Introduction to Contemporary American Poetry

Carey Nelson, editor, Oxford Anthology of Modern American Poetry.

According to the intro to the text, “The Oxford Anthology of Modern American Poetry contains over 750 poems by 161 American poets, including many who have not been anthologized before. Spanning a period from Walt Whitman to Sherman Alexie, this collection is the first to review the twentieth century comprehensively. It presents not only the canonical poetry of the last hundred years but also numerous poems by women, minority, and progressive writers only rediscovered in the past two decades.” That is a lot of poets, poetry, canons. We will read as many poets as we can in the semester’s short, short span. We will proceed chronologically from the first poet (Walt Whitman!) and move into the contemporary era. There are problems with this arrangement: we will discuss that issue as a class. One of the problems is the broad span of time: how can we cover everyone? Let’s talk about issues of “inclusion” and “exclusion,” “diversity” and poetry as an evolution.

Each student will also be required to present one (total per student) report of one piece of critical theory, beginning on day two. You should have a visual aid (PowerPoint or Handout) for your presentation to share with the class.

Grades:
Essays: 2, out of class, 20% each
Reading Journals 20%
Final Exam: multiple choice, short answer, textual IDs 20%
Class participation: 10%
Critical Theory Article Review Presentation: 10%

Schedule of Readings. When not otherwise noted, you are responsible for ALL the poems by the author listed. You are also responsible for any biographical details the anthology includes.

Week One:

Class One: Walt Whitman & Emily Dickinson

Class Two: Paul Lawrence Dunbar & James Wheldon Johnson

Week Two:

Class One: Amy Lowell & Gertrude Stein

Class Two: Robert Frost

Week Three:

Class One: Wallace Stevens & William Carlos Williams

Class Two: H.D. & Marianne Moore

Week Four

Class One: T.S. Eliot

Class Two: Claude McKay & Jean Toomer

Week Five

Class One: Edna St. Vincent Millay & Dorothy Parker

Class Two: E.E. Cummings

Week Six

Class One: Angel Island: Poems By Chinese Immigrants, 1910-1940

Class Two: Kenneth Fearing & Arna Bontemps & Gwendolyn Bennett

Week Seven

Class One: Elizabeth Bishop & Randall Jarrell

Class Two: Japanese American Concentration Camp Haiku, 1942-1944

Week Eight

Class One: Liam Stafford & Ruth Stone

Class Two: Robert Lowell & Thomas McGrath

Week Nine

Class One: Gwendolyn Brooks & Denise Levertov

Class Two: Amiri Baraka & N. Scott Momaday

Week Ten

Class One: Allen Ginsberg & Gary Snyder

Class Two: Diane DiPrima & Adrienne Rich

Week Eleven

Class One: Maxine Kumin & Anne Sexton

Class Two: Sylvia Plath & Audre Lorde

Week Twelve

Class One: Lucille Clifton & Ishmael Reed

Class Two: You pick someone from the poets we haven’t read. Present your poem in class.