[This page is incomplete, still under construction. Proceed with
caution.—RWH, 5/25/06]
Creative Writing: Poetry
ENGL 3100-01 (#10098), Summer 2006
Professor Robert W. Hill
Office: English 117; Phone: 770-423-6346
E-mails (always send to both): rhill@kennesaw.edu AND rhill41@gmail.com
RWH’s KSU Web site: http://ksuweb.kennesaw.edu/~rhill
Class meets: MW 2-4:45pm, May 31-July 30, 2006
ENGL 3100.Poetry Writing.3-0-3. Prerequisite:ENGL 2110. A workshop approach to poetry writing that emphasizes original writing,
analysis, and response from classmates, and revision. Some
attention to the work of established writers for models.
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THE MAIN TEXTS (always with you in class unless otherwise instructed):
Fraser,
Gregory. Strange Pietà.
Teacherly handouts and copies of printouts for which you need a loose-leaf three-ring binder to bring to class every day.
OTHER TEXTS (a list in progress):
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6th ed.
---. MLA Style
Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing. 2nd ed.
Kennesaw Review. http://www.kennesawreview.org.
Kunitz, Stanley. The
Collected Poems. [JLand]
Nelson, Cary, ed. Modern American Poetry. An Online Journal and Multimedia Companion to Anthology of
Modern American Poetry (
Nims, John
Frederick, and David Mason. Western Wind: An Introduction to Poetry. 4th ed.
Publication Manual of the
American Psychological Association. 5th ed.
Teacherly handouts, occasional movies, other suggested
readings, and on- and off-campus literary events.
Reading Schedule and Some Other Assignments
(in progress all term, rev. 5/25/06)
Wednesday, May 31: Introduction to the course;
Gregory Fraser himself meets the class
Monday, June 5: Some keys to serious poetry-writing (COILS,
etc.); intro to formal verse, esp. villanelle, with Roethke’s “The Waking” and
Thomas’s “Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night”; brief in-class writings.
Wednesday, June 7: Review “Craft, Observation,
Insight, Language, Stamina”; brief in-class writings.
Monday, June 12: Work on villanelle assignment in
class; discuss rhyme-scheme challenges and opportunities.
Wednesday, June 14: Workshop;
brief in-class writings
Monday, June 19: Workshop;
brief in-class writings
Wednesday, June 21:
Workshop; brief in-class
writings
Monday, June 26: Workshop;
brief in-class writings
Wednesday, June 28: View fifteen minutes (three
poems) from Saul Williams’s Slam (1998);
discussion; brief in-class writings
Monday, July 3: Workshop; brief in-class writings
Wednesday,
July 5: In study groups, discuss selected
poems as models: examine base imagery, progression, POV, tone, form, and offer
an idea for a poem following the model one’s group has been studying;
assignment = post thoughtfully in Nicenet
Monday, July 10: Workshop and in-class
readings and writings.
Wednesday, July 12: Workshop and in-class readings and writings.
Monday, July 17: Workshop and
in-class readings and writings.
Wednesday, July 19: Workshop; brief in-class
writings
Monday, July 24: Workshop; brief in-class writings
KSU Final Exams July 26-30: Readings-aloud for the
class, with round-robin discussion
Here are
several ways we’ll establish and maintain an active learning community during
this semester:
(a)
Inform me immediately about your access to and skill with
computer technology;
(b)
Follow our evolving syllabus at my KSU web site and its
reiterations in Nicenet and WebCT;
(c)
Send
a “Here I am” message to BOTH my e-mail addresses above, including your most
accessible telephone number(s);
(d)
Using the Class Key that I will announce the
first day (Class Key: 6Z65839EZ2), join our class at http://www.nicenet.org;
(e) Using your WebCT number and PIN number, join
our
(f) Spend at least fifteen minutes twice a
week online, writing thoughtful responses to our
readings/viewings, class discussions, classmates’ writings, etc., being sure
all the while to maintain civil, respectful, considerate rhetoric in dealing
with our co-workers in this important enterprise. (I will read everything but
will intrude rarely.) Do NOT duplicate responses, but you must
have roughly equal numbers of responses at each site.
(g)
Meeting only twice a week, we need always to attend class unless
a genuine emergency prevents (usually medical).
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
(a) To read and analyze poetic forms by
means of modern poems in English, which will lead us far more than we can
realize at the beginning; to examine how those works affect us aesthetically,
how they stir and direct our emotions and intellect at once, how authors employ
tradition and innovation in form and content in their art, and how they have
responded to the cultural framework within which their works have been created;
(b) To analyze how literary critics think
about and explain theories and practices in making poetry;
(c)
To sharpen and strengthen skills in critical thinking, reading,
writing, and speaking through class discussion and writing assignments in
various poetic modes;
(d) To develop and encourage independent
thinking and group participation, in part by having each student select some
works for his or her syllabus in addition to the readings assigned here and develop
particular expertise in those authors, as well as how their works relate in
form and content to others we are studying;
(e) To experience pleasure in the literary
acts of studying written poetry and exchanging ideas and information with other
members of a literary—that is, reading—community.
EVALUATION PROCEDURES: Your final grade will be determined
according to the following formula:
(a) Average of two grades on response
writings—20% (A or F, graded at midterm and at end of course: viz., appropriate numbers, quality of
engagement, and distribution between WebCT and Nicenet)
(b) Five poems—50%
(c)
One 500-word book review of a contemporary poet, book (approved
in advance by me) published in 2000 or later—15%
(a) Class participation, including
attendance, final exam performance, and discussion—15%.
ATTENDANCE POLICY:
Because this is a university-level class,
I believe that attendance is a matter of student responsibility. However, my
experience has been that students who miss more than one week’s worth of
classes find it difficult to perform at acceptable levels, often placing unfair
demands upon their classmates to “help out” or “cover.” The assumption in all
such classes, for me, is that students want to be here (for their own various
reasons) and thus will be here. Keep in mind that, in an accelerated, eight-week session, one
class = one week of a regular semester.
This class begins at 2pm and ends at
4:45pm. Persistent tardiness or leaving class early is considered equivalent to
an absence.
If you are
absent, I expect you to communicate with me as soon as possible—in person, by
telephone, or in writing—about any work that you miss. Students should not miss
class on a regular basis with no explanation and expect, at the end of the
course, to receive special consideration of any kind.
RESPONSE WRITING:
“Response writing”
includes in-class writing assignments and online responses. Online response writings will not be graded for grammar,
spelling, mechanics, etc., but for their regular, conscientious contribution to
our ongoing class discussion. Bluntly, either it’s done or it isn’t. Unless
otherwise instructed, you should post these responses to Nicenet AND WebCT for
classmates’ edification and delight. Do NOT duplicate
responses, but you must have roughly equal numbers of responses at each site.
Formal writing
assignments, however—that is, the two book reviews—must demonstrate a serious
effort to deal with writing problems that have been pointed out in earlier
writings. In addition to my comments on your work and in-class lectures, I will be glad to
work with you during office hours to facilitate your improvement as a writer.
You can also work with the
EXPECTATIONS:
I expect students to take their work
seriously, to come to class prepared and willing to participate, and to treat
peers and their ideas with respect.
Response writings
serve several functions in this class. They can be the basis for class
discussion when they are written at the beginning of class; they can guide your
preparation for the following class when they are written during or at the end
of the period. Those responses written at the end can also indicate to me
material that needs further explanation or development at the next meeting. I
expect you always to use those writing assignments to develop your ideas and to
improve and strengthen your writing abilities. I see these papers serving you
as an ongoing dialogue with yourself about issues raised in the course
objectives and evolving ideas that will emerge in our class discussions.
I expect students
to read well, think well, write well, and speak well as members of this English
3100 community. And enjoy the ride.—RWH, 5/25/06
[New Yorker, 17 Nov. 2003: 72]
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Nota bene: KSU Statement on Academic Honesty (8-17-99)
and
KSU Student Code of Conduct
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[Page created January 7, 2003; last revised, May 25,
2006.—RWH]