ENGL 225 003

2013 Fall term, Tuesdays and Thursdays 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Gillian JeromeBUCH 414gillian.jerome@mail.ubc.caOffice Hours: Mondays 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Introduction to the Pleasures of Poetry

The purpose of this course is to get you acquainted with the fundamental concepts of lyric and conceptual poetries, their techniques, formal vocabularies and their rich and varied traditions so that you can learn to read various kinds of poems with depth and complexity, but more importantly, with pleasure so that you might become a life-long reader of this great literary art.

Teaching Philosophy and Course Proceedings:

In the first part of this course, say the first six weeks, we’ll focus on the fundamentals of poetry—definitions of terms that you might not know as well as technical features and devices. Once we’ve encountered some of the basic knowledge required to study poetry, we’ll move into reading poems more broadly and deeply through more theoretical/contextual approaches. As far as my teaching style goes, I teach concepts and ways of reading through modeling (lecture), conversation, questions and practice. You will always be invited to “practice” a concept or critical approach taught in class. The course assignments are designed to invite you to deepen that practice.

I like to teach formal and critical concepts as simply as possible so that you “get” the gist of what’s being taught and then, through questions and discussion, move into rich, complex, complicated conversations and readings. I will teach you how to do close textual analysis and introduce you to cultural and theoretical approaches to reading poems through my own readings and lectures as well as our collaborative work.

Above all, my teaching philosophy and practice comes from a love of teaching, reading and writing poetry. It’s important to me that you get a chance to experience poetry as it happens outside of a traditional scholarly format and so we’ll attend at least ONE public poetry reading together.

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Course Requirements:

Recitation & Short Talk 15% (Your date:_________)

You may choose to either recite a lyric poem or present to the class a concrete or conceptual poem for this assignment. Either way, you must deliver a 5-minute short, lively talk about how the poem works and what it means. All presentations should be no longer than 7 minutes. Please note that lyric poems must be memorized.

A two-page close reading 20% (February 4th)

In keeping with the objectives of a course that introduces you to the fundamentals of poetry, you must apply formal concepts and analytical methods taught in class by reading closely one poem from the anthology or above list of poets. You are welcome to “read” the poem beyond its formal features but you must do so succinctly. Multiple drafts are highly recommended.

Creative Assignment 10% (Due two weeks after date listed.)

I have listed four possible creative writing exercises based on concepts taught in class. You can write all of these assignments but you must choose only ONE to hand in to me in its final draft. These assignments include: 1) a translation of Pound’s poem “To a River Merchant’s Wife, A Letter” 2) dramatic voice poem 3) sonnet and 4) homophonic translation. The poem is due to me two weeks after it’s listed in the schedule. You are encouraged to come to office hours to show me a draft or several drafts before you hand it in.

Research Paper 25% (March 13th)

You must write an original research paper in which you “read” a poem closely and critically (close reading) but also contextually (research). After reading the poem closely and carefully, and grasping at its meaning, you will ask questions about its broader references and implications as you move toward a critical approach to the text that deepens your reading of it. Following methods of theoretical analyses demonstrated in class, you may choose from a variety of critical perspectives (feminist, Marxist, psychoanalytic, postcolonial, new historical, cultural, etc.) to write a thoughtful, original analysis. You must cite the original text and at least three scholarly papers using MLA documentation. Maximum 6 pages or 3,000 words typed in Times New Roman 12-point font.

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Exam 30%

Texts: The Discovery of Poetry, Second Edition, by Frances Mayes(Please note that this text has a purple cover.)

I will hand out essays about craft as well as historical/cultural/theoretical concerns about the poems we’ll study throughout the term. Please bring a $5 photocopying fee to class by Week Two.

Commonplace Books:

“For centuries, philosophers, scholars, lawyers, doctors, theologians, artists and poets have gathered the memorable thoughts and words of others and organized them in commonplace books. These treasure houses of ancient and modern knowledge preserve quotations, anecdotes, maxims, jokes, verses and magical spells, as well as astrological predictions, medicinal and culinary recipes, devotional texts and mathematical tables---in short, subject matter of every stripe. As such, they have played an integral and abiding role in Western intellectual life throughout the ages.”

-Curator, Beinecke Library’s Exhibit: Commonplace Books: Manuscripts and Printed Books from Antiquity to the Twentieth Century

Buy a notebook, your very own commonplace book, and use it. Bring it to class.

Evaluation:

You will be graded in your written work on the organization and development of argument, content (information, clarity of thought and critical thinking), and mechanics (style, grammar, punctuation, spelling and reference format).

Essays will be graded according to the English Department’s grading standards and penalized 10% per day (including weekends) for late submissions unless you have a doctor’s note.

I do not accept papers via email.

You cannot receive a passing grade in this course unless you have submitted all major assignments and completed the final exam. To

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receive full credit, all written assignments must be submitted on time, in the proper format (on 8 1/2 x 11 paper, with proper margins, 12 pt Times New Roman font, double spaced, and with a title page), and with the required supporting materials.

Be sure to keep a copy of any papers you hand in to me, in the unlikely event that I lose one, you will be asked to supply another copy or re-write the assignment. If you ever have questions about my comments, evaluations or your grades, seem me right away; do not let problems fester.

Attendance:

Regular attendance, promptness and preparation before class are all crucial. Instructors are not obligated to reteach material that has already been taught in regular classes and so it’s a good idea to exchange emails with other students. Do not contact me if you have missed class: notes, handouts and other missed information is your responsibility. The UBC Department of English attendance policy states that if you miss 40% or more of the classes for this course, including absences both avoidable and unavoidable, you will be considered unable to meet the learning outcomes of this course and excluded from the final exam.

Class Participation:

Come to class prepared to discuss a given poem or group of poems. This means that you will need to know things: the meanings of words, the significance of names and dates, places, historical or mythological allusions. I will expect you to know the meanings of all words in the assigned poems. More importantly, you will be expected to write TWO questions for each poem you read in this class in your commonplace books and I will call upon people randomly to share their questions with the class. Your homework in this class is mandatory but will not always be graded; however, all homework has been chosen specifically to prepare you for the final exam.

Guidelines for Participation:

Participation in class discussion is your responsibility. You must read all assigned readings and bring the required texts for that day to class. (See course schedule for the daily reading list.) An “A” student reads the texts assigned with a depth of critical understanding: that

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is, you take notes, ask questions and offer critical thoughts on the central ideas. Your ideas stimulate and develop the conversation by taking it to the next level before the professor does. You also encourage other students to contribute to the group.

Disabilities Accommodation:  Students with disabilities who require reasonable accommodations to fully participate in course activities or meet course requirements must register with the Disability Resource Center. If you qualify for services through DRC, bring your letter of accommodation to me as soon as possible and I will be happy to sit down with you to discuss a suitable arrangement.

Plagiarism:

Plagiarism is subject to disciplinary action by the University. Please see the Calendar on the definition of plagiarism and penalties. Plagiarism is easily avoided if you acknowledge all sources, whether you quote directly or use someone else’s basic ideas. Citation guidelines are available any writing handbook.

Grades:

UBC English Department Grading System

Percent Letter Grade

90-100 A+85-89 A80-84 A-

76-79 B+72-75 B68-71 B-

64-67 C+60-63 C55-59 C-

50-54 D00-49 F

An “A” Paper:

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This paper must be fully focused on the topic and consistently strong in structure, content, expression, mechanics and presentation. If the paper is based on a text or if it draws material from other primary or secondary sources, it must include full documentation in the MLA style. An “A” paper should contain an original and credible argument in response to the topic.

A “B” Paper:

This paper must be well focused on the topic; its thesis must be well supported by convincing evidence and explanations. The structure of a “B” paper must be strong and clear; its thesis must be specific and significant. If this paper contains errors of expression, they must be occasional rather than chronic, and they must not obscure meaning. A “B” paper based on research must be accurately documented in the MLA style. The principal difference between an “A” paper and a “B” paper is the quality and the level of argument. A “B” paper is less adventurous than an “A”; it may tend to rely more heavily on materials and arguments raised in lectures and discussions than an “A” paper would.

A “C-D” Paper:

A paper at this level is generally clear in its expression, but it is weaker in content and/or structure than a “B” paper. Its thesis may be vague (but still on topic); its transitions may be inconsistent; its evidence may be occasionally unconvincing or incomplete. Language errors in this category will be more frequent than those at the “A” or “B” level, but they will not be so serious or so chronic that they make a paper difficult or impossible to understand.

An “F” Paper:

A paper at this level will suffer from one or more of the following serious flaws: it may be off topic; it may lack a thesis; it may lack clear and adequate development and paragraphing; it may be deficient in presentation of evidence; it may contain serious and repeated errors in sentence structure, diction and grammar—-errors that obscure meaning.

A Grade of Zero:

Any paper that does not give complete or accurate credit for directly quoted material OR for ideas and arguments that the student paraphrased from another source must receive a grade of zero.

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Reading Schedule

DOP= The Discovery of Poetry by Frances Mayes

All work listed for a given class (DOP, discussion, homework, exercises) much be completed by that class. Typically, in Thursday’s class we’ll continue on from discussions started during Tuesday’s class.

You have three kinds of written assignments this term: a close reading, a creastive writing exercise and a research paper. Read the last three chapters in the DOP----Chapters 10 (Interpretation: The Wide Response), 11 (Writing About Poetry) and 12 (A Poet’s Handbook)----to gain some preliminary understanding of how to write critically about poetry. Keep in mind that the close readings offered as examples in this anthology don’t exactly match what I’m asking for. Stay tuned for each assignment sheet and examples from past students.

Class Proceedings

Homework (to be read/written on date listed)

Week 1 January 7th

Course IntroductionShort lectures on Lyric and Conceptual Poetries including a brief historical overview of moderni

Chapter 1 of the Discovery of Poetry

Read: Ezra Pound, “In a Station of the Metro” (306)Gertrude Stein, “A Piano” (444)+ “Apples” + “Milk” + “A Chair”

Christian Bök reads from Chapter I, Eunoiahttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUNwHmQc9ykCaroline Bergvall reads from “Summer Tale”http://writing.upenn.edu/pennsound/x/Bergvall.php

Research:“Poetic Visuality and Experimentation” http://canlitguides.ca/guides/poetic_visuality_and_experimentation/1

Betts, Gregory. “Postmodern Decadence in Canadian Sound and Visual Poety.” Re:Reading the Postmodern. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 2010. 151-179.

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st and postmodernist aesthetics and practices

January 9th

“A Father at His Son’s Baptism” by Amy Gerstler (25)

Week 2 January 14th

Lecture on Canadian Poetries #1Indigeneity, Nation-Making, Empire

January 16th

“A Sea Chant” Inuit poem translated by Danish Anthropologist Knud RasmussenInuit throat singing“A Cry from an Indian Wife” by Pauline Johnson (handout)

Research:Landau, Emily. “Double Vision” www.walrus.ca. The Walrus, July/August 2012. Web. 2 Jan. 2014.

Gerson, Carole. “The Most Canadian of All Canadian Poets: Pauline Johnson and the Construction of a National Literature.” www.canlit.ca. Canadian Literature, 9 Aug. 2012. Web. 2 Jan. 2014

Journals of Knud Rasmussen. Film.http://www.isuma.tv/en/isuma-productions/jkr

“Pauline Johnson (Tekahionwake): A Cultural Ambassador”, Can Lit Guides, Canadian Literature http://canlitguides.ca/guides/indigenous_literatures_in_canada/4

Chapter 2 Words: Texture and SoundShort lecture on Vowel and Consonant SoundsReturn to “A Cry from An Indian Wife” by Pauline JohnsonFrom The Canterbury Tales (60)Return to Christian Bok + Eunoia

Week 3 January

“Helpless” by Neil Young (handout)“Sandra Lee Scheuer” by Gary Geddes (handout)

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21st

Lecture on Canadian Poetries #2Enduring Colonial Mythologies, Resistances and Postmodern Experiments

“Dark Pines Under Water” by Gwendolyn MacEwen (handout) “Jacob” by Maria Campbell (handout)

Research:CBC interview with Maria Campbell http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Canada/Saskatchewan/Year+of+the+Métis/ID/1597305881/

Neuhaus, Mareike. “The Marriage of Mother and Father: Michif Influences as Expressions of Métis Intellectual Sovereignty in Stories of the Road Allowance People.” Studies in American Indian Literatures. 2010. Volume 22/Issue 1, pp 20-48.http://muse.jhu.edu.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/journals/studies_in_american_indian_literatures/v022/22.1.neuhaus.html

January 23rd

CLASS CANCELLEDEssay: Read “Sad Anthropologists: the Dialectical Use of Tone” by Tony Hoagland (handout) + questions

Week 4 January 28th

January 30th

Discuss “Jacob” by Maria Campbell“Purple Bathing Suit” by Louise Glück in relation to Hoagland’s essay

Essay: Read “Images” by Robert Hass (handout)Read: Chapter 3 Images: The Perceptual FieldDiscuss “Helpless” by Neil Young“Dark Pines Under Water” by Gwendolyn MacEwen in relation to Hass’ essay

Week 5 February 4th

Close Reading DueChapter 3 Images Continued“The Lamb” by William Blake (118)“The Tyger” by William Blake (119)Fun Creative Assignment #1: Translation of Pound’s “To A River Merchant’s Wife, A Letter”

Februar Read: Chapter 4 The Speaker: The Eye of the Poem

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y 6th “Autobiography Literaria” by Frank O’Hara (164)“If On Account of the Political Situation” by W.H. Auden (171)Revisit Hoagland’s essay on toneFun Creative Assignment #2: Dramatic Voice Poem

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Week 6 February 11th

February 13th

Week 7 February 17-21 Winter Break

Week 8 February 25th

February 27th

Week 9 March 4th

Lecture on Modernism #1

March 6th

Lecture on

First Round of Short Talks(10 @ 7 minutes each absolute max.)

Read: Chapter 5 Rhyme and Repetition“Now Winter Nights Enlarge” by Thomas Campion (200) “An Ancient Gesture” by Edna St. Vincent Millay (204) OR“Lucky Life” by Gerald Stern (245)

Read: Chapter 6 Meter: The Measured FlowOver the break read Chapter 6 and begin the homework listed below. During our week’s work on meter, I want you to practice scanning poems at The University of Virginia website For Better or Verse.

Read: Chapter 6 Meter: The Measured Flow“My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke (280)“Bright Star” by John Keats (342)“Pied Beauty” by Gerard Manley Hopkins (43)Scansion Homework page 253, questions 1, 2, 3Exercise page 275 (“God’s Grandeur” by Manley Hopkins)

“By Disposition of the Angels” by Marianne Moore (278)“Mushrooms” by Sylvia Plath (276)Scansion Homework: Exercises on page 278 (“Fern Hill” by Dylan Thomas) and 281 (“The Pasture” by Robert Frost and “My Papa’s Waltz” by Roethke)

Read: Chapter 7 Free VerseLecture on Poetic Line“In the Station of the Metro” by Pound (306)from “Portraits” by ee Cummings (309)“The Great Figure” by William Carlos Williams (311)“To a Poor Old Woman” by William Carlos Williams (129)Essay: “On the Function of the Line” by Denise Levertov

Session on How to Write a Research PaperFinish up lecture on modernism and thoughts on poetic line.

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Modernism #2

Week 10 March 11th

March 13th

Week 11 March 18th

March 20th

Postmodernism in Canadian Poetries Lecture #1

Week 12 March 25th

Postmodernism in Canadian Poetries Lecture #2

March 27th

Week 13 April 1st

April 3rd

Read: Chapter 8 Traditional and Open Forms“I Am” by John Clare (298) “Sonnet for Bonnie” by Darren Wershler (handout)“July 19, 1979” by Marilyn Hacker (365)“Sonnet Reversed” by Rupert Brooke (363)Exercises on page 363Fun Creative Assignment #3: Write a Sonnet, page 365Second Round of Short Talks(10 @ 7 minutes each max.)

Third Round of Short Talks(10 @ 7 minutes each max.)

Research Paper DueLecture on Postmodern Canadian PoetriesVisual and Sound PoetriesDarren Wershler HenryChristian Bök “Eunoia”Jordan Abelangela rawlings

Lecture on Postmodern Canadian PoetriesRita WongNourbeSe PhilipSina Queyras and www.lemonhound.comFun Creative Assignment #4: Homophonic Translation. Phonetically “translate” a poem not in English into English. Example: Niels Hav’s “Betroelse”.

The Lyric and Ecological Consciousness in Canadian Poetry and Poetics: An Intro to Eco-CriticismJan Zwicky excerpt from Songs for Relinquishing the EarthDon McKay excerpt from Birding, or Desire

angela rawlings excerept from Wide Slumber for LepidopteristsChristine Leclerc excerpt from The Enpipe LineStephen Collis and Jordan Scott excerpt from Decomp

Review for ExamFourth Round of Short Talks(5 @ 7 min each max.)

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EXAMS APRIL 12 to 30th: Do not book a flight during this time.

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