Syllabus

ADVANCED POETRY WORKSHOP (E301/681)

Instructor: Joyce Peseroff                         Office hours:  Th 12:30-3:30

Office:  Wheatley 6-102                                  & by appointment

Phone:  617-287-6714

E-mail: joyce.peseroff@umb.edu                                                           

Texts:  Derricote, Toi and Cornelius Eady, eds. Gathering Ground (Ann Arbor: U. of Michigan Press, 2006

           Warren, Rosanna, ed. Ploughshares Vol. 32, No. 4, Winter 2006-7

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 for posting your work for comment. Instructions on how to access the website and post material will be given during our first class.

SYLLABUS

Goals and Requirements

Goals

The advanced poetry class is for students who wish to continue their studies beyond Reading and Writing Poetry.  The class will be run as a workshop. Each week, students will post poems to be downloaded for class discussion. Emphasis will be on the process of development and revision, and students are encouraged to post 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 take a look at your rewrites.

In addition, you’ll familiarize yourself with a diverse variety of contemporary poems included in the two anthologies listed above.

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:

  1. If your poem is scheduled for discussion, post it well enough in advance so everyone has a chance to read your poem before the day it will be discussed.
  2. Keep copies of downloads in a special folder so you won’t lose them. It’s frustrating (and expensive!) to provide hard copies for everyone.
  3. Read poems scheduled for discussion before you come to class, and write your responses directly on downloaded worksheet. Underline examples of good writing. Ask if there’s more information the poem needs to offer. Question sections 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”).
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. Proofread your work before you post it.
  7. Although class members must articulate why they think you should alter your work, 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

  1. Work must be typed, either single or double spaced, using an 11 or 12 pt. font.  Every week, you will hand in to me either a new poem or a revision. Every third week, you will be responsible for posting work for discussion. You must post at least 6 of your own poems (this may include revisions) and make 6 comments on others’ work.

Your final portfolio, due THURSDAY, MAY 17, will contain 10-12 poems you’ve worked on during the semester.

  1. You will attend the two poetry readings held during class time: Liam Rector on 4/5, and Peter Fallon on 4/26. You're encouraged to attend the other readings scheduled this semester, including Danielle Legros Georges on 3/29 and Martha Collins on 4/17.
  2.  Individual, required conferences will be held the weeks of MARCH 12 and  APRIL 30. A sign up sheet for conferences will be available two weeks before each session.
  3. 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 two texts or other sources, and writing your responses in entries of approximately 2 paragraphs. Undergraduates in E301 are expected to make at least 7 entries; graduate students in E681 must make 14 entries. I’ll collect your journals twice before our individual conferences, and a third time with your final portfolio.
  4. 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.
  5. 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 five 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 50% of your grade. The other 50% will be awarded as follows:

Readings journal: 20%

Participation, including required posts: 20%

Aesthetic statements: 10%

  1. 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 five absences for any reason, you risk failing the course.
  2. 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 so you don’t get up during someone’s presentation. Please turn off cell phones. If you miss a class, check with the class website and your classmates before asking me what you missed.

    3.   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

    4.   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.

    5.  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.

 

WEEKLY WORKSHOP SCHEDULE: 

FEB 1—Introduction; class website orientation in computer lab, Healey Library. Please bring a poem to post. Jorge, Patricia, Jason, Becky, and Carmela can post the poem they'd like to discuss next week.

FEB 8--Angelle,Patricia; Bedore,Jason; Bishop,Rebecca; Caruso,Carmela; Gamache, Nathan

FEB 15--Comeau,Jeffrey; Perkins, Sam; O'Connor, Shannon; Meteer, Ruth; Lam, Son-ca

FEB 22--McEnany,Gerard; Nisetich, Pamela; Gang, Alex; Reinstein,Alan; Yamamoto,

Yasuhito; Zimmerman,Kathy

MAR 1-- Perkins, Sam ; Angelle,Patricia; Bedore,Jason; Bishop,Rebecca; Caruso,Carmela

MAR 8-- Comeau, Jeffrey; Gamache, Nathan; Gang, Alex; Meteer, Ruth; Lam,Son-ca; McEnany ,Gerard

MAR 15-- Nisetich, Pamela; O’Connor,Shannon; Reinstein,Alan; Yamamoto,Yasuhito; Zimmerman,Kathy. Individual conferences scheduled this week.

MAR 22-- Spring break; no class

MAR 29 — Perkins, Sam; Angelle,Patricia; Bedore,Jason; Bishop,Rebecca; Caruso,Carmela; Comeau,Jeffrey.

APR 5—Liam Rector reading, Campus Bookstore

APR 12 -- Gamache,Nathan; Gang, Alexander; Meteer, Ruth; Lam,Son-ca; McEnany,Gerard

APR 19— Nisetich, Pamela; O’Connor,Shannon; Reinstein,Alan; Yamamoto,Yasuhito; Zimmerman,Kathy

APR 26—Peter Fallon reading, Campus Bookstore

MAY 3—Lightning Round 1; individual conferences scheduled this week.

MAY 10—Last class; lightning round 2

MAY 17—Final portfolio due

 


 

 
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