This is our catalog of courses. We will occasionally adjust the course listing to reflect the addition of new courses and the retirement of others.
Is it possible to go from hating poetry to loving poetry? Is it possible to be able to tell a good poem from a bad one? How about the poems we write but are too scared to show anybody else? Are they any good? Can we make them better?
Total classes: 8
Prerequisite: None
Suggested grade level: 7th to 12th
Suggested credit: ½ semester Literature
Description
Is it possible to go from hating poetry to loving poetry? Is it possible to be able to tell a good poem from a bad one? How about the poems we write but are too scared to show anybody else? Are they any good? Can we make them better? All of these questions and more will be answered in this two-week summer course that seeks to make poetry fun and understandable! We will closely read selections from the greatest poets of all time: Dante, Shakespeare, Donne, Blake, Dickinson, Poe, Frost, Tolkien, Chesterton and Belloc – and we’ll try our hand at writing our own. Roses are Red / Violets are Green / If you want a cool class / Then this one is keen!
Outline
Introduction and Funny Poems
Poetry vs. Prose – Various Selections
Poetry and the Face of God: Dante and Others
Shakespeare and Friends
The Poetry of Chesterton and Belloc
Great American Poets: Poe, Dickinson, Frost, etc.
Eliot and the Moderns
Taking our Poems out of the Drawer! Is my Poetry Any Good?
Materials and Homework
Course Materials: PDF files provided free by the instructor.
Homework: Assignments and readings. Expect to average one to two hours per class on homework outside of the classroom.
