For much of literary history poetry has served as a core cultural medium meant to evoke, inform, and entertain. While its earliest iterations focused on narrative and didacticism, more contemporary forms emphasize poetry's conceptual elements, the formation and illustration of complex ideas in interesting, often bizarre combinations of sound, form, and meaning. In this course, poets will explore the foundations of conceptual writing. Students will be challenged to break from their conventional literary mindsets to approach more avant-garde, process-driven styles with an emphasis on developing complex central metaphors. Each class will include brief lecture portions on the history of conceptualism, analysis of poems, open discussion, performance workshops, writing exercises, and weekly critiques. This course is principally designed for students who want to escape creative ruts through experimentation. Although this course is aimed at more advanced students, newcomers to poetry are also welcome.
NOTE: Though writing assignments will be completed in and outside of class, this is not a workshop. About half our time will be devoted to discussion and analysis of poetics. Optional readings will be provided in addition to weekly writing assignments.
Instructor: James Cole