POET 45 W — The Rhythm Has Meaning: Poetry Workshop
Quarter: Spring
Instructor(s): Jalen Eutsey
Date(s): Apr 16—Jun 4
Class Recording Available: Yes
Class Meeting Day: Thursdays
Class Meeting Time: 6:00—7:00 pm (PT)
Tuition: $825
Refund Deadline: Apr 18
Unit(s): 2
Enrollment Limit: 18
Status: Registration opens Feb 23, 8:30 am (PT)
Genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood.—T.S. Eliot
In this course, we’ll aim to write poems that do just that—works that communicate on a visceral level, revealing new layers of meaning with each reading. We’ll begin by exploring rhythm, in both formal and free verse, and by tuning our ears to the sonic qualities of language: rhyme, assonance, alliteration, and consonance. We’ll also study how fundamentals like imagery, diction, lineation, and sound shape a poem’s tone and voice. For inspiration, we’ll read poets such as Philip Larkin, John Ashbery, Li-Young Lee, Elizabeth Bishop, Terrance Hayes, Ross Gay, Dean Young, and Mary Ruefle. After each discussion, you’ll complete prompt-based writing exercises and submit original poems for written feedback from both your peers and instructor. By the end of the course, you’ll have a portfolio of new work that rewards multiple readings and a deeper understanding of poetic craft, particularly how rhythm influences interpretation.
In this course, we’ll aim to write poems that do just that—works that communicate on a visceral level, revealing new layers of meaning with each reading. We’ll begin by exploring rhythm, in both formal and free verse, and by tuning our ears to the sonic qualities of language: rhyme, assonance, alliteration, and consonance. We’ll also study how fundamentals like imagery, diction, lineation, and sound shape a poem’s tone and voice. For inspiration, we’ll read poets such as Philip Larkin, John Ashbery, Li-Young Lee, Elizabeth Bishop, Terrance Hayes, Ross Gay, Dean Young, and Mary Ruefle. After each discussion, you’ll complete prompt-based writing exercises and submit original poems for written feedback from both your peers and instructor. By the end of the course, you’ll have a portfolio of new work that rewards multiple readings and a deeper understanding of poetic craft, particularly how rhythm influences interpretation.