http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174747

Song of Myself 36 http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/182375

Please come to class “quiz ready” on these materials. Take notes for discussion. The more you participate, the more likely your grade will reflect that boost.

Reading Homework

Amy Hemphel Aimee Bender Selections from Sudden Fiction p. 1-19 (All the stories available in the preview of google docs through The Twirler)

Three Elements

A stolen ring, fear of spiders, and a sinister stranger. A taxi, an old enemy, and Valentine's Day. Identical twins, a party invitation, and a locked closet. A broken wristwatch, peppermints, and a hug that goes too far. Aerobics, a secret diary, and something unpleasant under the bed. An ex-boyfriend, a pair of binoculars, and a good-luck charm. An annoying boss, a bikini, and a fake illness. The first day of school, a love note, and a recipe with a significant mistake. A horoscope, makeup, and a missing tooth. A campfire, a scream, and a small lie that gets bigger and bigger.