Where Words Are Born

In this class, students will strive to create poems that are alive on the page: sonically, emotionally, imaginatively, linguistically. Each week, students will read a book of poems and occasionally type short, critical responses. The syllabus, without an overt thematic link, will function as a constellation: sparkly, nonlinear, with some aesthetic dark space between the collections. Students will bring in a new first draft of a poem each week. Because the act of writing is a process and not an event, students will be expected to revise a selection of poems vigorously to chisel their breathing. Fifty percent of each class will be spent discussing the reading; the remaining 50 percent will be devoted to student work. In addition, there will be biweekly Thursday night meetings, where we will begin to think about the ways a poetic text may come to life in a theatrical setting. The class will culminate in a theatrical presentation of student work, where students will embody and give breath to several poems that they have written.