English 191: Poetry Forms
Mary Adams, Instructor
Office Hours TR 2-3:30 or by appointment
Ext. 3921 Email: madams (at) wcu.edu
Class Web Page: http://www.maryadams.net/classpages/191/eng191.htm
Class Links
Texts :
- Burke, Carol. The Creative Process.
- Purchase: Bishop, Wendy. Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Poem.
Assignments:
- Notebook Assignments and Reading Journal. . . . . 40%
- Formal Poems (Process & Final Portfolio). . . . ... . . .. .
30-40%
- Other Poems (Process & Final Portfolio). . . . .. .. .. 0-10%
- Minutes, Participation 10%
- Midterm 10%
Attendance and Tardiness You get a total of
three absences in this class (excused or not). After that, each additional
absence lowers your grade one letter. I count three tardies as one absence.
You�re tardy if I�m done taking attendance when you arrive.
Explanation of Assignments:
- Reading Journal & Notebook Every class day you will either
do a journal (form is attached and downloadable online) on the reading
I�ve assigned or complete three �Notebook Options� from that week�s
chapter of The Creative Process. You should alternate, so that you
have almost as many of each. By the end of the semester, you should
have a total of 30 days� worth of entries. Since your goal for these
assignments is to show me that you have read and understood the reading
assignment, I will grade t hem based on that, too.
- Poems. Most of this course will be occupied with the �forms� of
poetry, especially the forms concerned with the sound of poetry. So
I�ll assign eight poems this semester, six of which should be �formal�
poems (that is, poems using traditional forms). The other two can
use forms, too, but you also have the option of working on something
else.
- Grading: When it comes to language, I hold poets, even amateur
poets, to a higher standard than other people. Good grammar (and making
sense to your audience) are as important to poets as good technique
is to an athlete or a musician.
- Minutes, Participation. Each person will be responsible for taking
minutes at least twice (more if the class is small). You keep a log
of what we covered, and I give you a list of who is absent. You record
that information, along with any special announcements, on the minutes
web page. You can get to the minutes page from our class web site.
You�ll also be responsible for talking in class and giving each other
good feedback.
- The Midterm will have short answer (identification) questions and
an essay question that asks you to analyze a poem.
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