Creating Poetry

Creative Writing 3351, Spring 2006

Susan Rushing Adams

Class Meetings: Saturdays 9:30-12:15, JO 4.914

E-mail: sra034000@utdallas.edu
Phone: 972-883-2250
Office: JO 4.904
Office Hours: S 12:15-1:15, and by appointment

Course Description
"The poet speaks on the threshold of being."
--Gaston Bachelard, The Poetics of Space

This course will concentrate on the architecture of the poem from the form that the poem takes to
the places and people it represents. The poem itself may be considered a built creation upon the
white space of the page, so students will consider visual aspects of the poem, thinking about
traditional forms available to them or creating their own. Students will construct their poems
from recurring blocks of words, lines, stanzas, motifs, and poetic devices. They will learn to
create and evoke the imaginary or the real by writing interior and exterior spaces from household
corners and objects to elements of nature. In creating these spaces, students will explore artistic
elements such as color, texture, movement, image, and sound. Students will also consider the
ethical and technical challenges of writing the people who inhabit these spaces--whether
narrators, characters, or actual people--and will think about ways to write people into poems who
are natural and believable yet who carry the uniqueness of the writer's vision to the reader.

A variety of ideas, techniques, and styles will be explored through readings and lectures. No
previous creative writing experience is required.

Textbooks

Dobyns, Stephen. Best Words, Best Order. Second edition.

Kooser, Ted. The Poetry Home Repair Manual.
Pai, Shin Yu. Equivalence.
Sze, Arthur. Archipelago.
Voigt, Ellen Bryant. Shadow of Heaven.

Recommended:
Rekulak, Jason. The Writer's Block. (optional, recommended for writing prompts)
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Course Requirements and Grades

Students will develop a portfolio of 8-10 poems over the course of the semester from substantial
revisions of poems created during the semester. They will also write an artistic statement that
expresses and discusses the student's individual aesthetic and style, including motifs, patterns,
composition techniques, and personal rules for writing. In addition, students will be graded on
written critiques of others' work, written assignments/responses to readings, and participation in
workshop and discussion.

Portfolio 55%
(Poems 85%, Artistic Statement 15%)
Peer Critiques 25%
Reading Responses 10%
Class Participation 10%

Course Policies
Assignments and Attendance
Bring two copies of each draft and each critique to class; you will also bring additional copies of
some poems to class for workshopping. Assignments should be submitted in Times New
Roman, 12-point font, with one-inch margins. Poems must be single spaced, and other work
should be double spaced.

Assignments are due at the beginning of each class. One full letter grade will be deducted for
each class day an assignment is late except in instances of illness or personal emergency.
Missed reading responses and in-class writing may not be made up, but will not count toward the
final grade in the event of an excused absence; you are responsible for announcements, notes,
and assignments. Except in extenuating circumstances, more than one unexcused absence during
the semester will result in an automatic course deduction of ten points.

Active course participation is required, including attentiveness during class discussion, lecture,
workshopping, and presentations. Students must allow for divergent opinions and beliefs and
demonstrate respect for other students’ work both in discussion/workshopping and in critiques.

Other Policies
The best way to contact me outside class or office hours is by e-mail. You can generally expect
a reply from me within 24 hours. Please do contact me if you have a question; I am glad to help.

Students are expected to follow university regulations for academic honesty and to submit their
own original work for this class. For further information about university policies on plagiarism
and scholastic dishonesty, see: http://www.utdallas.edu/student/slife/scholastic.html.

Disability Services provides reasonable accommodation for students with disabilities. The office
is located in Student Union 1.610 (http://www.utdallas.edu/student/slife/hcsvc.html, 972-883-
2098). In addition, please let me know if I can be of help to you.
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Students are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with all university rules and
regulations.

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO UTD STUDENTS: Beginning August 1, 2004, all e-mail

correspondence with students will be sent ONLY to the student’s UT Dallas e-mail/netid address
in an effort to protect the privacy rights of all students. UT Dallas furnishes each student a
Network ID (netid) linked to an e-mail account. The Department of Information Resources
provides a method for students to forward their UTD e-mail to other personal or business e-mail
accounts. To activate or maintain a UTD computer account and/or to set e-mail forwarding
options, go to: http://netid.utdallas.edu.

Changes may be made to the schedule of readings and assignments according to the needs of the
class.

Schedule of Readings and Written Assignments

Week 1, January 14 The Architecture of the Poem

Introduction to course and writing poetry
In-class readings: Wendy Bishop, "Enough" (essay, Sojourn); poems, Bishop and Kooser

Week 2, January 21 Creating Narrators and Connecting with Readers

Applying Poetic Devices
Reading: Kooser, Chapters 1-3
Sze, 3-27

Assignment due: Draft of Poem 1

Week 3, January 28 Fixed Forms / Devised Forms

Constructing the Rules for Your Poem
Reading: Kooser, Chapters 4-6
Sze, 31-56

Assignment due: Critique of Poem 1

Week 4, February 4 Revisioning and Restructuring Your Work

Reading: Kooser, Chapters 7-8
Sze, 59-84
Arthur Sze, "Mixing Memory and Desire" (handout)

Assignment due: Draft of Poem 2

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Week 5, February 11 Expanding and Refining Detail / Enhancing Poetic Devices

Reading: Kooser, Chapters 9-11
Pai, 13-41

Assignment due: Drafts of Poem 3 and 4 (photocopies for workshop)

Week 6, February 18 Workshopping

Reading: Kooser, Chapter 12

Assignment due: Critique of Poem 2

Read poems for workshopping

Optional Conferences for Midterm Work - February 22-March 3

Week 7, February 25 Workshopping

Reading: Dobyns, Chapters 1-2

Assignment due: Continued work on poetry revisions

Read poems for workshopping

Week 8, March 4 Writing Extended Metaphor / Developing Suspense through

Structure
Reading: Dobyns, Chapter 3
Pai, 42-67

Assignment due: 4-5 poems for portfolio (midterm grade)

March 11 SPRING BREAK

Week 9, March 18 Working with Sound

Metered Verse / Free Verse
Reading: Dobyns, Chapter 4 (53-96)
Pai, 68-95

Assignment due: Draft of Poem 5

Week 10, March 25 Using Juxtaposition and Symmetry

Reading: Dobyns, Chapter 4, continued (96-130)
Voigt, 19-45

Assignment due: Critique of Poem 5

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Week 11, April 1 Developing Pacing and Flow / Narrative Voice

Reading: Dobyns, Chapter 5-6
Voigt, 49-64

Assignment due: Draft of Poem 6

Week 12, April 8 Choosing the Best Words

Issues in Contemporary Poetry and Publication
Reading: Dobyns, Chapters 7-8
Voigt, 67-87

Assignment due: Drafts of Poems 7 and 8 (photocopies for workshop)

Week 13, April 15 Workshopping

Reading: Dobyns, Chapters 13-14

Assignment due: Critique of Poem 6

Read poems for workshopping

Optional Conferences for Portfolio - April 15-April 26

Week 14, April 22 Workshopping

Reading: Dobyns, Chapters 15-16

Assignment due: Continued work on revisions

Read poems for workshopping

Week 15, April 29 Portfolios Due