Modern Poetry: Broaching the Avant-Garde
Instructor: Jennifer Svendsen-Delaney
“Poetry is a way of taking life by the throat.”
- Robert Frost
Even if the subject matter of your poem is serious, I hope that this class will be liberating and enjoyable! A defining quality of modern poetry is rebellion against tradition and freedom from gentility; however, a well crafted modern poem is no less intelligent and refined than its more formal predecessors. Good poetry, written from the gut, delights and moves. Occasionally, a poem may be inspired and spontaneous and require little alteration; however, it is my experience that given time and tools, a poet can learn to differentiate that which is universal and powerful from what is mostly personal venting. While fewer rules govern this form and it is does not have the restraints of traditional poetry, that is not a justification for “anything goes.”
I will address concepts such as: stream of consciousness and surrealism as well as play with the elimination of punctuation and capitalization (although that is not a necessary rule of modern poetry). We will craft concrete poems, poems based on dreams as well as others that include free verse with internal rhyme schemes. You will have the option at any time to write a poem emulating the style of a poet.
I will recommend poets to read, because I believe it is important to absorb and analyze great poets in order to learn but also differentiate your own style. We will focus on the writing; but I will include in my e-mail lessons a few poems that relate to our exercise. Further recommended readings will be optional. These poets include (but are not limited to): e. e. cummings, Mary Oliver, Marge Piercy, Linda Pastan, George Herbert, Jarold Ramsey, Denise Levertov, Helen Chasin, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Theodore Roethke, Carl Sandburg and Guillaume Apollinaire.
Class structure: Every week you will be assigned to write a poem based on the theme and I will recommend poets to read who exhibit a similar style (or in some way reflect modernism). During our final week, you will pick a poem that you have written and rewrite it. I will offer suggestions regarding what feels “extra” or can be cut as well as pointing out the lines where you pulled up short and need to flesh out a metaphor. Poetry is subjective, yet often the response to a well written poem is universal.
Week One:
Introduction: What makes a poem modern?
Week Two: The Tone of a Poem – creating the mood
Week Three: The Concrete Poem
Week Four:Love (or Love Lost) Poem
Week Five:The Sounds of a Poem
Week Six: Dreams and Stream of Consciousness
Week Seven: Venting or Poetry – Which is Witch? The Process of Revision
Contact Instructor for start dates.
Course: 7 weeks
Private coaching fee for individuals: $35 hour
Tuition: $95
