English 303Creative Writing: Poetry Fall 2014, Hendrix College

Professor: Jessica Jacobs

Professor Email: jacobs@hendrix.edu
Assignment Email:
poetry303@sendtodropbox.com
Office: Fausett Hall, 201B
Office Phone: (501) 336-5057
Office Hours: By appointment. I will be on campus
MW 12-2, and afternoons on TTH.
Class Schedule: MW 10:10-12:00,
Mills 302B
Coursesite: jjacobscourses.wordpress.com
Readings Page Password: poetry

Practice any art, music, singing, dancing, acting, drawing, painting, sculpting, poetry, fiction, essays, reportage, no matter how
well or badly, not to get money and fame, but to experience becoming, to find out whats inside you, to make your soul grow.
Kurt Vonnegut

"I have with me all that I do not know. I have lost none of it. W.S. Merwin

Course Description

This course will engage your imaginative and analytical faculties through the exploration of poetry in many guises:
structured forms like sonnets, poems that throw form and rhyme out the window and range across the page, poems
that dare to ask big questions and address difficult subjects (love, death, identity, politics, sex), poems that inspire
you to pick up a pen and write a poem of your own. For though English 303 is designed as an introduction to
contemporary American poetry, much of the work we study will be written by you. In this reading/writing balance,
you will be expected to take what you learn from the enjoyment, analysis, and criticism of the work of established
poets, as well as that of your peers, and apply those observations and techniques to further your own writing.

As a member of this poetry workshop, you will be part of a close creative community. Just as in every community,
respect for others is essential. You will be expected to respond to poemseven those with which you might not be
comfortable in terms of their subject matter, political views, or religious beliefsin a mature, thoughtful, and
supportive manner.

Learning Goals

The goals of this course are
1. to introduce you to a broad swath of contemporary poets
2. to teach you to the basic components and craft of reading and writing poetry
3. to encourage you in the habit and practice of poetry writing; and
4. to guide you in the evaluation of poemsyour own and otherswith both sensitivity and rigor.

Required Texts
The Poets Companion: A Guide to the Pleasures of Writing Poetry. Kim Addonizio & Dorianne Laux. WW Norton:
1997. (9780393316544)
Poems and craft essays from the coursesite.
A three-ringed binder in which to organize your poems and drafts, as well as house the course readings.
A notebook devoted to writing exercises and drafts.

**Unless an electronic text is needed for a disability accommodation, students are required to have physical copies of
these texts (as opposed to eBook versions or PDFs, etc.). This will allow you to more actively interact with the texts
through marking favorite (or least favorite) passages, and talking back to the text through your marginaliaall of
which will help you in both class discussions and when you return to the texts. All books are available at Village Books
and at a steeply discounted price online. Rental books can be written in.

Requirements
Class Participation: Class participation is mandatory. Attendance and tardiness will be reflected in your class
participation grade, which also includes active participation in class activities.

Please remember that there is no such thing as neutral silence in a group discussion. Over
time, protracted silence or nonparticipation can register as indifference, or worse, deliberate
withholding to the groups other members. This impression, no matter how unintended, has the
tendency to chill discussion and limit conversation to only the most outgoing of students.
Conversely, when many voices participate in discussion, students often feel it easier to join in. It
is my fervent wish that everyone participate actively in our conversations.

Participating in a discussion is a skill that can, and should, be learned. If you are having
difficulty getting a word in edgewise in our conversations, or if talking in class terrifies you
(youre not the only one), you should consult with me in office hours about strategies that will
help you participate.

Each student will select a poem from howapoemhappens.blogspot.com and present the poem and
the poet to the class. I suggest you spend some time looking around on the site and finding a
poem that speaks to your taste. An interview with the poet about the poem is included, as well as
a link to their professional website (if they have one).
Daily Work:
Blog comments will reward you for doing the necessary work of the course, as well as assess
those who are not as comfortable being active in class discussion. On days for which there is a
reading assignment, comments are due posted by no later than midnight before the
relevant class (i.e. for reading we will discuss in class on a Monday, your blog
comment should be posted before midnight on that Sunday). These comments can
pertain to the craft readings, an individual poem, or the weeks topic as a whole.
In-class writing exercises will lay the foundation for your poems, as well as allow you to
explore different ideas and craft techniques.
You will be expected to attend two literary events during the semester (though I
encourage you to attend more!) and write a 1-2 page response to the reading, which should
include a brief summary of the material read, your reaction to that material, a critical reflection of
the work in terms of our in-class discussions of writing craft. A calendar of Central Arkansas
readings will be posted on the coursesite. Though one of these events can be a student reading,
such as the Word Garden series, at least one event must be with a professional writer.

Literary Readings You will be expected to attend two literary events during the semester and writing a 1-2 page
response to the reading, which includes: a brief summary of the material read, your reaction to
that material, a critical reflection of the work in terms of our in-class discussions of writing craft.
A calendar of Central Arkansas readings will be posted on the coursesite.

Complete Poems: Students will write 9 complete poems, using class discussions and readings as a foundation for the
subject matter and/or approach:
Writing & Knowing
The Family
Poetry of Place
Death and Grief
Witness
Love, Sex, & Longing
Persona
Writers Choice
Sonnet
A copy of each poem must be printed and brought to class on the Monday on which the Course
Schedule indicates that it is due. Penalties will be assessed for late work.
Workshops: You will be workshopped by the entire class three times. When your group is workshopped, you
are required to bring 17 copies of the assigned poem of your choice to Mondays class.
For Wednesday workshops, you are required to bring in written feedback on the five poems being
discussed. This feedback should include both line-by-line comments and 1-2 paragraphs
commenting on your observations of and suggestions for the poem as a whole. Remember that
your comments should focus on the poem and not the poet.

Final Portfolio: Your final portfolio will be comprised of three revised poems (including at least one of the poems
workshopped by the class), copies of the original drafts with my comments, and a cover letter,
which comments on how you feel you have grown as a writer and reader of poetry during this
semester, the weaknesses or tendencies you have observed in your writing that you would like to
address, and an evaluation/explanation of the revisions done for each of the three poems.

** A note on my feedback: You will receive feedback from me at three formal junctures: 1) verbal and written feedback
on each of your three workshopped poems, 2) verbal and written feedback on poems you plan to revise for your
portfolio during your individual conference, 3) written feedback on your portfolio. However, I also encourage you to
make use of my office hours, during which I will be happy to discuss any writing exercises, poem drafts, complete
non-workshopped poems, or craft questions you might have.

Grading
Class Participation (includes attendance & poem/poet presentation) 10%
Daily Work (blog posts, in-class writing, literary event attendance) 15%
Workshop (turning in poems on-time, peer-review feedback) 15%
Poem Drafts (8 total poems) 35%
Final Portfolio: Poem Revisions (3 total) 25%

Course Policies
Attendance is required. It will be difficult for you to pass this course with more than three unexcused absences. Your
grade will be dropped by a letter grade for each day after those three that you are absent. Therefore, six absences will
result in a failing grade (Example: If you have an A in the class and miss five classes, you will receive a C.). Chronic
tardiness also counts as an absence or absences. If you miss class, it is your responsibility to get the reading
assignments for the following week from your fellow classmates and make up missed work. If you do miss
class, please check the coursesite for any newly posted PowerPoints or assignments and contact your peers to learn
what you missed before contacting me.
Contact list:

1.
2.

3
Laptops, phones, and other wireless devices: These are not permitted in class, unless required for disability accommodation
(see below). If you use your phone in class, you will be counted as absent for that day.
Learning Disabilities: Any student who needs accommodation in relation to a recognized disability should inform the
instructor at the beginning of the course. In order to receive accommodations, students with disabilities are required
to contact Julie Brown in Academic Support Services at 501-505-2954.
Email: Email will be used to contact the entire class for communicating changes to the syllabus and other matters.
Check your Hendrix account daily.

Academic Integrity: Intellectual dishonesty will not be tolerated. See the academic integrity statement and policy in the
student handbook. Frequently, failure to document and attribute secondary sources adequately is not a deliberate
attempt to pass anothers ideas and words off as ones own, but rather a misunderstanding of how to give that other
person sufficient credit properly. Please consult with me on any documentation question so we can avoid problems.
Poetry Format: On all printed poems, please include your name and the date in the upper-left-hand corner. All poems
should include a title and, unless done otherwise for deliberate effect, should be left-justified, single-spaced, and
capitalized in a normal manner (i.e. no need to center your poems and/or capitalize the first word of every line).
Please use Times New Roman, 12-point font.