READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS FOR THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 8-14, 2008

Please read all of the selections by W.D. Snodgrass and Robert Lowell in your Northon Anthology of Contemporary Poetry. (The bookstore has assured me that copies have been ordered and will be arriving either today (Monday, 9/8), or by tomorrow at the very latest (Tuesday, 9/9). Please make sure to get a copy of the anthology ASAP if you haven't done so already in one form or another.

We will be discussing Lowell throughout the remainder of the week, and won't begin reading/discussing Sylvia Plath until the following week (Monday, September 15). I'll distribute another updated print schedule.

Here are some basic internet links/pages on Robert Lowell to get you started:

Robert Lowell - Academy of American Poets

Robert Lowell - Modern American Poetry

Robert Lowell - Poetry Foundation

Please also read the following article on Robert Lowell, located in Project Muse, from the USD library research databases (http://www.usd.edu/library/research/ - On this page, scroll down to the listing of databases, click on Project Muse, search for Robert Lowell, and the following articles will come right up in full-text format):

Thurston, Michael, "Robert Lowell's Monumental Vision: History, Form, and the Cultural Work of Postwar American Lyric," American Literary History - Volume 12, Number 1&2, Spring/Summer 2000, pp. 79-112.

Additional articles on Robert Lowell in Project Muse that are definitely worth taking a look at:

Sarwar, Selim, "Robert Lowell: Scripting the Mid-Century Eschatology," Journal of Modern Literature - Volume 25, Number 2, Winter 2001-2002, pp. 114-130.

Burt, Stephen, "Rebellious Authority: Robert Lowell and Milton at Midcentury," Journal of Modern Literature - Volume 24, Number 2, Winter 2000/2001, pp. 337-347.

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Don't forget that your first round of blogging will be due on Sunday, September 14, by midnight. Please make sure to label your blog post clearly as follows: Blog Post for Week of September 8-14, 2008: [Insert your post title here]. Your blog post should be a minimum of 500 words, and should address some aspect of this week's class discussion and/or readings.

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Upcoming Literary Events:

Please consider joining the Vermillion Literary Project - our undergraduate literary organization that sponsors monthly poetry slams, an annual short story contest, an annual poetry festival, the Sorcerer's Apprentice Writing Camp for high school students, and an annual literary magazine. The first meeting for the VLP will be this Friday, September 14, at 4:00 p.m., in Dakota Hall 201. I highly encourage you to check it out! It's fun, and provides you with wonderful literary experiences and skills!

The first VLP slam will be held on Thursday, September, 25, at 7:00 p.m., at the Coffee Shop Gallery in downtown Vermillion. The featured poet and slam-master will be Minneapolis poet and professor Gary Dop -- a wonderful poet and reader! Afterwards, everyone is welcome to participate in the poetry slam.