Look out world: next year they're letting me teach contemporary poetry. Here's your chance to write my syllabus.
Okay, more precisely: The course is called "Contemporary Poetry in English," which would seem to include writing from any country except Canada--not that Canadians don't speak English, but that there is already a separate full-year course on modern Canadian poetry. It's a one-semester (13-week) course, so figure at most one short collection of poetry per week.
"Contemporary" I would usually interpret to be post-1945, but most of the "modern" courses here run to 1960, so perhaps we should think post-1960; in any case, it seems likely that I'll emphasize much more recent writing. Given my own interests, it also seems likely that I'll focus on American poetry.
I've got plenty of ideas of my own. But I'm interested in hearing suggestions, either just of what you all think would be important or that you've taught before. Also, has anyone ever found a contemporary poetry anthology that would work for a course like this? All the ones I can think of have various drawbacks, but let me know what you think.
Poems for the Millennium: The University of California Book of Modern and Postmodern Poetry : From Fin-De-Siecle to Negritude, ed. by Rothenberg and Joris, is an incredibly diverse collection. They've done an outstanding job of helping to currate a broad experience of postwar poetry.
ReplyDeleteyou could use Paul Hoover's Norton Postmodern anthology, and not feel dirty, at least--if I had to use one, that'd be the one--but a collection a week is absolutely the way to go, I think (will be doing that with grad students this coming fall....)--Nick
ReplyDeleteI'm doing this too -- a year later than you. I'd love to see your syllabus, & Nick's, & anyone else who has one. I'm thinking of starting in the 1990s, with the advent of listservs. Though the mention of Poems for the Millennium has made me think. It'll be a combination of issues (print v web; politics of publication; creative writing economy; best of the small press) & one book a week: so far I'm thinking of Caroline Bergvall, Christian Bok, Kenneth Goldsmith, Saul Williams, maybe Sina Queyras, maybe Kamau Brathwaite. Poems from Guantanamo? Do you or any readers have any strong must-haves, especially non-American but available in English?
ReplyDeleteMairead