Department of English

Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University

2202242  Introduction to the Study of English Poetry

 

The Adventure of Poetry

An Undergraduate Conference

September 13, 18,  and 20, 2007

Chulalongkorn University, Faculty of Arts

Boromrajakumari Building room 314

 

 

Call for Papers

The Adventure of Poetry

An undergraduate conference on poetry in English with student poetry readings

to be held on September 13, 18, and 20, 2007

at the Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University

 

You are invited to submit 15-minute papers (2,000 words or about 7 pages, double-spaced) on all topics which interpret the conference theme as creatively as possible.  A variety of approaches are welcome such as historical, sociological, linguistic, feminist and textual analysis.

Here are some ideas to get you going:

-         On what different kinds of adventures can a poem take you?

-         What imaginative travel occurs for you when you read a poem?

-         What linguistic fun happens in a poem?  What verbal play does the poet engage in with you?

-         How do logical trips that you are asked to go on in a poem make you discover new things?

-         How is the act of reading a poem a daring adventure?

-         Do you think experiencing a poem requires boldness?  Can a trip through a poem open our minds?  If so, how?

-         What senses of exploration do you feel when reading a poem?

-         Is a poem dangerous?  Exciting?  Unusual?  If so, show us how.

-         On what emotional journeys can a poem take you?  Can poetry make you sad?  Can it make you smile?  Can it make you angry?  Can it make you feel sorrow, pain, injustice, or comfort?

 

Below is a list of poets and poems.  You can choose to write on a poem by one of these authors or compare two or more.  The first section consists of poets we have studied in class and on whom there is a number of library and digital database material you can consult.  In choosing these you will have the advantage of several authoritative sources to refer to but you will have to work harder to come up with an original thesis on a point as yet un- or under-explored about the work.  The second section consists of contemporary poets about whom there is significantly less secondary material written, but you will have the benefit of greater freedom in developing your own ideas about them and their poems.  Also, for this latter group of poets, your work will be among the emerging critical writing, having a role in shaping views and approaches to these new poems.  If you would like to write on a poet or poem not listed here, bring the poem you would like to use to the consultation meeting so we can discuss it.

 

Section 1

-         William Carlos Williams

-         Ezra Pound

-         Robert Browning

-         Federico Garcia Lorca

-         Alfred Tennyson

-         John Donne

-         Thomas Hardy

-         William Blake

-         William Shakespeare

-         William Wordsworth

-         Emily Dickinson ("Because I could not stop for death" chosen)

-         Langston Hughes

-         W. B. Yeats

-         Robert Frost

 

Section 2

-         Valerie Bloom, “Two Seasons” (chosen, tentative)

-         Rita Dove, “Rosa”

-         Paul Farley, “Treacle”

-         James Fenton, “Blood and Lead” (chosen)

-         Adrian Mitchell, “Elephant Eternity”

-         Anne Stevenson, “Poem for a Daughter” (chosen, tentative)

 

The title of your session is the title of your paper.  It should reflect the topic and purpose of the conference and convey clearly what the session is about.  To give you an idea of how informative the title of your paper should be, here are some titles of past student papers:

Sample papers

 

Home  |  Introduction to the Study of English Poetry |  Introduction to the Study of English Fiction

Last updated September 5, 2007