EN 412 Poetry Writing Workshop Fall 2008
Professor: Kendall Dunkelberg Office: Painter 104
email: kdunkelberg@as.muw.edu Phone: 329-7169
web: http://www2.muw.edu/~kdunk Hours: MWF 10:00-11:00
Time: MWF 11:00-11:50 TTh 1:30-3:00
Texts:
Written in Water, Written in Stone. Ed. Martin Lammon [WW]
Lyric Postmodernisms. Ed. Reginald Shepherd [LP]
Course Content:
EN 412 is an advanced course in writing poetry with an emphasis on craft. In the first weeks of the
course we will discuss essays on poetics and conduct focused workshops to get started. We will
also read poems by contemporary poets and discuss their styles and the choices they have made.
Since this is a writing workshop, discussion of student work will also be an essential component.
As the semester progresses, emphasis will shift to workshops on student poems. In addition, each
student will meet with me out of class for a biweekly conference to discuss work in progress.
Goals:
• to improve your writing through revision of a portfolio of poems
• to learn rules and techniques of prosody and apply them in your work
• to grow as a critical reader by participating in writing workshops
• to explore the work of contemporary poets and complete an in-depth analysis of one poet
Course Requirements:
Poetry Notebook: You will be asked to keep a poetry notebook in which you record ideas for
writing. I will assign a number of specific exercises for the focused workshops; these should be
included in your notebook along with the revisions that result from class discussion. Also feel free
to write down any ideas that come to you for poems or to do your own warm-up writing exercises.
The notebook will be graded more on quantity than quality. It’s okay to write drafts that never end
up as poems, so long as they show you made a serious effort with the exercises.
Book Review: You will write one 4-6 page review of a book of poetry. You may choose any of the
poets we read for class over the course of the semester: any poet from the Lyric Postmodernisms,
any poet whose essay we discuss, or any other living poet with a national reputation. (If you wish to
write on a poet we are not covering in class, you must get my approval prior to starting your paper.)
You should find a book or chapbook (minimum 24 pp) by the poet and review the collection as a
whole. You may need to order the book through interlibrary loan or purchase a copy of the book.
(Books by the Welty writers will be available.) Though you may discuss individual poems, you do
not need to critique every poem in the volume. In your essay, you should respond to the themes in
the book and to the poet's style. You may also compare this poet to others we have read in class or
discuss what you have learned from reading this book. This essay is not meant to be literary
criticism or analysis of the kind you do in a literature class; it is meant as an opportunity to discuss
how you react as an artist to another poet's work and ideas.
Midterm Portfolio: In order to help you move from the experimental stages of your writing in your
notebook to a more polished draft of your work, and in order to give an accurate assessment of
your work for midterm grades, I ask you to turn in a portfolio of poems in progress. This portfolio
should be at least 6-8 typed pages. The poems should be neatly typed and proofread for errors;
however, they do not all need to be finished or even complete drafts. They should represent the best
work from your poetry notebook, which has been revised and reshaped after discussion in class or
conference. You may also include work that was begun prior to this class; however, any poems that
you have written prior to this semester must be substantially revised, and I should have seen
evidence of this revision in conference.
Final Portfolio: The main assignment for the course will be the completion of a 10-15 page
