Syllabus

ADVANCED POETRY WORKSHOP (E301/681)

Instructor: Joyce Peseroff Office hours: Tu 12:00-2:30

Office: Wheatley 6-62 & by appointment

Phone: 617-287-6714

E-mail: joyce.peseroff@umb.edu

Texts: Pinsky, Robert. Essential Pleasures: Poems to Read Aloud (NY: Norton, 2009)

Various articles placed on e-reserve (password: poet) and Resources section of the class website.

Also required: Access to the web through your computer or through computers on campus. We will be using the website <www.litandwiting@umb.edu> for assignments, notes, and comments. Instructions on how to access the website and post material will be given during class.

SYLLABUS

Goals and Requirements

Goals

The advanced poetry class is for students who wish to continue their studies beyond E210, E211, or E675. The class will be run as a workshop. Each week, students will distribute poems for class discussion. Emphasis will be on the process of development and revision, and students are encouraged to exchange revisions as well as original drafts. At the end of the semester, each student will submit as a final project a portfolio of 10-12 poems. I will hold individual conferences with each of you twice during the course, the first at mid-semester and the second before the final portfolio is due. You are also welcome to take advantage of my office hours—I’m always glad to read new work or new drafts of poems.

In addition, you’ll familiarize yourself with a diversity poems included in Robert Pinsky’s anthology. One theme for this semester is “Conversation Pieces”—the notion that poems speak to other poems in a shared tradition. We’ll look at some pairings from Kurt Brown’s anthology by that name, posted under “Resources,” and try writing some of our own.

The writing workshop is meant to be friendly and comfortable for both writers and readers. When we discuss each other’s poems, please remember the following:

If your poem is scheduled for discussion, distribute it well enough in advance so everyone has a chance to read your poem before the day it will be discussed.
Keep copies of in a special folder so you won’t lose them. It’s frustrating (and expensive!) to provide hard copies for others.
Read poems scheduled for discussion before you come to class, and write your responses directly on the worksheet. Underline examples of good writing. Ask specific questions about anything that seem unclear to you. Comments should be descriptive (“I didn’t understand line 4” rather than “I don’t like this part”) and constructive (“What if you start with the image in line 10?” rather than “I’m bored until I get to the end”).
Be enthusiastic about what you like, and try to explain why you like it. Be prepared to explain why you feel something needs to be changed.
If you feel a poem is already complete, or if you’ve written a poem that’s too personal to share with others, don’t bring it to workshop. I’ll be happy to discuss these poems with you during my office hours.
Proofread your work before you distribute it.
Although class members must articulate why they think you should change something you’ve written, you may not find every suggestion useful; sometimes intelligent, well-considered comments will be contradictory. Ultimately, it’s your poem—and you know it best. Make changes you feel make sense to you.

Requirements

Work must be typed, either single or double spaced, using a 12 pt. font. Every week, you will hand in to me either a new poem or a revision. Every other week, you will be responsible for distributing your work for discussion.
Your final portfolio, due THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, will contain 10-12 poems you’ve worked on during the semester, including all drafts.
You will attend one poetry reading, either on or off campus, and write a brief (1-2 pg) paper addressing what you learned from hearing the poet read his/her work aloud. Readings scheduled on campus this semester include Teresa Cader on Monday, Oct. 5, and Robert Polito on Tuesday, Dec. 1.
Individual, required conferences will be held the weeks of OCTOBER 13 and NOVEMBER 24. A sign- up sheet for conferences will be available two weeks before each session.
Poets learn to make a habit of reading as well as writing. For this class, you’ll keep a readings journal, choosing poems from the text or other sources, and writing your responses in entries of at least 2 paragraphs. Undergraduates in E301 are expected to make a minimum of 6 entries; graduate students in E681 must make 12 entries. I’ll collect your journals twice before our individual conferences, and a third time with your final portfolio.
The second week of the semester, you’ll hand in a 1-2 page statement of aesthetics stating what you believe makes a good poem. With your final portfolio, you’ll hand in another 1-2 page statement discussing what you’ve learned during the semester concerning your aesthetic perspective.
Your participation is expected and required. You are allowed TWO unexcused absences during the semester. An unexcused absence is one about which I have not been notified in advance. If you need to miss class because of illness or other difficulties, please contact me or leave a message with the English Department. My phone # and e-mail address are at the top of this sheet. Absences will affect your grade: if you exceed two unexcused absences, and more than four absences for any reason, you risk failing the course.

Policies

Grades: I base grades on the amount of work you do during the semester. Work is measured by the assignments you complete, the revisions you make to your own poems, the care you take in reading and discussing the poems of others, your presence and participation in class, and the progress you’ve shown from the beginning to the end of term. The quality of your final portfolio is the best measure of the work you’ve done during the semester, and will count for approximately 40% of your grade. The other 60% will be awarded as follows:

Readings journal: 20%

Participation: 20%

Aesthetic statements: 10%

Short paper on poetry reading: 10%

Attendance: You are limited, as stated above, to TWO unexcused absences. Unexcused absences are those for which you have not made arrangements in advance, and which do not involve illness or an emergency. Contact me as soon as possible if you know you need to miss a class; I am flexible and willing to work with you if ongoing personal issues are affecting your performance in class. Absences will affect your grade: if you exceed two unexcused absences, and more than four absences for any reason, you risk failing the course.
Classroom etiquette: Come to class on time. Please don’t eat during class; it’s distracting (beverages are OK). Please take care of personal needs before class, and turn off cell phones. If you miss a class, check the class website and with your classmates before asking me what you missed.

4. Plagiarism: Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Students who draw from work not their own will automatically fail this course. For a complete statement of the university policy on academic honesty, go to the following website: www.umb.edu/students/student_rights/code_conduct.html

5. Students with Disabilities: If you have a disability and feel you will need accommodations in order to complete course requirements, please contact the Ross Center for Disability Services (Campus Center, 2nd fl., Rm, 2100) at 617-287-7436.

6. Please note that this syllabus and its assignments are subject to alteration. You are responsible for any changes announced in class or posted on the class website, so please check the website at regularly. Exchange phone #s or e-mail addresses with a buddy so you’ll keep up-to–date with reading and writing assignments should you miss a class.

I look forward to working with you this semester!

WORKSHOP SCHEDULE

Group A: Tyler Edell, Kevin Farrel, Tess Johnson, Amy Marengo, Dylan Wilson

Week of: 9/15, 9/29, 10/20, 11/3, 11/17

Group B: Tom Aiken, Paulee McCormack, Frank Morris, Michael Turner, Julia Wisnia

Week of: 9/22, 10/6, 10/27, 11/10, 12/1

“Lightning Round” Revision Workshop: Week of 12/8

INDIVIDUAL CONFERENCES WEEKS OF 10/13 and 11/24—NO CLASS MEETING

LOCAL POETRY READINGS IN SEPTEMBER (free unless otherwise noted):
* Thursday September 10, 6:30 pm ?Sam Cornish, Stephen Anstey, Mary Bonina, Wendy Mnookin, and Mark Pawlak ?Boston City Hall? The Piemonte Room ?(enter at Congress Street & Take elevator to Fifth Floor)? Boston??? * Friday, September 11, 8 pm ?Julia Glass, Daniel Hudon, Timothy Gager and Kim Triedman ?Out of the Blue Art Gallery,?106 Prospect Street ?Cambridge??? * Saturday September 12, 1 pm ?James Lindsay, C D Coliins, Mignon Ariel King, Pam Rosenblatt, Sean Theall and Charles Harper?, Plymouth Guild for the Arts Building, ?11 North St?, Downtown Plymouth MA [off Rte3A]? * ??Saturday, September 12, 3 pm? Kate Greenstreet and Brenda Iijima?, Unaffiliated Reading Series at Outpost, 186? Hampshire St? Cambridge * ???Saturday, September 12, 3 pm?, David Yezzi and David Berman, ?Jabberwocky Bookshop,? Powow River Poets Monthly Reading Series?, 50 Water Street, ?Newburyport, MA * ???Saturday, September 12, 6 pm ?Ted Mathys & Chris Martin ?Publicly Complex Series?, Ada Books?, 717 Westminster Street?, Providence RI??? * Thursday, September 17, 7 pm? Linda Hoffman and Susan Edwards Richmond?, Wild Apples Journal, ?Maynard Public Library?, 77 Nason Street, ?Maynard??? MA * Saturday, September 19, 3:30 pm? Nancy Brady Cunningham, Sheila Mullen Twyman and Joanna Nealon, ?Brockton Library, ?304 Main Street?, Brockton, MA * ???Sunday, September 20, 2 pm?, Bert Stern, ?Brookline Poetry Series, ?Public Library of Boston ?361 Washington St.? Brookline, MA??? * Sunday, September 20, 3 pm, ?Jacqueline Malone and Barb Crane?with, Mark Wagner and Beth Sweeney?, Concord Poetry Center, ?40 Stow St.? Concord, MA ?$6 ($3 students)??? * Monday, September 21, 7 pm ?Simon Armitage?: a reading and conversation, ?Moderator: Mark Feeney, ?Boston University Photonics Center ?8 St. Mary's Street, 9th floor? Boston?? *