21L.004 Reading Poetry

Prereq: none
Units: 3-0-9 HASS-H, CI-H

How do you read a poem?  Many people find poetry “difficult” – sometimes pleasurably and sometimes less so. But things that are difficult may also be useful and valuable to us as readers and human beings.  This class will focus on developing and practicing the skills, habits, and knowledge to approach poetic texts – difficult or otherwise – so that you can assess their use and value for yourselves.  We’ll take a close look at the kinds of evidence that can be used for thinking and talking about poetry, with and without knowledge of context. Readings will lean towards 20th and 21st century work in English, so that we can dig into how poets work with the specific features of one contemporary language we have in common. However, you can expect some exposure to older materials as well as one or more sessions on poetry in translation, and any knowledge of other languages will be a valuable resource to contribute to our discussion. We will explore a variety of tools and approaches:  memorization, listening, reading out loud, visualization and annotation, as well as small group discussions and presentations. The last two weeks of the semester will focus on readings chosen and presented by the class.