Syllabus

Poetry Writing (Spring 2014)

Professor Michael Meyerhofer

Monday, Wednesday, Friday in RB 105, 2 to 2:50 PM (308-001)
Tuesday, Thursday in RB 284 from 11 AM to 12:15 PM (308-002)

www.bsuenglish308.blogspot.com

Writing is thinking. To write well is to think clearly. That's why it's so hard.   
—David McCullough

I think one of my early motivations for writing was that other people's versions of experience didn't gel with my own. It was a gesture toward sanity to try to get the world right for myself. I've since learned that if you get it right for yourself, it often has resonance for others.  

—Stephen Dunn

Welcome to English 308! The easiest way to reach me is via email, mrmeyerhofer@bsu.edu. You can also drop by my office (RB246) during my office hours (MW, noon to 2 PM). When I am in my office, you can call me at 285-8573. If those times do not work, you are more than welcome to set up an appointment with me. 

Texts:

Always Danger by David Hernandez (Southern Illinois University Press)

Folly by Norman Minnick (Wind Publications)

Imitation of Life by Allison Joseph (Carnegie Mellon)

No Object by Natalie Shapero (Saturnalia)

Strike Sparks by Sharon Olds (Knopf)

Class Description: This course is designed for aspiring poets and people seeking to increase their knowledge and understanding of poetry. Since we are all contemporary writers, I tend to focus primarily on contemporary (aka “living”) poets. I’ll push you to develop your own personal aesthetic—meaning, decide for yourself what makes a poem a poem. We will also discuss the formal elements of poetry like alliteration, assonance, extended metaphor, etc. This class also consists of intensive workshops in which we discuss each other’s poems, as well as the poetry of well-established contemporary poets like Sharon Olds, Dorianne Laux, Tony Hoagland, George Bilgere, Marie Howe, Kim Addonizio, Billy Collins, and others. Since no one is expected to consistently turn out great poems on the first or second draft, constructive feedback is also a vital component of the revision process, which factors heavily into the final portfolio. Each student in class will be expected to duplicate copies of his or her poems for class discussion. 
 

Class Requirements:

—A portfolio of 8 poems, written over the course of the semester, ALL revised by semester’s end (30% of final grade)

—Journals (30% of final grade)

—Class Participation (20% of final grade)

—Midterm exam (10% of final grade)

—A class presentation on a contemporary poet and/or collection of poems or school of poetry not discussed in class (10% of final grade)

Class Rules: Plagiarism: Don’t do it. The point of this class is for you to create poetry that is unique to you and to learn about yourself as a writer in the process. Turning in someone else’s poetry as your own prevents that from happening, and is grounds for automatic failure of and dismissal from the class. As for turning in work from previous courses—in general, I frown on that because odds are, you’re a better writer now than you were then. I might be willing to make exceptions if you talk to me first, though. My philosophy on workshops is this: if you don’t care about what you’ve written, we probably won’t either, so please only turn in work that you care about. 

Absences: You can miss up to three classes without penalty. If you miss four to five classes, your final grade will be reduced by one letter grade. If you miss six to seven classes, your final grade will be reduced by two letter grades. If you miss eight or more classes, you fail for the semester. However, attendance isn’t just a matter of being there on time; it’s a matter of good participation. I reserve the right to mark as absent any student who disrupts class or fails to be respectful to others.

Journals: I expect you to turn in a journal (two full, double spaced pages, typed) for each of the assigned texts. Don’t just say “I like this” or “I hate this.” Give me specific lines or techniques that caught your attention. You don’t have to like all the writers I assign, let alone all the poems in a given book. In fact, I welcome disagreements! Let’s get some good discussions/debates going so basically, look at the journals as prep for class discussion. Oh, and you can submit the journals either printed or over email, if you like. I grade journals ASAP so if you email your journal but don’t see a grade up on Gradebook by the next day, that means the email must not have gone through; in that case, contact me ASAP and we’ll figure something out. Finally, please be advised that the tradeoff for getting your journals graded so quickly is that I rarely have time to provide feedback on them, but I’m very willing to meet with you and discuss them if you like.

Class Participation: The way we improve as writers and critics is by practice and participation. In other words, this is a workshop class, not a lecture one. That means everyone must participate by giving feedback to class members. Both oral and written comments on poems by your classmates are required. This workshop is a writers’ community, and all members of the class are expected to give thoughtful, tactful, and serious consideration to work written by class members. Also, always feel free to ask questions about any aspect of the class. In terms of your final grade, strong class participation will help you greatly, especially if your grade is borderline. So don’t be afraid to speak up, and to speak your mind, but do it with consideration for the opinions and feelings of your classmates. Going along with this, you are expected to behave respectfully in class. That means please don’t chat, interrupt, play with cell phones or laptops, etc.

Midterm: Your midterm exam will cover some of the terminology and aesthetic philosophies discussed in class. If you pay attention (and ask questions), you’ll do fine.

Another Point About Workshops: We’re going to cover a lot of stuff in this class—the technical elements of contemporary poetry (especially free verse), different aesthetic philosophies, the various types of authorial risk, and naturally, all sorts of personal, political, and cultural topics that often inspire us to write in the first place. The best way to do this is through sincere but relaxed class discussions and workshops. You’ll find that rather than give formal lectures demanding rote memorization, I’ll dispense most of my lectures on craft through workshops. So please stay involved, even if your particular piece isn’t being discussed; often, a piece of advice or an observation that benefits someone else can benefit us, too.

About Your Instructor: I have published three books and five chapbooks of poetry and have won quite a few national prizes. I also have a literary fantasy novel forthcoming. Feel free to swing by my website and check out some of my work, if you're bored. This is my seventh year as an Assistant Professor at Ball State. Before this, I taught composition and creative writing, and worked as a tutor, at Southern Illinois University for four years. I am also the Poetry Editor for Atticus Review. As my prior students can attest to, I believe very strongly in being an advocate for my students. So if you have questions or concerns, let me know!