À propos de ce cours : Why just write poems when you can write better ones? This course is built on the notion that the most exciting writing begins after the first draft. It is specifically for folks who believe that writing poems just to express oneself is like using the Internet just for email. After all, poetry can change the way you and your readers think of the world and its inhabitants; it can break new ground for language; turn a blank sheet of paper into a teeming concert of voices and music. Though any of us may have the potential to make that happen, having an understanding of how several tools of poetic composition can be used (and audaciously “mis-used”) gives you more ways to try (and if we do this right, we might surprise ourselves most of all). We'll cover key poetic terms and devices by studying poems by a handful of modern and contemporary poets and then get a chance to try our own hand at writing new poem drafts from a select number of prompts. Throughout the course you will have the opportunity to workshop your poem drafts and get feedback on your work, working towards a more polished poem.
Créé par : California Institute of the Arts
Enseigné par : Douglas Kearney, Faculty, MFA in Writing Program
Critical Studies
| Niveau | Beginner |
| Engagement | 4-5 hours of lessons and assessments |
| Langue | English |
| Comment réussir | Réussissez tous les devoirs notés pour terminer le cours. |
| Notes des utilisateurs |
Programme de cours
SEMAINE 1
Introduction and the Poetic Line
Poetry orchestrates its music, arguments, tensions, and environment via arrangements of language into lines and stanzas. This week we’ll address the importance of the line break, perhaps the most conspicuous, signature tool in the poet’s toolkit. Do you break more for sound, for sense, visual effect, shape, a mix of several? We’ll participate in several line break exercises and remix found poems. Also: prepare for your first quiz and a fun first writing prompt.
8 vidéos, 4 lectures
- Vidéo: Why Take This Course?
- Reading: Syllabus
- Vidéo: The Workshop Process
- Vidéo: Workshopping in a MOOC, part 1
- Reading: Workshopping in a MOOC, part 2
- Reading: Course Resources
- Vidéo: The Starting Line
- Vidéo: Rack ‘em Up: Gwendolyn Brooks' We Real Cool
- Vidéo: We/Read Close. We/Take note.
- Vidéo: Game Over
- Vidéo: Poetry Prompt 1: Line
- Reading: Week 1 Summary
Noté: On the Line
SEMAINE 2
Abstraction and Image
Abstraction doesn’t mean “deep,” and image doesn’t mean “picture.” Images are typically understood as anything you can literally touch/taste/see/hear/smell, and abstractions are those things for which we have symbols (a clock for “time,” a heart for “love”) but no image. Abstractions and images may fill our poems, but how can you tell what’s what, and how can you leverage them to compelling ends? This week we’ll work at finding new symbols to replace clichéd ones for abstractions and we’ll work at crafting images that do more than add furniture to a poem, but create systems of relationships, moods, and even style.
5 vidéos, 1 lecture
- Vidéo: What Does a Concept Smell Like?
- Vidéo: Beauty’s in the Eye of the Bewildered: Harryette Mullen's [if your complexion is a mess.]
- Vidéo: The Wonky Chocolate Factory
- Vidéo: Read in the Shade
- Vidéo: Poetry Prompt 2: Abstraction & Image
- Reading: Week 2 Summary
Noté: Abstraction & Image
SEMAINE 3
Metaphor and Other Formulas of Difference
Most of us think of simile and metaphor, personification and other similar figures of speech as being about similarities between objects, concepts, and entities. But the juice in these formulas comes from how different the two things being compared seem to be. This is why writing: “the shark moved like a fish” is, alone, a lot less interesting than saying “the shark moved like a squad car.” We’ll talk about how playing with difference via juxtaposition can create a range of poetic effects. Then you’ll write a poem built of one robustly developed or several contrasting juxtapositions.
We'll end this module with yet another quiz, and our first poetry workshop -- facilitated through a peer assessed assignment.
5 vidéos, 1 lecture
- Vidéo: It is What it Isn’t
- Vidéo: Home Cooking: Victor Hernández Cruz's Red Beans
- Vidéo: Lilies and Lava
- Vidéo: After Dinner Meant
- Vidéo: Poetry Prompt 3: Metaphor
- Reading: Week 3 Summary
Noté: Metaphor
Noté: First Workshop
SEMAINE 4
Rhyme
This week we’ll explore how rhyme leverages patterns of sameness and how we can estrange similarity for compelling poetic effects. We’ll check out examples of “rhyme”—sonic, visual, conceptual—from outside of poetry too.
5 vidéos, 1 lecture
- Vidéo: Read Any Good Snooks Lately?
- Vidéo: There’s No “A” in Showdown: Cathy Park Hong's Ballad in A
- Vidéo: Lipo-what?!
- Vidéo: What That Was
- Vidéo: Poetry Prompt 4: Rhyme
- Reading: Week 4 Summary
Noté: Rhyme
SEMAINE 5
Rhythm
All spoken language has rhythm, the trick is working the rhythm in such a way that drives your poem toward the effects you’re after. Maybe you want a fluid, seductive, propulsive rhythm. Perhaps something that halts or stutters. We’ll use traditional western concepts of meter as a means to open the door to this discussion, but we may leave them at the door upon entry.
6 vidéos, 1 lecture
- Vidéo: Give the Drummer Some!
- Vidéo: Rock “The Bells”: Edgar Allan Poe's The Bells
- Vidéo: Put A Ring On It
- Vidéo: For Whom the Bell Falls
- Vidéo: Clap Clap Clap
- Vidéo: Poetry Prompt 5: Rhythm
- Reading: Week 5 Summary
Noté: Rhythm
Noté: Second Workshop
SEMAINE 6
Sharpened Poetry: Revision Strategies
When you revise a poem, you are not trying to dull the emotional flash of your first draft. You must, instead, intensify it. In this, our final week, we’ll discuss the difference between revision and editing, the art of reading your own work critically, and the beauty of drafts. For your final peer review, you’ll turn in (and in turn, assess) a revision of one of the poems from the preceding 5 modules.
11 vidéos, 1 lecture
- Vidéo: Introduction
- Vidéo: What is Revision?
- Vidéo: Where Do I Start Revising?
- Vidéo: How Do I Start Revising a Poem I’ve Written in Form?
- Vidéo: How do I Incorporate Workshop Feedback Into the Revision Process?
- Vidéo: Revision Recap
- Vidéo: Give Yourself A Break
- Vidéo: Furniture and Figures
- Vidéo: Just in the Nick of Rhyme
- Vidéo: Rhythm-a-Ning-a-Gain
- Vidéo: Final Thoughts
- Reading: Course Credits
Noté: Final Workshop
FAQ
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Créateurs
California Institute of the Arts
CalArts has earned an international reputation as the leading college of the visual and performing arts in the United States. Offering rigorous undergraduate and graduate degree programs through six schools—Art, Critical Studies, Dance, Film/Video, Music, and Theater—CalArts has championed creative excellence, critical reflection, and the development of new forms and expressions.
Notation et examens
I loved this course! It was amazing and entertaining. Also, this course helped spark inspiration through the prompts
This was a brilliant course. Loved having to write poems for it. Loved the guy taking it. Just had trouble getting in to put assignments in and talk to people. Otherwise I loved it.
Engaging and informative but not overwhelming. A wonderful introduction to the various components of poetry.
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SL
I am not yet finished this course, but so far it is sizing up to be great. Of the courses I have tested on this site, which are many, this is one of the better conceived ones, and you can tell the teacher is very committed to his work. He takes advantage of video lecturing as a medium, using various techniques to make his videos more engaging but without sacrificing didactic content. Otherwise it is what you would expect an online writing workshop to be: provided are writing prompts for practicing your skills, and near the end are sessions for sharing your work.