Monday 4-7, 107 Memorial

Dr. Fleda Brown

Office: 314 Memorial Hall

Office hours: M 2:30-4:00, F 10:30-12, and by appointment

Office phone: 831-6749

Home phone: 369-8181

E-mail: fleda@udel.edu

Website: www.english.udel.edu.lrussell/brown/index.html

Texts: Bishop, Wendy. Thirteen Ways of Looking for a Poem (Longman, 

2000)

Plus 3 collections of poems of your own choosing, in consultation with me.

Use the Spring Church Book Company flier to help you choose.

Attendance:You must attend every class. It is not possible to “make up” the work done

in a workshop-type course. Each class represents an entire week’s work. If

you are ill, you must furnish a doctor’s note when you return. Every

unexcused missed class will lower your grade by ½ grade (B becomes a B-, 

etc.). If you arrive more than 10 min. late or leave more than 10 min. early,

this will be considered ¼ of an absence (4 times = an absence).

Course requirements: 

1. In this course you will be expected to write papers on three

collections of poems you have read. One of these papers will also be

delivered orally to the class at a time you sign up for below, on the syllabus.

The other two papers will be due any day BUT the day midterm or final

portfolios are due. One paper must be turned in before midterm and one after midterm. On the next page you will find instructions for these papers. Together, they represent approximately 30% of your grade.

2. You will be expected to turn in both a working journal

(explanation following) and a portfolio of poems (see below) and all

their drafts at midterm and at the end of the semester. I will give you a

temporary (working) grade at midterm that may change by the end of the

semester as your work improves. Your final portfolio-plus-journal check

makes up approximately 60% of your grade.

3. You are expected to contribute in class. That contribution will

take two forms: 

(1) you will be expected to read assignments and be able to

comment on them, and to learn how to comment intelligently on your peers’ poems and other poems discussed in class, and 

(2) you will be expected to write comments for revision on each of your peers’ poems each week and return them the following week. You will keep a record of your own poems returned with comments. Your contributions will make up approximately 10% of your grade.­­­­­­­­­­­­­

Regular journal entries: You will keep a prose journal all semester, writing in it every day. You should write approximately a page every day, five days a week. You may write more, but not less, at least not very often. This prose writing should be the sourcebook for your poems, the place you go to get ideas, images, to loosen up, to get moving. You may write anything in your journal, but always thinking of it as a sourcebook, a seedbed for poems.

Regular weekly poem assignments for your portfolio: Each week you must write a new poem based on one of the “Invention Exercises” or the “Reading Into Writing” sections in the Bishop book. There are so many of these that I guarantee you will always be able to find one that fits whatever mood you’re in, or whatever direction you feel like going at the moment. You will clearly indicate at the top of the page which of the exercises you used and what page it is on. 

Conferences with me: You’re always welcome to come see me about your work if you have a problem you’re trying to work through and need help focusing. Bring your poem and your specific questions. My office hours are listed above.

Syllabus

Feb4Introduction, exercise and discussion in class. Poems turned in for my

review.Class roster posted by Feb. 5, afternoon.

11Bishop, Intro. and Ch. 1. Come to class knowing the terms at the end. 

(Any time there are terms, you’re expected to know them). Also read the case study at the end, Devan Cook, p. 374, and “Writing Toward the Center” on my website. 

18Bishop, Ch. 2. Know the meters. Try scanning your own name. 

Don’t forget to learn the terms. I won’t keep reminding you on this syllabus.

Read Revision case study by William Snyder, p. 384.

Presenter__________________________________________

25Bishop, Ch. 3. Read Revision case study by Rex West, p. 397. Make a copy

of the checksheet for revision of a poem on my website. Try using it.

Presenter__________________________________________

Mar4Bishop, Ch. 4

Presenter­­­­­­­__________________________________________

­

11Bishop, Ch. 5

Presenter __________________________________________

18Bishop, Ch. 7. 

Midterm portfolio and journal check. Bring both to class, all poems in order with most recent copy at the back, first draft at the front, so I can see the progression. Label each draft #1, draft #2, etc. Make sure all journal entries are dated. Include a one-page statement of how you think you’re progressing to this point, what you think you need to concentrate on for the rest of the semester.

Presenter __________________________________________

25Bishop, Ch. 8

Presenter___________________________________________

Apr1Spring Break

8Bishop, Ch. 9

Presenter ___________________________________________

Presenter___________________________________________

15Bishop, Ch. 10

Presenter ___________________________________________

22Bishop, Ch. 11

Presenter ___________________________________________

29Bishop, Ch. 12

Presenter ___________________________________________

May6Bishop, Ch. 13, evaluations.

Presenter ­­­­­­___________________________________________

13 Last class. Final portfolios and journals due.Same instructions as for 

midterm. Again, write a 1-2 page assessment of your work, what you think you’ve accomplished this semester, what you need to concentrate on in the future. Put a colored sheet between work from the first half of the

semester and the second half.

Poetry Reading. Cookies, etc. Invite your friends. We will advertise this and

get an audience. 

Your Three Papers

I. Written

Choose books by poets I may suggest to you. Or, you may read a poem in Bishop that makes you want to read more of that person’s work. Do not choose without talking them over with me. Try not to choose books by people whose work you already know pretty well. The object is to learn from people you’ve never heard of. IMPORTANT: Pick single collections, not “Selected Poems” or “Collected poems” that contain poems from several volumes. 

Please actually purchase the books (Most will be $10-$14). They are your textbooks. I would like you to think of them as yours. Write in them. Talk back to them.

Read the book carefully and write a 2-3 page, typed, double spaced essay reviewing the book. In your essay, answer the following questions (Make this a unified essay; don’t just go down the list and answer questions.):

1. Pick a poem or two that seem to be typical of this person’s work and explain how.

2. What qualities do you like/dislike in this poet’s work?

3. How is the book organized? Is there a sequence, an overarching metaphor? What does the title of the book tell you about the poems?

4. What have you learned from closely studying this person’s poems that may make a difference in your own work? 

I’ll go down the Spring Church list and make suggestions. In addition, here are some poets you might want to consider: 

James WrightEavan BolandElizabeth Bishop

Seamus HeaneyDenise LevertovPhilip Larkin

Ted HughesMona Van DuynJosephine Miles

Yusef KomunyakaaNancy WillardJorie G

Richard WilburRobert PinskyMark Strand

Gjertrud SchnackenbergWilliam StaffordMary Oliver

Gary SnyderLinda Pastan

Muriel RukeyserMaxine Kumin

Adrienne RichTess Gallagher

Larry LevisEllen Bryant Voigt

Galway Kinnell           Gerald Stern

Richard HugoRobert Hass

Michael HarperCathy Song

Robert FrancisLouise Erdrich

Rita Dove

Gwendolyn Brooks

II. Oral presentations:

1. Same general guidelines as for the written assignment. 

2. Make this interesting for us. Tell us what interested you or didn’t about this poet. Tell us what you learned for your own work, what you’ve tried because of reading this person’s work. 

3. Handouts are nice. Most will have never seen this person’s work before. You may also use the overhead, or if you want to get really fancy, you can make a Powerpoint presentation. You could find a tape of this person reading and have us listen to a little of it. Ask me where you might look.

4. Talk from notes. Have a thesis. Have a point you want to focus on, a direction you want your talk to take.

5. Take about 10 min. Not much more, not much less.