READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS FOR WEEK OF NOVEMBER 17-23, 2008

Important!!! Don't forget that rough drafts of your final papers are due in class on Monday, November 24!!! Rough drafts are worth 100 points, which will be accorded on the basis of completion (roughness is expected and absolutely fine, but I want to see a full-length rough draft, in other words) and timely submission.

This week's blog submission on Sunday, November 16, will be your final official round of blog posting. You may submit extra-credit blog posts on November 23, 30, and December 7 to either replace missing blog posts, or simply for extra credit.

Here are your readings for this week.

For Monday, November 17, please read the following selections from the Norton anthology:
Amiri Baraka (p. 632)
Yusef Komunyakaa (p. 858)
Ai (p. 875)
Thylias Moss (p. 999)

For Wednesday, November 19, please read the following selections from the Norton anthology:
Marilyn Chin (p. 1013)
Li-Young Lee (p. 1039)
Louise Erdrich (p. 1004)
Sherman Alexie (p. 1045)

For Friday, November 21, please read the following selections from the Norton anthology:
Lorna Dee Cervantes (p. 1954)
Dionisio D. Martinez (p. 1030)
Marilyn Hacker (p. 811)
Mark Doty (p. 993)

READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS FOR THE WEEK OF NOVEMBER 9-15, 2008

Don't forget to blog, and don't forget that Modeling Poem #3 will be due on Friday, November 14 (see guidelines in post below).

Here are the readings for this week.

For Monday, November 10, please read the following selections:
Poems by Charles Olson (p. 1, Norton anthology)
"Projective Verse" by Charles Olson (p. 1053, Norton anthology)
Poems by Robert Duncan (p. 150, Norton anthology)
Poems by Robert Creeley (p. 325, Norton anthology)

For Wednesday, November 12 and Friday, November 14, please read the following selections:
Poems by Allen Ginsberg (p. 334)
Poems by Lawrence Ferlinghetti (p. 162)
Poems by Gary Snyder (p. 534)
"Notes on Having Finally Recorded Howl," by Allen Ginsberg (p. 1074)

Additional LInks:

A Brief Guide to the Black Mountain School, at the Academy of American Poets

A Brief Guide to the San Francisco Renaissance at the Academy of American Poets

A Brief Guide to the Beat Poets at the Academy of American Poets

READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS FOR THE WEEK OF NOVEMBER 2-8, 2008

For Wednesday, November 5, please read the L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E poetry selections as outlined in the post below.

For Friday, November 7, please read the L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E poetry selections as outlined in the post below.

Your third and final modeling poem will consist of writing an experimental poem using one of the ideas from Charles Bernstein's list of poetry experiments, located here: http://writing.upenn.edu/bernstein/experiments.html

Your analysis should provide a 500-word discussion about how your experimental poem/experimental poetry challenges "mainstream" notions about language, poetry, art, and ideology, and whether or not you believe these challenges are, ultimately, successful.

ASSIGNMENTS AND READINGS FOR WEEK OF OCTOBER 27-NOVEMBER 2, 2008

For Monday, October 27, please read the Koch and Ashbery readings originally assigned for Friday, October, 24.

For Wednesday, October 29, please read all of the poems by Jorie Graham in the Norton Anthology.

Here are also some helpful links/articles on Graham:

Jorie Graham at the Academy of American Poets

Jorie Graham at the Poetry Foundation

Article on Jorie Graham at the literary journal Ploughshares

For Friday, October 31, please read the following in the Norton Anthology:

Poems by Susan Howe (p. 688)
Poems by Lynn Hejinian (p. 788)
Poems by Charles Bernstein (p. 909)
Charles Bernstein's essay on poetics, "Semblance" (p. 1112)

Here's additional information on Language Poetry:

A Brief Guide to Language Poetry at the Academy of American Poets

READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS FOR WEEK OF OCTOBER 20-26, 2008

On Monday, we discussed Berryman.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008: Please make sure you've read the assigned Frank O'Hara selections from the Norton Anthology (all poems, plus the essay "Personism" in the back of the anthology. Please also read all of the poems by Kenneth Koch in the anthology.

Friday, October 24, 2008: Please read all of the selections in the Norton Anthology by John Ashbery.

Useful Links/Additional Readings and Context on the New York School of Poets:

New York School, with accompanying links on individual authors and linked essays at the Academy of American Poets.

Your second modeling poem will be due on Monday, October 27. You may choose between either writing a Dream Song, in the style of John Berryman, or a Lunch Poem, in the style of Frank O'Hara. As with the last modeling assignment, please write up a 500-word analysis/discussion of your modeling, in which you discuss the style of the poet you're modeling from and the ways in which you attempted to imitate that particular style. Please post this to your blog on Monday, October 27, and also bring a hard copy to class. You are also responsible for submitting your regular round of blogging on Sunday, October 26, as regularly scheduled.

READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS FOR THE WEK OF OCTOBER 6-12, 2008

Don't forget to blog! Blog postings for the week of September 28-October 5 will be due by midnight on Sunday, October 5.

For Monday, October 6, please make sure you're current/caught up on the Elizabeth Bishop readings (see prior post).

For Wednesday, October 8, please read all of the poems/selections in the Norton anthology on Randall Jarrell and John Berryman.

Here are some links on Jarrell and Berryman to give you additional information/context:

Randall Jarrell at The Academy of American Poets

Randall Jarrell at Modern American Poetry

John Berryman at The Academy of American Poets

John Berryman at Modern American Poetry

Additional Recommended Articles on Jarrell and Berryman can be 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 Randall Jarrell or John Berryman, and the following articles will come right up in full-text format:

"Sentimental Education: Randall Jarrell Among the Women," by Gail Mcdonald, Modernism/Modernity, Vol. 5, No. 1 (1998), pp. 1-21.

"Public Dreams: Berryman, Celebrity, and the Culture of Confession," by David Haven
Blake," American Literary History, Vol. 13, No. 4 (2001), pp. 716-736.

For Friday, October 10: Visiting poet Bruce Covey, from Emory University will be reading/talking to our class!! Please also plan on attending Bruce Covey's poetry reading at 3:30 p.m. in the Concert Hall of the National Music Museum!!!

READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS FOR THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 29 - OCTOBER 5, 2008

Don't forget that your third round of blogging will be due by midnight on Sunday, September 28!!!

Also, don't forget that your Modeling Poem Assignment #1 will be due on Monday, September 29! Please bring a hard copy of your poem and 500-word commentary in to class to turn in, and please also post the same to your blog!!! (Guidelines for this assignment can be located in the post directly below).

For Monday, September 29, please read all the selections by Elizabeth Bishop in the Norton anthology.

The following links will also help you get started on Elizabeth Bishop:

Elizabeth Bishop - Academy of American Poets

Elizabeth Bishop at Modern American Poetry

Elizabeth Bishop at The Poetry Foundation

For Wednesday, October 1 - Class is Canceled: Instructor Giving Out-of-Town Poetry Reading

For Friday, October 3, please read the following articles on Elizabeth Bishop:

"Visibility is Poor": Elizabeth Bishop's Obsessive Imagery and Mystical Unsaying, by Katie Ford (at the Academy of American Poets website).

Read also read the following essay 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 Elizabeth Bishop, and the following article will come right up in full-text format):

"Elizabeth Bishop's Impersonal Personal," by Bonnie Costello, American Literary History, Vol. 15, No. 2 (2003), pp. 334-366.

Additional suggested readings in Elizabeth Bishop at Project Muse:

"Elizabeth Bishop and Containment Policy," by Steven Gould Axelrod, American Literature, Vol. 75, No. 4 (December 2003), pp. 843-867.

"Elizabeth Bishop's Social Conscience," by James Longenbach, English Literary History, Vol. 62, No. 2 (1995), pp. 467-486.

READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS FOR THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 22-28, 2008

Don't forget that your second round of blogging (readings and discussion on Plath and Sexton) for the week of September 14-21 will be due by midnight on Sunday, September 21.

For Monday, September 22, please continue your readings in Anne Sexton as assigned for last week, and also read Read the following essay 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 Anne Sexton, and the following article will come right up in full-text format):

Alkalay-Gut, Karen, "The Dream Life of Ms. Dog: Anne Sexton's Revolutionary Use of Pop Culture," College Literature - 32.4, Fall 2005, pp. 50-73.

Additional essay on Sexton, not assigned, but of possible interest:

Gill, Joanna, "My Sweeney, Mr. Eliot": Anne Sexton and the "Impersonal theory of Poetry," Journal of Modern Literature - Volume 27, Number 1/2, Fall 2003, pp. 36-56.

For Wednesday, September 24, please read all of the selections in the Norton Anthology by Sharon Olds, the poems by Kim Addonizio on the Xerox handout, and the article on confessional/post-confessional by Kathleen Osip, linked as a Word document immediately below.

"No Room in the Booth: An Appreciation of Confessional Poetry, by Kathleen Osip.

Sharon Olds at the Academy of American Poets Website

Kim Addonizio at the Academy of American Poets Website

For Friday, September 26, please read all of the selections in the Norton Anthology by Adrienne Rich, as well as Adrienne Rich's essay on poetics in the Norton Anthology ("When We Dead Awaken: Writing as Revision" p. 1086).

Also see: Adrienne Rich at the Academy of American Poets Website

* *

Guidelines for Modeling Poem Assignment #1:

Your first modeling poem will be due on Monday, September 29. Your assignment will be to write a "confessional" poem in the style of either Robert Lowell, Sylvia Plath, or Anne Sexton. In addition to incorporating aspects of "confessionalism" as discussed in class, your poem should also specifically model stylistic traits unique to either Lowell, Plath, or Sexton. In a 500-word minimum accompanying write-up, please discuss the ways in which your modeling poem attempts to address these stylistic criteria. Please bring a hard copy of your assignment to class on Monday, September 29, and please also post your models on your course blog as well.

Note regarding confessionalism: For the purposes of this model, you may certainly use your own autobiographical materials to generate the poem, but if this makes you uncomfortable, you are absolutely welcome to generate a fictional persona (or to even pretend to be Lowell, Sexton, or Plath) from which to write your "confessional" poem.

READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS FOR THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 15-21, 2008

Don't forget that your first round of blogging for the week of September 8-14 will need to be posted by midnight on Sunday, September 14!!

In terms of reading assignments, once you get your Norton anthology, please read the introduction, as it gives a very big-picture overview of some of the same groupings we'll be studying during the course of the semester.

Here are some links to get you started on Sylvia Plath:

Sylvia Plath at the Academy of American Poets Website

Sylvia Plath at the Modern American Poetry Website

Sylvia Plath at the Poetry Foundation Website

Clips of Sylvia Plath Reading on YouTube

For Monday, September 15, please read all of the selections on Sylvia Plath in the Norton anthology:
"The Disquieting Muses"
"Metaphors"
"The Colossus"
"Morning Song"
"In Plaster"
"Tulips"
"Blackberrying"
"Elm"
"The Arrival of the Bee Box"
"The Applicant"
"Daddy"
"Fever 103"
"Cut"
"Poppies in October"
"Ariel"
"Lady Lazarus"
"Edge"

For Wednesday, September 17, please read the following critical articles on Sylvia Plath:

Sylvia Plath and Confessional Poetry: A Reconsideration, by M.D. Uroff from Iowa Review, Vol. 8, No. 1, 1977, pp. 104-15.

The Self in the World: The Social Context of Sylvia Plath's Late Poems, by Pamela J. Annas, from Women's Studies, Vol. 7, Nos. 1-2, 1980, pp. 171-83.

By Friday, September 19, we'll be taking a look at Anne Sexton. Here are some links to get you started on Sexton:

Anne Sexton at the Poetry Foundation Website

Anne Sexton at the Modern American Poetry Website

Anne Sexton at the Academy of American Poets Website

Rare Film Clips of Anne Sexton on YouTube

And then, for Friday, September 19, please read all of the selections by Anne Sexton in your Norton anthology:
"Her Kind"
"The Truth the Dead Know"
"All My Pretty Ones"
"The Starry Night"
"The Death of the Fathers"
2. How We Danced
"The Death Baby"
1. Dreams
"The Room of My Life"

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.

* * *

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.

* * *

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.

COURE SYLLABUS

ENGLISH 469/569: CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN POETRY

Professor Lee Ann Roripaugh
Fall Semester 2008
Section #015, MWF, 2:00-2:50 p.m., East Hall #317
Office Hours: 12:00-1:45 p.m., MWF
Additional Office Hours/Conferencing Also Available Anytime by Appointment
Office: Dakota Hall #207
Office Phone: 677-5979
E-mail: Lee.Roripaugh@usd.edu
Mailbox: Dakota Hall #212

ENGL 469/569 is a literature course in post-1950 contemporary American poetry. The course will focus on significant trends and “schools” in contemporary American poetry. The course will seek to analyze different aesthetic trends and currents in post-1950 American culture; examine aspects of Modernism and Post-Modernism within the poets under discussion; apply critical and theoretical concepts and analyses to the works being studied through the reading of secondary critical sources; and allow students to engage in close stylistic analyses and readings of poems. Students will be asked to keep an on-line journal and write poems modeled after the poets/poetic techniques under discussion as part of the course requirements. Additional requirements include participation in ongoing class discussions, a final exam, and a final 10-12 page paper (15-18 for graduate students). Prerequisites: Junior standing and 6 hours of survey.

REQUIREMENTS:

Blogging (Maintenance of On-line Journal):

One entry per week in response to the assigned readings and/or issues raised in class discussions (500-word minimum).

Blogging requirements will commence following the second full week of class, and will continue for ten weeks throughout the semester. (Please note that blogging will not be required over Thanksgiving break, or on weeks set aside for student presentations). Each entry is worth 20 points apiece (adding up to 10 entries/200 points total during the semester). You can make up to 2 missed entries by writing extra credit blog entries during non-blogging weeks (i.e., Thanksgiving break, non-assigned blogging weeks, etc.). Each week’s entry must be posted no later than midnight on Sunday night of each week to receive credit.

Three Modeled Poems:

You will be asked to write three poems modeled after either specific poets or poetic techniques discussed in class during the course of the semester. Your model should also include a short write-up (500 words minimum) that identifies the poet and/or technique that you’re modeling, and includes a discussion of the specific stylistic traits that you’ve attempted to incorporate into your model. In many respects, your grasp of the stylistic traits of the poet/poem you're modeling, and the "argument" you make for how your modeled poem reflects these stylistic traits will determine your level of success with this assignment. (This exercise will also be very helpful in building the skills necessary to writing your final paper.) Please post your modeled poems on your blog on the assigned due dates. Each poem is worth up to 100 points, and you will be given credit for your poems on the Check Plus (100 points), Check (85 points), and Check Minus (70 points) system based on the effort you’ve made to understand and represent each modeled poet’s style (and not necessarily the aesthetic quality of your model).

Group Presentations:

You will be asked to give 50-minute group presentations on one of the assigned individual volumes of poetry during the second half of the semester. Your presentations should provide a discussion of the poet’s style and attempt to contextualize the poet in terms of issues pertaining to our various investigations and discussions of contemporary American poetry. Your presentation should take into consideration the structure (both thematic and stylistic) of the volume as a whole, and consider specific individual poems as part of the discussion. The class as a whole will also be responsible for having read the volume of poetry under discussion, and the group presenters will be asked to engage the class in group discussion through posing additional questions or points of consideration. The group presentation will be assigned an overall grade (out of 100 possible points), and each member of the group will receive this same grade.

Final Course Paper:

There will be a final course paper due at the end of the semester. Undergraduate students will be required to write a 10-12 page final paper, while graduate students will be asked to write a 12-15 page final paper. You will be given a choice of paper topics covering various poets, themes, issues, and critical approaches discussed over the course of the semester from which to select your paper topic. A rough draft of your paper (worth 100 points) will be due on November 24, and then a final, revised version of your paper (worth 200 points) will be due on December 15.

GRADING:

30% - Final 10-12 Page Paper (300 points total – 100 points rough draft; 200 points final draft)
20% - Blogging/On-Line Writing Journal Entries (200 points total – 20 points per entry)
30% - Three Modeled Poems (300 points total - 100 points apiece)
10% - Group Presentations on Assigned Volumes of Poetry (100 points total)
10% - General Class Participation

Your final grade will be based on a scale of 1,000 points possible.

TEXTS:

The Norton Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Poetry (Third Edition)
Eds. Jahan Ramazani, Richard Ellmann, and Robert O'Clair
W. W. Norton & Co., 2003
ISBN: 0-393-97978-4

Erin Belieu
Black Box
Copper Canyon Press, 2006
ISBN-13: 978-155659-251-5
ISBN-10: 1-55659-251-5

Paul Guest
Notes for My Body Double
Bison Books, 2007
ISBN-10: 0803260350
ISBN-13: 978-0803260351

Kimiko Hahn
The Narrow Road to the Interior
W. W. Norton & Co., 2007
ISBN-13: 978-0-393-06189-5
ISBN-10: 0-398-06189-2

Richard Siken
Crush
Yale University Press, 2005
ISBN-10: 0300107897
ISBN-13: 978-0300107890

Additional materials will be made available either on-line or via Xerox handouts as needed.

ABSENCES AND MAKEUPS:

You will be allowed four absences during the course of the semester. For each absence beyond these four there will be a 50-point deduction in your final grade. If you happen to go beyond the five allowed absences, you will be allowed to make up two (and no more than two absences) by attending an outside poetry reading and writing a 500-word review of the event, or writing a 500-word review of a contemporary volume(s) of poetry not discussed in class.

Students who must miss class due to an official University event must let the instructor know in advance (with appropriate documentation) in order to make up missed work. In the event of unexpected serious illness or if commuting students must miss class due to severely inclement weather, students must contact the instructor and provide appropriate documentation to make arrangements for makeups, etc.

Please note that I DO NOT make distinctions between excused and unexcused absences, and an absence always counts as an absence. Instead, you’ve been given a reasonable number of absences and a reasonable number of makeup opportunities to work with, and I will expect you each to manage your own attendance accordingly. Please let me know ASAP if you have specific concerns or questions.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:

The College of Arts and Sciences considers plagiarism, cheating, and other forms of academic dishonesty inimical to the objectives of higher education. The College supports the imposition of penalties on students who engage in academic dishonesty, as defined in the “Conduct” section of the University of South Dakota Student Handbook.

No credit can be given for a dishonest assignment. At the discretion of the instructor, a student caught engaging in any form of academic dishonesty may be:

(a) Given a zero for that assignment.
(b) Allowed to rewrite and resubmit the assignment for credit.
(c) Assigned a reduced grade for the course.
(d) Dropped from the course.
(e) Failed in the course.
⎯ Adopted by vote of the faculty of the College, April 12, 2005

Students who have engaged in academic dishonesty may be referred to the USD Office of Rights and Responsibilities for violation of the Student Code of Conduct.

FAIR EVALUATION:

The English Department believes that each student is entitled to earn and receive a fair grade in each course for which he or she enrolls. The department believes equally that it is the right and the responsibility of an instructor to establish criteria for evaluation for each course which he or she teaches and to determine the degree to which an individual student has fulfilled the standards set for the course.

Students should be apprised that extraneous factors, such as the eligibility of a student for sorority or fraternity membership, for scholarship and fellowship awards, or for admission to graduate schools, have no bearing on the determination of the fairness of a grade or grades received. The quality of the student’s overall performance with respect to evaluation standards will be the only criterion for judgment.
⎯ From English Department policy, revised Spring 2005

RESOLVING COMPLAINTS ABOUT GRADES:

A student who believes that a grade has been unfairly decided should first attempt to resolve the problem directly with the course instructor. If that attempt is unsuccessful, the student should bring the matter to the Department Chair, who will assist the instructor and the student in reaching a resolution. Grade appeals not resolved with the assistance of the Department Chair may be directed to the Office of the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (for undergraduates) or the Office of the Dean of the Graduate School (for graduate students), provided that the grading decision at issue would affect the student’s final course grade. The student initiating the grade appeal should be prepared to show that the grade was decided unfairly.
⎯ Interim policy, Fall 2008


STATEMENT ON FREEDOM IN LEARNING:

The following statement is required by the South Dakota Board of Regents.

Freedom in Learning: Students are responsible for learning the content of any course of study in which they are enrolled. Under Board of Regents and University policy, student academic performance shall be evaluated solely on an academic basis and students should be free to take reasoned exception to the data or views offered in any course of study. Students who believe that an academic evaluation is unrelated to academic standards but is related instead to judgment of their personal opinion or conduct should first contact the instructor of the course. If the student remains unsatisfied, the student may contact the department head and/or dean of the college which offers the class to initiate a review of the evaluation.


ASSESSMENT DISCLAIMER:

Any written work submitted for this course may be used for purposes of program review and/or faculty development.

DISABILITIES:

Any student who feels s/he may need academic accommodations or access accommodations based on the impact of a documented disability should contact and register with Disability Services during the first week of class. Disability Services is the official office to assist students through the process of disability verification and coordination of appropriate and reasonable accommodations. Students currently registered with Disability Services must obtain a new accommodation memo each semester. For information contact:

Ernetta L. Fox, Director
Disability Services
Room 119 Service Center
(605) 677-6389
www.usd.edu/ds; dservices@usd.edu


BLOGGING INSTRUCTIONS FOR ENGL 469/569:
CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN POETRY

Important!! Don’t forget to regularly visit the Main Course Blog for reading assignments, written assignment guidelines, and important course reminders and announcements. All the information that you need will always be at your fingertips at the Main Course Blog. (The syllabus will be posted as the first entry on the Main Course Blog, and you can download a hard copy of the syllabus from this same entry as well.)

The URL for the Main Course Blog is: http://english469fall2008.blogspot.com

To set up YOUR course blog (an online journal website), first go to Blogger http://www.blogger.com to sign up for a Blogger account. Blogger will take you through an easy, step-by-step process to help you set up your blog and create your very own URL. Your new URL will look something like: http://INSERT-YOUR-OWN-TITLE-HERE.blogspot.com.

A Few Tips On What To Expect When Setting Up Your Blog:

If this is your first time visiting Blogger, click Create on Create Your Own Blog now. You will be prompted to set up a user name and password. Tip: Make sure to write down your user name and password so that you can access, edit, and post to your blog.

Once your account is set up, click Next/Continue, and you will be prompted to give your blog a name/title, and create a URL for your blog (In other words, choose your own address for the "INSERT-YOUR-OWN-ADDRESS-HERE" portion of your URL http://insertyourowntitlehere.blogspot.com. Tip: Make it something easy to remember).

Hit Next/Continue, and you will be prompted to select a template (i.e., a layout for how your blog will look on the internet . . . you can change it later, if you wish.)

Blogger will create your blog for you, and then give you a Start Posting prompt. I definitely recommend writing and publishing a test post at this point (even something as quotidian as TESTING, TESTING, ONE TWO THREE . . . you can delete it later if you like) to establish the blog on the internet and familiarize yourself with the posting process.

When you're on the posting and editing screen, you can just type in your entries (or cut and paste from a word processing program—-for longer, assigned entries Tip: I definitely recommend cutting and pasting from a word processing program so you don't accidentally lose an entire post should there be a technical glitch). When you're finished with your entry, simply click on the button labeled Publish. Blogger will publish your post on the web, giving you a message that your post was published successfully once it’s done publishing. At that point, you can then you can click on the link to view your blog post on the internet.

Once you've posted an entry you can always go back and edit it by clicking on the Edit Posts link. This will pull the entry back as a text window where you can edit it as much as you like, or even delete it altogether. You might want to play around with posting, editing, and deleting test posts a bit to get a feel for how all this works.

On subsequent visits to Blogger, you will simply go back to http://www.blogger.com, then log in with your account name and password, and you'll see the title of your blog listed on your Blogger Dashboard once you sign on. You can simply click on that link and your editing menus will come right up for you.
This should hopefully be enough information to get you started. Please don't hesitate to e-mail me with any questions at Lee.Roripaugh@usd.edu, or feel free to come visit me during my office hours or set up an appointment if you need further assistance. Good luck and have fun blogging!


(VERY) TENTATIVE CLASS SCHEDULE

Important!! Don’t forget to blog!! Weekly deadline for posting your weekly blog post is no later than Sunday night at midnight!! Blogging will officially commence after the second full week of classes, and the first round of blog posts will be due by midnight on Sunday, September 14, 2008.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008:
Introduction to course: Go over syllabus and course policies; introduce course materials; go over blog set ups.

Friday, September 5, 2008:
Introduction to Course: Modernism and Post-Modernism; Course Overview and Schedule; Introduction to Confessionalism and Middle Generation of Poets.

Monday, September 8, 2008:
Confessionalism/Middle Generation: Robert Lowell

Wednesday, September 10, 2008:
Confessionalism/Middle Generation: Robert Lowell

Friday, September 12, 2008:
Confessionalism/Middle Generation: Sylvia Plath

Monday, September 15, 2008:
Confessionalism/Middle Generation: Sylvia Plath

Wednesday, September 17, 2008:
Confessionalism/Middle Generation: Anne Sexton

Friday, September 19, 2008:
Confessionalism/Middle Generation: Anne Sexton

Monday, September 22, 2008:
Modeling Poem #1 Due in Class Today (Please Also Post to Blog)!!!
Post-Confessionalism: Kim Addonizio

Wednesday, September 24, 2008:
Post-Confessionalism: Sharon Olds

Friday, September 26, 2008:
Middle-Generation/Lesbian-Feminism: Adrienne Rich

Monday, September 29, 2008:
Middle Generation: Elizabeth Bishop

Wednesday, October 1, 2008:
Class Canceled – Instructor Giving Out-of-Town Reading

Friday, October 3, 2008:
Middle Generation: Elizabeth Bishop

Monday, October 6, 2008:
Middle Generation: Randall Jarrell

Wednesday, October 8, 2008:
Middle Generation: John Berryman

Friday, October 10, 2008:
Visiting Guest Poet: Bruce Covey

Monday, October 13, 2008:
New York School: Frank O’Hara

Wednesday, October 15, 2008:
Class Canceled: Instructor Giving Out-of-Town Poetry Reading

Friday, October 17, 2008:
Class Canceled: Instructor Giving Out-of-Town Poetry Reading

Monday, October 20, 2008:
Modeling Poem #2 Due in Class Today (Please Also Post to Blog)!!!
New York School: Berrigan, Padgett, Koch

Wednesday, October 22, 2008:
John Ashbery

Friday, October 24, 2008:
Jorie Graham

Monday, October 27, 2008:
L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E/Post-Avant Poetry:

Wednesday, October 29, 2008:
L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E/Post-Avant Poetry:

Friday, October 31, 2008:
Other Strains of Post-Avant

Monday, November 3, 2008:
Black Mountain School

Wednesday, November 5, 2008:
Beat Poetry and San Francisco Renaissance

Friday, November 7, 2008:
Beat Poetry and San Francisco Renaissance

Monday, November 10, 2008:
Modeling Poem #3 Due in Class Today (Please Also Post to Blog)!!!
Multicultural Poetry

Wednesday, November 12, 2008:
Multicultural Poetry

Friday, November 14, 2008:
Multicultural Poetry

Monday, November 17, 2008:
Deep Image Poetry

Wednesday, November 19, 2008:
Eco-Poetry

Friday, November 21, 2008:
New Formalism

Monday, November 24, 2008:
Rough Draft of Final Paper Due in Class Today!!!

Wednesday, November 26, 2008:
Happy Thanksgiving!

Friday, November 28, 2008:
Happy Thanksgiving!

Monday, December 1, 2008:
Group Presentation Preparation: Belieu, Siken, Hahn, and Guest

Wednesday, December 1, 2008:
Group Presentation Preparation: Belieu, Siken, Hahn, and Guest

Friday, December 5, 2008:
Group Presentation: Belieu

Monday, December 7, 2008:
Group Presentation: Siken

Wednesday, December 9, 2008:
Group Presentation: Hahn

Friday, December 9, 2008:
Group Presentation: Guest

Final Paper Due Monday, December 15, 2008, by 5:00 p.m.!!!!!!!

WELCOME TO THE ENGL 469/569 COURSE BLOG!

Here, you will find useful course information, including regularly-updated course reminders and assignment schedules, as well as links to useful course resources!