Group Presentations (10-15 minutes) on Poetic Form

1. Describe the poetic form and its variants (if any).
2. Discuss its history: origins, evolution, and current use.
3. Post at least two examples of the form: one traditional/classic and one modern/contemporary, along with brief analyses in the context of their form.
4. Prepare a handout for class (20 copies), in which you briefly describe the poetic form and include the two poems from item #3.
   

Poetic Forms

1. The Villanelle - Maria, Blanca
   
2. The Sestina -Sandra, Zaira
   
3. The Pantoum -Wilmarie, Jennifer
4. The Sonnet - Cristina, Wi Hong
5. The Ballad - Sharon, Janice
   
6. The Heroic Couplet - Ahiesha, Lidsay
7. The Stanza - Castelar, Leo
   
8. Blank Verse -Stella, Gerardo
9. Free Verse - Natalie, Antonio
   
10. International Forms: haiku, ghazal - Karen, Viviana
    

Announcements

1. On Friday, August 24 the English Department will host a Graduate Student Reception and Orientation from 4:30-6:00 pm in CH-324. Please join us for an informative, empowering, and socially stimulating couple of hours.

2. A little correction about my title: it is Professor (Prof.), not Doctor (Dr.), at least while I finish revisions to my dissertation. I will soon earn the title. . .

3. I now have copies of the book we will be reading for September 19 "Metropolitan Fantasies," by Linda Rodriguez. The books cost $10 and are signed by the author, who will be happy to dedicate them after the class.

4. Something to consider: for the September 19 class, I would like to have a more casual, relaxed environment, with appetizers and wine (or whatever you like)-- neither of which are allowed in the computer classroom or the University. Would you be interested in having the class in a local restaurant/bar? I'm thinking of a classy joint, like La Posada or La Cava del Mucaro(Spanish style tascas). I accept suggestions.

Brief Presentations (5-10 Minutes) on Poetic Schools and Traditions as Context

1. Describe the poetic school's main ideas about poetry, its function, what it should be like.
2. List the key poets of the movement.
   
3. What characterizes their poetry? In other words, what poetic forms, styles, themes, and/or techniques are characteristic of that school?
4. Include in your presentation and post as a reply to this message:
   
1. One or two typical poems from that poetic school,
   
2. A brief analysis of the poems based on the context of the school/movement they belong to.
   

Poetic Schools and Traditions:

1. Imagism, Vorticism, Objectivism -Ahiesha
   
2. British & Irish Modernists - Blanca
   
3. High Modernism - Zaira
   
4. American Regionalism - Antonio
   
5. New Criticism Poets - Castelar
   
6. Black Mountain Poets - Gerardo
   
7. Beat Poetry - Maria
   
8. New York School - Sharon
   
9. Deep Image Poetry and beyond - Lidsay
   
10. San Francisco Poets -Jennifer
    
11. Confessional and Postconfessional Poets - Wi Hong
    
12. New Formalists - Cristina
    
13. The Movement and Martian School - Stella
    
14. African American Poetry: up to Harlem Renaissance - Wilmarie
    
15. African American Poetry: Black Arts and beyond - Viviana
    
16. Nuyorican and Chicano Poetry - Natalie
    
17. Language Poetry - Janice
    
18. Concrete and Lettrist Poetry - Sandra
    
19. Native American Poetry -Karen
    

Books Available on Reserve

• Gioia, Dana. Disappearing Ink: Poetry at the End of Print Culture. Saint Paul, MN: Graywolf Press, 2004.
• Gioa, Mason, Schoerke, eds. Twentieth Century American Poetics: Poets on the Art of Poetry. New York: McGraw Hill, 2004.
• Hollander, John. Rhyme's Reason: A Guide to English Verse, 3rd edition. New Haven and London: Yale UP, 2000.
• Kenner, Hugh. The Pound Era. Berkeley and Los Angeles: U of Berkeley P, 1971.
• Kwasny, Melissa, ed. Toward the Open Field: Poets on the Art of Poetry 1800-1950. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 2004.
• McGann, Jerome. The Textual Condition. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1991.

• Ramazani, Ellman, O'Clair, eds. The Norton Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Poetry, 3rd edition. New York: W. W. Norton, 2003.
• Schillingsburg, Peter L. Scholarly Editing in the Computer Age, 3rd edition. Ann Arbor: U of Michigan P, 1996.
• Strand, Mark and Eavan Boland. The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms. New York: W. W. Norton, 2000.
• Tanselle, G. Thomas. A Rationale of Textual Criticism. Philadelphia: U of Pennsylvania P, 1989.
• Turco, Lewis. The Book of Forms, 3rd edition. Hanover, NH: UP of New England, 2000.

About Presentations

Let me elaborate briefly on the instructions for the presentations. The goal of this (and all) presentations is to concisely and memorably inform the class of how the assigned context can inform the analysis, interpretation, and teaching of a poem. The questions are guides to achieving such a goal, and they are not intended to be taken as a checklist for the presentation: they are more of a checklist to guide your thought and research. The presentation itself should take a holistic approach, focusing on the most relevant (that is, useful) information.

That way, when you or one of your classmates come across a poem to read or teach, the appropriate contexts and an idea of how they can be useful can quickly come to mind and the reading, analysis, and/or teaching of a given poem can be enriched by research on the most relevant contexts.

Keep up the good work, folks! See you on Wednesday.

Brief Presentations (5-10 Minutes) on Periods and Nationalities as Context

1. Describe the literary and/or artistic movements of the nationality and/or period.
2. What characterizes the poetry of that nation and/or period?
   
3. What poetic forms, styles, themes, and/or techniques are characteristic of that nationality and/or period?
4. Include in your presentation and post as a reply to this message:
   
1. One or two typical poems from that nationality and/or period,
   
2. A brief analysis of the poems based on the context of their nationality and/or period.
   

Nationalities and Periods:

• England
• Middle Ages
• Old English - Gerardo
  
• Middle English - Wi Hong
  
• Renaissance / Elizabethan Period - Maria
  
• 17th Century
• Jacobean Period - Wilmarie
  
• Restoration - Lidsay
  
• 18th Century
• Augustan Period - Janice
  
• Age of Enlightenment - Zaira
  
• 19th Century
• Romanticism - Natalie
  
• Victorianism - Sandra & Stella
  
• United States
• Colonial and Early American - Karen
  
• 19th Century - Blanca
  
• Ireland - Antonio & Jennifer
  
• Canada - Ahiesha
  
• Australia and New Zealand - Cristina
  
• Caribbean - Viviana
  
• India - Sharon
  
• Africa - Castelar
  

The Books Have Arrived

All but two of the books ordered at Libreria Universal have arrived. You will need the "New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics" for next week, so go get them!

Readings for August 15 Class

Greetings,

There are two links to essays on anthologies to this blog, you can find them beneath the calendar on the left hand column. Read them at your earliest convenience.

I have also added a reading and an assignment in preparation for the next class:
1. Read "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" (available everywhere, but also here).
2. Discuss how one would approach analyzing, interpreting, and teaching the poem from the perspective of your chosen critical theory. This should take the shape of a concise paragraph or two published as a comment to this posting.

Enjoy!

Critical Theory Presentations (5-10 minutes):

1. Brief explanation of the theory, including key theorists.
2. How does the theory serve to analyze, interpret and teach poetry?
   
3. How would they approach the question of canon?
4. What kinds of anthologies do they create (if at all)?
   

Literary Theories:

1. Historical - Natalie
   
2. Biographical - Ahiesha
   
3. New Criticism - Maria
   
4. Russian Formalism - Karen
   
5. Reader's Response - Janice
   
6. Psychoanalytical Theory: Freud - Jennifer
   
7. Psychoanalytical Theory: Lacan -Viviana
   
8. Archetypal Criticism - Cristina
   
9. Structuralism - Wilmarie
   
10. Post-Structuralism - Castelar
    
11. Deconstruction - Gerardo
    
12. New Historicism - Sandra
13. Feminism - Blanca
    
14. Cultural Studies: Race & Ethnicity - Lidsay
    
15. Cultural Studies: Queer Theory - Antonio
    
16. Postcolonialism - Sharon, Stella
    
17. Editorial & Textual Theories - Zaira
    
18. New Media Writing Theories - Wi Hong
    

INGL 6058: Beyond the Anthology: Poetry and its Contexts

Fall 2007 Course Syllabus

Prof. Leonardo Flores

Offices: CH-109, CH-325
Hours: W 1:00-5:30, T & Th 1:00-5:30, or by appointment.
Phone: 832-4040, ext. 3088
Mailbox: CH-323
E-mail: flores@uprm.edu

Description

This course explores contexts that can inform the analysis, interpretation, and teaching of poetry. The contexts to be explored are the anthology, literary theories, poetic traditions (types, and forms), poetic periods and schools of poetry, types of print publication (manuscript, magazine, book, anthology), and publication in other types of media (sound and video recordings, computers and the Internet). The course will focus on poets for whom these contexts are especially significant, such as William Blake, Emily Dickinson, Gary Snyder, Stephanie Strickland, Dylan Thomas, the Def Poetry Jam poets, Linda Rodriguez, Jim Andrews, Megan Sapnar, Ingrid Ankerson, Willie Perdomo, Ursula Rucker, and many others.

Course Objectives

This course explores contexts relevant to reading, analyzing, interpreting, and teaching poetry. After completing the course, students should be able to:

• Deepen their appreciation of the critical artistry and cultural importance of poetry.

• Examine the impact of different poetic traditions, poetic schools, publication formats, and media on poetic creation and reception.

• Investigate the publication history of a poem in order to obtain relevant contexts for its analysis and interpretation.

• Research and select the contexts most relevant for appreciating and teaching a poem or group of poems.

• Integrate different contexts in their reception, analysis, interpretation, and teaching of poetry.

Evaluation

Each grade will be scored holistically with a letter grade and interpreted numerically according to the 4 point system.

• Short Essay #1: Analysis and interpretation of a poem in the context of literary theory, poetic tradition, and/or poetic school. 20%

• Short Essay #2: Analysis and interpretation of a poem in the context of its medium. 20%

• Research Paper: Researched analysis and interpretation of selected works within a book of poetry, album of recorded poetry, video recorded performance poetry, or poetry Web site. 30%

• Presentations and Assignments: 20%

• Attendance & Participation: both in class and in online discussion forums. 10%

Required Texts

• Hunt, Anthony. Genesis, Structure, and Meaning in Gary Snyder’s Mountains and Rivers Without End. Reno, NV: University of Nevada Press, 2004.
• Perdomo, Willie. Where a Nickel Costs a Dime. New York: W. W. Norton, 1996.
• Preminger, Alex and T. V. F. Brogan, et. al. eds., The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1993.
• Rodriguez, Linda. Metropolitan Fantasies. Canada: CCLEH, 2001.
• Snyder, Gary. Mountains and Rivers without End. Washington DC: Counterpoint Press, 1996.
• Additional texts will be posted on course blog or made available through other venues.

Recommended Texts

• Gioia, Dana. Disappearing Ink: Poetry at the End of Print Culture. Saint Paul, MN: Graywolf Press, 2004.
• Hayles, N. Katherine. Writing Machines. Cambridge and London: The MIT Press, 2002.
• Jerome Rothenberg and Steve Clay, eds. The Book of the Book. New York: Granary Books, 2000.
• Johanna Drucker. The Century of Artists’ Books. New York: Granary Books, 1997.
• Kwasny, Melissa, ed. Toward the Open Field: Poets on the Art of Poetry 1800-1950. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 2004.
• McGann, Jerome. The Textual Condition. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1991.
• Perloff, Marjorie. Poetry On and Off the Page: Essays for Emergent Occasions, Chicago: Northwestern University Press, 1998.
• Perloff, Marjorie. Radical Artifice: Writing Poetry in the Age of Media. Chicago and Indiana: University of Chicago Press, 1991.

Attendance Policy

Attendance is mandatory for this course. Students are expected to come to class all the time and always be on time. You must provide the appropriate documentation for an absence to be considered excused. I reserve the right to accept excuses, which must be provided in a timely fashion. Excused absences and tardiness count as 1/2 of an unexcused absence, so make a point of always being in class and on time. For every unexcused absence past the first one, I will lower the student's final grade by one, which means that 4 or more unexcused absences will result in an F in the course.

Participation

Class will be run primarily by discussion, both in the class and online. The success of the course depends on you coming to class prepared to offer observations and ask questions about the assigned reading. Participation is mandatory and will be graded both on quantity and quality of contributions.

Academic Dishonesty

Plagiarism is a dishonest and in most cases an illegal act. Any use of someone else’s work as your own, and/or any undocumented use of sources in an essay and/or assignment will result in failure for that assignment. Essays obtained through the Internet or any other means and turned in as your own, even if modified, will result in an F in the course. For more details on what is plagiarism and how to avoid it, read the Wikipedia entry on plagiarism at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plagiarism.

According to Law 51

Students will identify themselves with the Institution and the instructor of the course for purposes of assessment (exams) accommodations. For more information please call the Student with Disabilities Office which is part of the Dean of Students office (Chemistry Building, room 019) at (787)265-3862 or (787)832-4040 extensions 3250 or 3258.

Hello World!

That's right. This is a test.