Introduction to Writing Poetry
Curriculum guideline
Classes will be conducted in the workshop format. The following may be combined with the workshop:
- lectures and discussions
- small group work
- assigned reading and class presentations
- interviews with instructor
- exercises
- recitations
Selected poems from published texts.
Students’ manuscripts.
General Objectives:
The student will transform his or her experiences and insights into appropriate poetic form and language. The student will develop a poetic voice by adapting recognized forms and structures to his or her own expression. The student will produce poetry to be presented to the class for discussion and suggestions for revision.
Specific Objectives:
Pre-writing:
- The student will consider personal experience and learn how this material can be used to create a poem.
- The student will develop an understanding of poetic techniques through classroom exercises.
Writing:
- The student will learn to manipulate tone, movement, and imagery in order to produce a complete poem.
- The student will recognize a variety of poetic forms and learn to use these forms in his or her own poems, where appropriate.
- The student will learn to develop writing habits consistent with the production of quality written work.
- Over the term, the student will produce poetry that shows a growth in his or her understanding and rendering of poetic form and expression.
Reading:
- The student will learn to read the work of published poets to discover how poets use form, imagery and style as an aid to expression.
- The student will learn to adapt and use the poetic techniques he or she discovers in published works of poetry.
- By reading his or her work aloud in the classroom, the student will develop the critical skills necessary to judge the effectiveness of his or her poetry.
Revising:
- The student will learn to recognize the value of revision as an essential part of the writing process and will revise his or her work to its full potential.
- By participating in the workshop, the student will evaluate critical suggestions from the instructor and his or her peers, and incorporate these into the revised poems, where suitable.
At least ten poems submitted and revised throughout the term will constitute 60% of the grade. At least one of the poems must be in a traditional form, such as sonnet, sestina or villanelle. Other evaluations may include class participation, in-class assignments; report on a book of poems, or a presentation of a memorized poem.
Students are required to attend 80% of the workshops. A student missing more than 20% of the workshops without receiving prior permission from the instructor will receive a 0 mark for participation. Leaving after the break is considered half an absence.
Textbooks and Materials to be Purchased by Students
A text that includes representative selections from traditional and modern poetry, such as The New Oxford Book of Canadian Verse in English ed. Margaret Atwood; and/or a contemporary literary journal, such as Event; and/or 15 Canadian Poets x 2 (ed. Gary Geddes).