Students will examine the choices other writers make in their work, through reading a range of selections in contemporary and 20th-century poetry. We will also devote time to discussions of prosody, poetic form, and structure. We will then examine the choices we ourselves make in our work and turn in a new poem every week, each generated through an assignment or prompt. Students will read an average of one poetry collection every week, write weekly critical response papers, and prepare a final portfolio of poems at the end of the term.
Corequisite: Students are required to attend all Literature Evenings and Poetry at Bennington events (typically held on alternating Wednesdays at 7:00pm).