ENGL 210 Creative Writing: Theory and Practice
This course will examine an array of influential writings by poets on the art and theory of poetry and consider how their ideas and arguments have shaped many of our fundamental conceptions of what poetry is and how it works. The objective of the course is to provide students with a working knowledge of the origins of poetic theory and doctrine (poetics) and an understanding of how diverse poets have attempted to define and set standards for their art. As we read and discuss a wide variety of texts (poetry and prose), we will work to assemble a series of questions and theories from poets and philosophers who respond to each other in an attempt to make sense of poetic art. We will ask ourselves how a poem itself can be a statement of poetics. We will look into how various issues and values associated with poetry have changed as culture and media has changed. We will also explore theories of the imagination itself as a way of understanding how poetry seeks to define it.
Corequisite
Required ENGL-105, ENGL-107, ENGL-109, or ENGL-199