The Art of Poetry
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Poetry lives in any reader, not necessarily in performance by the poet or a trained actor. The pleasure of actually saying a poem, or even saying it in your imagination—your mind’s ear—is essential. That is a central idea of “The Art of Poetry,” well demonstrated by the videos at favoritepoem.org: the photographer saying Sylvia Plath’s “Nick and the Candlestick,” the high school student saying Langston Hughes’ “Minstrel Man.” Those readers base what they say about each poem upon their experience of saying it.
The course is demanding, and based on a certain kind of intense reading, requiring prolonged, thorough— in fact, repeated—attention to specific poems.
The focus will be on elements of the art such as poetry’s historical relation to courtship; techniques of sound in free verse; poetry and difficulty; kidding and tribute—with only incidental attention to “schools,” jargons, categories, and coteries.
Learners are encouraged to think truly, carefully and passionately about what the poem says, along with how the poem feels in one’s own, actual or imagined voice. As Robert Pinsky says, in the Preface to Singing School: “this anthology will succeed if it encourages the reader to emulate it by replacing it . . . create your own anthology.” In a comparable way, this course hopes to inspire a lifelong study of poetry.
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| Rating | 3.7★ based on 4 ratings |
|---|---|
| Length | 6 weeks |
| Starts | Mar 29 (earlier today) |
| Cost | $49 |
| From | Boston University, BUx via edX |
| Instructors | Robert Pinsky, Duy Doan, Laura Marris, Calvin Olsen, Tomas Unger, Sarah Handley |
| Download Videos | On all desktop and mobile devices |
| Language | English |
| Subjects | Humanities Art & Design |
| Tags | Art & Culture Humanities Literature |
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What people are saying
1923 could be printed
A special problem was that no poem published after 1923 could be printed, so anyone who by chance wanted to discuss another student's "essays" on newer poems had to find and then print out these poems.
college courses from years
(I did not want a grade or a certificate, just a discussion that wasn't a repetition of my college courses from years ago.)
poem published after 1923
naively assumed an intelligent
Naively assumed an intelligent, disinterested benevolence and good will, and an unlimited amount of time, on part of the student peer-reviewers who decided on the students' grades.
spend too much time
Big disappointment in that I didn't get to discuss with peers or course leaders the contemporary poetry I was interested in and instead had to spend too much time on ""English 1B" poems.
seemingly arbitrary choice
Seemingly arbitrary choice of subject for "lectures," and assignments, and a disproportionate amount of time spent on some subjects to the exclusion of more relevant (to me) subjects.
completely flexible way
It's a chance to explore poetry in a completely flexible way.
big disappointment
english 1b
disinterested benevolence
Careers
An overview of related careers and their average salaries in the US. Bars indicate income percentile.
Freelance Inspiring Poetry Writer $25k
Poetry Writing Instructor $49k
Freelance Poetry Reviewer $58k
Poetry Typer $66k
Poetry Instructor $68k
Professor of Poetry + Poetics $99k
Professor of English (Poetry Writing & American Literature) $121k
Assistant Professor of Poetry + Poetics $127k
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| Rating | 3.7★ based on 4 ratings |
|---|---|
| Length | 6 weeks |
| Starts | Mar 29 (earlier today) |
| Cost | $49 |
| From | Boston University, BUx via edX |
| Instructors | Robert Pinsky, Duy Doan, Laura Marris, Calvin Olsen, Tomas Unger, Sarah Handley |
| Download Videos | On all desktop and mobile devices |
| Language | English |
| Subjects | Humanities Art & Design |
| Tags | Art & Culture Humanities Literature |
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