Poetry is boned with ideas, nerved and blooded with emotions, all held together by the delicate, tough skin of words.

--Paul Engle

! If you'd still like to give feedback on the class, my detailed evaluation form can be viewed and downloaded here (Word file). Thanks!

! Competitions

• Keats-Shelley Prize (2007 announcement, noticeboard)

  Inaugurated in 1998 to reward excellence in writing on Romantic themes.  Entries are invited annually in two categories: poems, on a theme chosen by the judges, and essays on any aspect of the work or life of Keats or Shelley. Although it is a competition open to all, it is promoted strongly to the universities and is launched at the beginning of each academic year.

• The M.L. Ananchanok Prize is awarded annually to original unpublished creative writing in English by a Thai citizen. See details.

• W. B. Yeats Society of N.Y. Poetry Competition

  Open to members and nonmembers of any age, from any locality. Poems in English up to 60 lines, not previously published, on any subject may be submitted.

! Discussion of assignments and midterm: (E-mail me your questions and I'll post answers online.)

• Discussion of Assignment 1: Sylvia Plath's "Mirror"

• Discussion of Assignment 2: H. D.'s "Helen"

• Discussion of Assignment 3: E. E. Cummings, "in Just-"

• Discussion of Assignment 4: William Shakespeare's Sonnet CXVI

• Discussion of midterm

• Review literary terms

! Intro Poetry group 2 celebrates Halloween! (your poems; nothing fancy yet; any volunteers to make this snazzy?)

Detailed Schedule (Group 2)

Class Time and Location: W 11-1 (BRK 312), F 8-9 (BRK 301)

Reading: Coursebook (includes about 40 poems, reading questions, and key literary terms) and handouts

Requirements and Expectations

• Attendance and Participation: Discussion of the poems and reading materials will be a big part of this class and you are encouraged to express your opinions, share observations and ask questions. This is an important way to learn and increase your understanding about poetry. Use this opportunity in class to expand your perspectives!

• Student presentations:

  1. Poetry World: Explore the world of poetry. How did it begin? Where is poetry? What can poetry do? Is poetry still relevant in the 21st century? Choose to discuss an issue in one of the topics on poetry listed here.
  2. Literary Tool Chest: Introduce your friends to the various art of verbal expression. Choose a literary term to explain to your classmates, with examples.
  3. The Hit List: What do you find to be common problems among yourselves in reading and writing about poetry? Give friendly help to your classmates. 

• There will be frequent reading and writing activities, four take-home assignments, a midterm, a final paper (7-10 pages) and presentation, and a final exam.

Syllabus (Word file)

Blackboard Academic Suite for Group 2

• How to Read a Poem (Linda Sue Grimes shows how not all meanings work in interpreting/reading a poem)

• Basics of reading and writing about poetry (imagery and metaphorical language, common missteps in analysis, rhyme and musicality, etc.)

• Undergraduate Guide for Studying Literature (How well do you understand what you have read?, keeping a reading journal, critical terms for discussing literature, guidelines for writing essays, what the grade on your essay means, what to do with your marked essay, marking symbols and abbreviations; also has downloadable pdf file)

• Literary Resources on the Net

• Analyzing Poetry (pdf file)

More poetry links and references...

• Hollander, John.  Rhyme's Reason: A Guide to English Verse.  Enl. ed.  New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989.

• Lennard, John.  The Poetry Handbook: A Guide to Reading Poetry for Pleasure and Practical Criticism.  Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996.

• Strand, Mark, and Eavan Boland, eds.  The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms.  New York: W. W. Norton, 2000.

• The Poetry Society of America

• Poetry International Web

• The Poetry Foundation

• Like Waiting for April (blog with tons of poems by a great variety of authors)

• The Academy of American Poets (poets, poems, audio, essays, interviews, reading recommendations, on writing)

• The Poetry Archive (poets, poems, historic recordings, guided tours, resources)

  • The Poetry Archive: For Students (poet in residence blog where you can write in comments and questions, other poetry websites, how to get the best of the archive, listening to poetry, historic recordings)

• Representative Poetry On-line (wonderful resource site, includes poets, poems, timeline, glossary, bibliography, and more)

• Poetry Out Loud (video [11:40 min.], sound clips, and photo gallery of the 2006 national finalists; the video captures wonderfully the atmosphere of the competition with comments about what poetry means to the different contestants)

• Favorite Poem Project (interesting video collection of Americans reading and talking about their favorite poem and a bit about themselves)

• Erin's Poetry Page (nice collection of poetry, informal and friendly introduction to well-known poets and poems)

• What Is Plagiarism? (friendly explanation of plagiarism with examples from Georgetown University; make sure you read the entire article; you  will be severely penalized for plagiarism in this class)

• Writing Prose (handbook on college writing, Yale University; pdf file)

• The UVic Writer's Guide (well-organized, easy to follow guide with examples)

• The OWL at Purdue (Online Writing Lab, includes the writing process, grammar and mechanics, literary analysis and criticism, writing about poetry)

• How to Evaluate the Information Sources You Find

• Basic Steps in Writing a Literature Paper

• Citation Styles Handbook: MLA

• MLA Style FAQ

• Paper Guidelines 1 and 2

• Literary Criticism: Principles

• Model Criticism (some essays by F. R. Leavis; a couple of obsolete links)

Abrams, M. H.  A Glossary of Literary Terms.  8th ed.  Boston: Thomson, 2005.

Gibaldi, Joseph.  MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.  6th ed.  New York: Modern Language Association of America, 2003. (library has 5th ed.)

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.  11th ed.  Springfield, MA: Mirriam-Webster, 2003.

The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics.  Eds. Alex Preminger, Terry V. F. Brogan, and Frank J. Warnke.  Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1993.

Oxford English Dictionary.  2nd ed.  20 vols.  Oxford: Oxford UP, 1989.

Roget's International Thesaurus.  6th ed.  Ed. Barbara Ann Kipfer.  New York: Harper, 2001. (library has 3rd ed.)