Writing Poetry: Intermediate

WRITING POETRY: INTERMEDIATE

ENG 326-01Instructor: Ryland Bowman

SPRING 2011Office: 328 McIver (phone: 256.8553)

MHRA 1210Office Hours: 10:30-12:00 TR

MW 3:30-4:45Email:

Required Texts

Hayes, Terrance. Lightheaded. Penguin, 2010. (ISBN: 978-0143116967)

Greensboro Review, No. 88 (Fall 2010). (Available in the MFA Office, MHRA 3304)

Readings via Blackboard

Prerequisites

ENG 221 (Writing Poetry: Beginning)

Course Overview

This class is a writing workshop for students who have completed introductory-level poetry writing and literature classes. Students will turn in five poems over the course of the semester (most of which will be based on specific assignments) and will also complete a revision-based project. The primary focus will be on critiquing student work in the workshop setting, but we will also look closely at a number of poems from a critical (or craft) perspective and read several critical essays. There will be a number of short writing assignments (other than writing poems) and oral presentations, and students will be expected to contribute to discussion on a regular basis.

While we will consider poems from a number of perspectives this semester, our primary focus will be writing and reading poems with a particular concern for form. In some cases this means writing in particular forms or styles; in other cases, we will think more broadly about the role of form and structure in work of varying degrees of formality.

Student Learning Goals

This course is designed to:

• further students’ understanding of the craft and process of writing poetry by closely examining established poets’ work and by participating in critiques during workshop;
• enable students to articulate ideas about aesthetics, literature and art and understand how literary forms and traditions are shaped by cultural forces;
• allow students to develop a body of work within a revision-based writing approach.

Attendance Policy

Students may miss three classes without penalty. Missing an additional class will lower your overall grade by five points, and after missing six classes you will fail the course. Official University-related absences will be excused; otherwise, an absence is an absence (except in the event of very serious circumstances). Please take this into consideration and use your absences with care. Also, please note that being late to class more than once may result in being counted absent as well, in addition to affecting your participation grade. You are, by state law, allowed two excused absences due to religious holidays, which do not count toward your total absences allowed. If you plan to miss class because of religious holidays, you must notify me in advance of your absence.

Email Policy

I will respond to your emails within forty-eight hours. If I do not, please resend the email.

Laptop Policy

Laptops may be used in class only by students having a special need for purposes of note-taking or other classroom activities. Students with such a need should make specific arrangements with the instructor. No student may use a laptop in class without a prior arrangement with the instructor. Please turn off all cell phones during class.

Academic Integrity Policy

“Academic integrity is founded upon and encompasses the following five values: honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility. Violations include, for example, cheating, plagiarism, misuse of academic resources, falsification, and facilitating academic dishonesty. If knowledge is to be gained and properly evaluated, it must be pursued under conditions free from dishonesty. Deceit and misrepresentations are incompatible with the fundamental activity of this academic institution and shall not be tolerated” (from UNCG’s Academic Integrity Policy). To ensure that you understand the university’s policy on academic integrity, review the guidelines and list of violations at

Office of Disability Services

Students with documentation of special needs should arrange to see me about accommodations as soon as possible. If you believe you could benefit from such accommodations, you must first register with the Office of Disability Services on campus before such accommodations can be made. The office is located on the second floor of the Elliott University Center (EUC) in Suite 215, and the office is open 8am to 5pm, Monday - Friday. 334-5440; e-mail: .

Assignments/Evaluation

Poems (5): 50%

Your grade for each poemwill be based on a number of factors: whether it’s on time; whether or not you (more or less) followed the assignment, if applicable; overall commitment and effort; and how effectively it’s revised, if necessary. You will need to bring copies of your poem to class on the days poems are due.Due to the constraints of the class, we will not be able to workshop each poem in a full-class setting, so you will also receive written critiques of your work and we may occasionally break into smaller groups of four or five people during class.

Revision-Based Project: 10%

This is a project that we will develop over the last several weeks of the semester and will require you to turn in multiple drafts of the same poem, as well as revisions of poems from earlier in the semester.

Writing Assignments: 25%

These include craft annotations and short essays discussing poems we will read and discuss in class andwritten critiques of other students’ work.

Presentation/Recitation: 5%

Each student will bring in a short poem from a sourceoutside of the reading list, make a photocopy for everyone in class (or post it on Blackboard), recite the poem from memory and talk briefly about what they find compelling in the poem.

Participation: 10%

Participation comprises a significant portion of the overall grade. You need to have hard copies of all work to be discussed, be prepared for in-class writing and readings, and be prepared to discuss your classmates’ work and contribute to class discussion. Being tardy or otherwise inattentive will severely affect this portion of the grade. Also keep in mind that significant absences, even if excused, may affect your participation grade.

Grades

All of your work will be returned to you (please keep all drafts for potential revision), and all grades will be posted on Blackboard’s GradeCenter. You will lose one letter grade for each day any assignment is late. I will generally not accept emailed work. Ifyou have any questions about your grades, please don’t hesitate to schedule an appointment to talk with me or come by during my office hours.

ENG 326-01 Course Calendar

Please have the readings done for class on the day they’re listed. We will discuss all assignments and workshop schedules in class, and they’ll also be posted and Blackboard. If you miss class, remember to check Blackboard for any assignments or changes to the readings or workshop schedule.

M (1/10) Discuss Class/Syllabus

W (1/12) 1st Assignment, Discuss Workshop Protocol/Schedule

James Wright Poems (in-class)

M (1/17) Class Cancelled

W (1/19) Presentations

M (1/24) Finish Presentations, 1st Poems Due

W (1/26)Workshop

M (1/31) Workshop

W (2/2) Workshop

M (2/7) Galway Kinnell/Sharon Olds Poems (E-reserve)

W (2/9) Craft Annotation Due, 2nd Poem Assigned

M (2/14) 2nd Poems Due, Discuss Poems in Greensboro Review

W (2/16) Workshop

M (2/21) Workshop

W (2/23) Workshop

M (2/28)Lightheaded(Part I), Response Essay Assigned

W (3/2)Lightheaded (Part II), Essay Due, 3rd Poem Assigned

M (3/14)3rdPoems due, Small-group critiques assigned

W (3/16)Small-group critiques

M (3/21) Seamus Heaney Poems (E-Reserve), 4thPoem Assigned

W (3/23) Heather McHugh Essay (E-Reserve), Craft Annotation Due

M (3/28) 4th Poems Due, Guest Reader/Lecturer

W (3/30) Workshop

M (4/4) Workshop, 5th Poem Assigned

W (4/6) Workshop

M (4/11) 5th Poem Due, Revision Project Assigned, Katie Ford/Cate Marvin Poems (E-Reserve)

W (4/13) Workshop

M (4/18) Workshop

W (4/20) Workshop

M (4/25) Revision Project Due, In-class reading

W (5/4) 3:30Final Exam Meeting