Seminar in Poetry Writing

Course: ENGL 609
When: MTWRF 3-6pm
Where: Jerome Richfield Hall, room 319
Instructor: Dorothy Barresi
Phone: 818-677-0911 or 818-677-3431
Email: dorothy.barresi@csun.edu

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Required Texts:

Nine Gates: Entering the Mind of Poetry.   Jane Hirshfield.  Harper Perrenial, 1997.  ISBN, 0-06-092948-0 (paperback).

In Nine Gates, students will read the essays, "Poetry and the Mind of Indirection," "Two Secrets: On Poetry's Inward and Outward Looking," and "Facing the Lion: The Way of Shadow and Light in Some Twentieth-Century Poems"

The Only World.  Lynda Hull.  Harper Perennial, 1995. ISBN, 0-06-095112-5 (paperback).

Students will read Section I, and Section II, "Suite for Emily".

Sleep and Death The Dream.  Benjamin Saltman. Red Hen Press, 1999.  ISBN 1-888996-13-7 (paperback).

Students will read the whole book.

Red Hen Press is locally based.  Their address is P.O. Box 902585, Palmdale, CA 93590-2582.  They distribute through the Valentine Books group.

Otherwise: New and Selected Poems.  Jane Kenyon.  Graywolf Press, 1997.  ISBN 1-55597-266-7 (paperback).

Students will read five poems (their choice) from each of the books collected in Otherwise.

The Errancy.  Jorie Graham.  Ecco Press, 1997.  ISBN, 0-88001-529-2 (paperback).

Students will read individual poems to be assigned this summer.  For those preparing ahead, read the first five poems in the
book to acquaint yourself with Graham's style.

The City in Which I Love You.  Li-Young Lee.  Boa, 1990.  ISBN, 0-918526-83-8.

Students will read sections I, III, and V.

For Professor Barresi's Poetry Writing seminar, the students are asked to bring seven poems in draft form that that they wish to work on during the course of the three weeks. By the end of the seminar, students will be responsible for turning in a portfolio of 12 to 15 polished, revised poems. Because we are operating within a three-week time frame, it will be important to bring seven poems (at whatever stage of revision they are in) to provide a jump-start on the process. Expect to write approximately two new poems a week during the three-week session.