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ENGL 380: Writing Poetry (Rev. C1) Report a Broken Link

English 380: Writing Poetry focuses on expanding poetic technique through guided practice, close reading, regular use of a writer’s notebook, constructive interaction with peers, and informed instructor responses. With attention to weekly writing, reading, and revision, the course promotes learning to think and work like a poet. Students will find copious references to what various poets say about poetry and its creation, as well as engage in challenging technical examination of specific works. Balancing attention to the essential “small details” of the art, the course also opens up awareness of pertinent historical and cultural questions that enter into the discipline.

Lesson 2: Reading Poetry Aloud

“A Marriage” by R.S. Thomas (video)

“A Story about the Body” by Robert Hass (video)

“Two Songs” by Adrienne Rich (video)

“The Widow’s Lament” by William Carlos Williams (video)

“A Puppy Called Puberty,” “A Dog Called Elderly” by Adrian Mitchell (video)

“O Tell Me the Truth about Love” by W. H. Auden (video)

Lesson 3: What's in a Line?

Hoffman, Deborah. Excerpt from Introduction. The Spirit of Sound: Prosodic Method in the Poetry of William Blake, W.B. Yeats, and T.S. Eliot. Dissertation, McGill University, 2009, pp. 18–20.

Start with the second paragraph on page 18, beginning with “This study will argue that the prosody conducive to achieving…”

Lesson 4: More on Line and Sound

"Because I Could Not Stop for Death" by Emily Dickenson.
"Pastoral" by William Carlos Williams.
"At the Faucet of June" by William Carlos Williams.

Lesson 6: Patterns of Imagery

"The Game between the Jews and the Indians Is Tied Going Into the Bottom of the Ninth Inning" by Sherman Alexie.

Lesson 7: Diction—Levels and Multiple Meanings

McCaslin, Susan. “Triolet for the Amphetamine Afflicted.” In Fine Form, edited by Kate Braid and Sandy Shreve, Raincoast Books, 2005, p. 250.
A Country Tradition (video)

Lesson 8: Syntax—Grammar's Got Rhythm

"Blackjack" by Steven Heighton
Shreve, Sandy. “Landing.” In Fine Form, edited by Kate Braid and Sandy Shreve, Raincoast Books, 2005, p. 250.
"Glenn Gould's Hands" by Kate Braid
Waddington, Miriam. “Old Women of Toronto.” In Fine Form, edited by Kate Braid and Sandy Shreve, Raincoast Books, 2005, p. 222.
"polar bears on yonge street" by bill bissett

Lesson 9: Rhetoric—Four Classic Modes

"The Back Seat of My Mother's Car" by Julia Copus
Beissel, Henry. “Tanka.” In Fine Form, edited by Kate Braid and Sandy Shreve, Raincoast Books, 2005, p. 106.
"Going to Sleep" by Dorothy Livesay
"Two Songs" by Adrienne Rich

Lesson 10: Point of View, Persona, and Literary Spirit

"The Fish" by Marianne Moore.

This poem can also be found in the Appendix of Lesson 2.
Rose, Rachel. “Sestina of the Geographic Tongue.” In Fine Form, edited by Kate Braid and Sandy Shreve, Raincoast Books, 2005, pp. 186–87.
"The Sea Rose" by H.D.

This poem can also be found in the Appendix of Lesson 2.

Lesson 13: Stanzas and Sections

Braid, Kate, and Sandy Shreve, editors. “Syllabics.” In Fine Form, Raincoast Books, 2005, pp. 227–35.

Lesson 22: Other Variations—Pattern, Concrete, and Conceptual

Boyle, Frances. “Hand Game.” In Fine Form, edited by Kate Braid and Sandy Shreve, Raincoast Books, 2005, p. 273.

Glossary of Supplemental Terms

Herman Melville’s, Moby Dick [audio]

Herman Melville’s, Omoo [audio]