8: 168 Topics in Poetry
Professor Dee Morris
Office: EPB 460
Office Hours: W 2:00-3:00, F 11:30-12:30, & by appointment
Phone: 335-0412
dee-morris@uiowa.edu
Lyric poetry is often considered the most solitary of the arts, but it is possible to argue that the twentieth century's most vital and daring poetry was produced as a collective literature. In the history of English and American experimental modernism, a series of closely defined movements--among them, imagism, vorticism, objectivism, projectivism, the San Francisco Renaissance, Language writing, and the Black Arts Movement—attempted to revolutionize the act of writing poetry. This course will look at six groups of poets with shared interests, goals, orientations, and/or backgrounds and, more importantly, a plan of action that is both aesthetic and social. Imagism, Objectivism, the New York School, Language writing, Black Arts, and Slam were produced in London, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, and other metropolitan centers during the 1910s, 1930s, 1950s, late 1960s/early 1970s, and 1980s. Each responded to specific social and political pressures with manifestos, small journals, readings and performances, independent presses, and outbursts of literary publication. Each reached out to form alliances with other artists, musicians, and activists, and each swept into its orbit avant-garde movements in other arts such as painting, music, and public theater.
The course will be conducted as a discussion class. Student work will include two papers, posted reading responses, poem imitations, and a midterm and final examination.
Syllabus: This overview of the course includes a list of required books, a reading schedule, and due dates for writing assignments. In order to respond to questions and concerns that develop in our discussions, the syllabus will shift as we move through the semester. Do not, therefore, print out a hard copy but bookmark it in your browser and consult it to ascertain the reading and writing assignments for each class.
Assignments: This page contains specifications for written, oral, and posting assignments, a description of the midterm and final examinations, a statement on grading policies, and a list of collegiate and departmental procedures.
Resources: This page will contain a compendium of useful sites for clarifying poetic terms, locating biographical and/or critical material, and writing papers.
Discussion: This password protected page is a place to try out theories, ask questions, make hypotheses, recommend poems, and exchange information. We will also use it to post paragraphs on readings for class.
MAPS Site: This is the website that accompanies the Modern American Poetry anthology. It is hotlinked into the syllabus in many assignments during the semester, but you will also want to use it to explore historical, critical, and photographic materials related to each of our readings.