The Enduring Long Poem

While we may be accustomed to working on a poetry
book one single lyric poem on a page at a time,
this course will invite us to look at the enduring
long poem, one that spans multiple pages, and
which may transform the trajectory of a larger
poetry project. Drawing from Jane Alison's
Meander, Spiral, Explode: Design and Pattern in
Narrative, we will consider "text as texture,"
approaching our writing across multiple pages with
curiosity about shape, movement, and feeling. We
will look at book-length experimentations with
poetic form that include Yanyi Luo's The Year of
Blue Water, Aisha Sabatini Sloan's Borealis, Renee
Gladman's Calamities, Jenny Boully's the body: an
essay, among others. These writers and their
accompanying works will be the inspiration point
for students looking to reinvigorate writing
projects that might feel stuck or looking to
expand existing work beyond its current form. In
addition to generative writing, this course is
also part workshop where students will learn to
critically engage with their peers' respective
projects through constructive feedback and find
appreciation for different styles of writing
approaching the same aims.