ENGL 3040: Poetry Writing

Rose McLarney
Office Hours: 12:00-3:00 Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays,
additional days and mornings by appointment
Morrill Hall 201B
rose.mclarney@okstate.edu
405-744-6221 (email preferred)

Syllabus
Course Materials
Handouts: The course is built around reading selections compiled especially for it, so you must
print large packets of poems from the online classroom and bring them to class every week. Plan
for this. (You may not read them on your phone or another electronic device.)
Photocopies: You must photocopy or print multiple copies of your poems for distribution to
classmates, so budget for this as well.
Notebook dedicated to writing prompts and a folder of typed poem drafts you bring to class
Books of poetry available in our library, one of which you will choose for a class project:
- Horse in the Dark by Vievee Francis
- King Me by Roger Reeves
- When My Brother Was an Aztec by Natalie Diaz
- Hustle by David Tomas Martinez
- Hum by Jamaal May
- Seam by Tarfia Fiazullah
- Mezzanines by Matthew Olzmann
- Streaming by Allison Hedge Coke
Course Description___________________________________________________________________
As poets and as readers, this course will ask you to aim beyond your initial impulses and impressions, and
take your study beyond the level of the introductory courses you have already completed. Revision will
be a major focus of our creative work. Rereading to arrive at more nuanced understandings of our texts
will be required for our critical work. Looking at the class titles listed on the prospectus, you can see that
we will often consider and then re-consider our topics in order to move towards in-depth examinations of
how craft elements create poems effects. At the same time, the course aims to introduce you to fresh
perspectives, through a range of readings, and to help you generate new material, through frequent
writing assignments and prompts. At the end of the course, there will be opportunities to reflect on your
progress, as you create a portfolio of revised work.
The course will alternate between weeks when we focus on workshopping student writings and those
during which we study published poetrycommon texts which provide inspiration for our own work and
opportunities to practice applying critical vocabularies.
Expectations for organization and participation are highin order to make it possible for us use class
time in creative and lively ways. If everyone is prepared and involved, my classes are occasions students
look forward to and enjoy. Arrive on time and always expect to work until the end of the class period. Our
meeting time is short and (even if it is right before lunch) we will use all of it, every day.
Grading____________________________________________________________________________

-30% preparation and participation

-30% critical responses and writing prompts
-20% portfolio
-10% poems submitted to workshop
-10% final presentation

Assignments__________________________________________________________________________
Poems
You will draft many new poems in response to in class writing prompts. Keep all these writings in a
notebook which you are prepared to show to me on days when I collect notebooks to assess participation.
You will further refine 6 of these poems to submit to the whole class workshop. Then, you will take these
poems through extensive revision.
Specific focuses for your poems to be submitted to workshop are:
1) 1 poem focused on metaphor, 1 on tone
2) 1 poem focused on line, 1 on stanza
3) 1 poem focused on diction, 1 on syntax
Critical Writing
You will be expected to articulate your analyses of assigned readings in written responses of at least a
page in length. Respond to the poems in terms of the craft element we are studying (tone, line, etc.) which
is indicated in the title of the class for the day. Concentrate on describing how the poems work rather than
expressing your opinions.
These responses must be submitted to the online classroom dropbox by 9:00am of the day class meets.
This deadline is firm, as it will allow me time to read through your responses prior to class and
incorporate them in our discussion.
Workshop Feedback
Every Thursday of the week before workshop you must turn in copies of 2 poems you have written. For
the first half of the course, we will workshop new poems. In the second half, you may submit revisions.
If you do not bring poems to class when they are due, you cannot expect us to respond to work distributed
through email or to mail boxes. Your piece will not be discussed and your grade will suffer.
To prepare for workshop, you must write detailed commentary on every poem in advance. All workshop
comments must be coherent, constructive, and fully articulated. I will collect copies of your feedback, so
type and print 2 letter-style commentaries or photocopy your notes on the poem itself.
Participation
Everyone must participate in discussion. Thorough preparation for discussion and workshop are essential
to an interactive class like ours. If you have trouble talking in groups, see me. You will not receive credit
for attendance if you are not prepared. Neither will you receive credit if I see you texting or using your
phone in class. Lets make our class engaging enough that no ones mind is elsewhere.
In-class writing prompts and activities are required. I give quizzes, call on students, and collect in-class
exercises to assess preparedness and participation. Be certain to bring your texts with you to every class
this is an essential part of participation. If you do not print the handouts from the online classroom, I
will consider you absent from class.
Portfolio
The final portfolio will contain a letter; your 2 strongest, revised critical responses; and final versions of 4
of the poems. Each poem must be accompanied by at least 3 earlier drafts, demonstrating the steps in
revision through which you have taken the work. Collect all your materials in a well-organized folder

with the order of drafts indicated. The point of the portfolio is less to showcase your best work than to
evidence what youve learned over the course of the semester. The letter will guide me through the
portfolio, describing the progress youve made and using the vocabulary and critical skills acquired in this
course.
Save each version of each piece you write. (Dont save changes over your old versions.) Keep and back
up the files. You will need to refer back to the versions to create your portfolio.
You are responsible for continually working, under your own direction, on revisions throughout the
semester. I will collect revisions once mid-way through each term and answer questions you may have
about your drafts, but only you can be sure you are pacing yourself appropriately to complete you
portfolio.
Final presentation
Before mid-term, you should select a poet of particular interest to you and join the group that is reading
her or his book. Your group will then prepare an approximately 15-minute, craft-focused presentation on
the poet in the style of the class lectures I have presented. Provide a handout of at least 5 poems by the
poet you wish to discuss at the class meeting prior to your presentation. After your presentation, the
featured poet will speak with us via Skype. Your group must be prepared with good questions to facilitate
a meaningful exchange. This presentation provides evidence of your ability to apply the craft concepts we
have studied, as well as to continue your reading independently.
Attendance____________________________________________________________________
Your attendance is expected at every class session. However, to accommodate illness and other issues,
you may miss as many as 3 classes, if necessary. I do not accept sick notes; 3 absences are allowed,
regardless of the cause. You should schedule work and medical and other appointments for hours when
you are not in class. Lateness or early departure is equivalent to absence.Absences in excess of 3 will
reduce your final grade by 1 letter. Miss 6 or more classes and you will fail the course. Know that in
every case you are responsible for missed work and assignments that are due.
If weather makes it unsafe to travel to campus and we cannot hold class, I will try to keep the course on
schedule by emailing information and activities to your university email account. You are responsible for
accessing your account and completing the assignments by the time the class meets again.
Academic Integrity and Plagiarism______________________________________________________
Plagiarism is unacceptable. If you plagiarize, you will receive a failing grade for the course, and may
receive a notation of a violation of academic integrity on your transcript (F!), and be suspended from the
University. Properly cite sources in all your work. Any content submitted without citation is assumed to
be your original work. Plagiarism includes copying words and phrases and presenting ideas or text from
published sources, websites, friends or other students, and elsewhere as your own. If you have questions
about plagiarism, always err on the side of caution, ask me, or consult Academic Integrity resources.
Accommodations_______________

_____________________________________

Students who need special accommodations should contact Student Disability Services to
determine appropriate strategies and resources. Please notify me of the support services
identified for you and provide relevant documentation within the first week of class.

Date

Class

Assignments

Reading

(due at the
(to be completed before class meets to
beginning of class discuss them on the date listed)
on the date listed)
Week 1
Aug.
19

Ars Poetica and

Welcome

-Critical response
submitted by
9:00am through
online classroom

Well read these handouts in class:

MacLeish, Cooper, Alexander, Olds,
Wilner, Koch, Keats, Oliver, Doty, Rich,
Niedecker, McHugh

Aug.
21

Reading Like a
Writer

-Revised critical
response

Re-read hand out

Revision

-Critical response

Revision, Revised

-Revised critical
response

Handouts:
Yeats, Bishop, Moore, Frost, Levis
Re-read handout

Image, Idea, and

Thing

-Critical response

Handouts:
Stevens, Williams

Image, Re-imagined

-Critical response

Handouts:
Matthews and Lee

Week 2
Aug.
26
Aug.
28
Week 3
Sep. 2

Sep. 4

Remember 2
poems are due
next week
Week 4
Sep. 2

Given Salt
(on Tone)

-Critical response

Handouts:
Herbert, Hirshfield, Hoagland, Sheehan,
Baker, Frost

Sep. 4

Given Sugar
(Tone Continued)

-Critical response

Handouts:
Neruda, Shakespeare, Keats,
Milosz, Pegeen Kelly

-Copies of 2 of
your poems for
everyone for

workshop

Week 5
Sep. 9

Workshop

-Comments for
workshop

Sep. 11

Workshop

-Comments for
workshop

The Borders of
Form
(Line in Ekphrastic
Poetry)
The Borders of
Form
(Stanza in
Ekphrastic Poetry)

-Critical response

Handouts:
Tretheway, Doty, Hass

-Critical response

Re-read handout, read in text book

Week 7
Sep. 23

Workshop

Sep. 25

Workshop

-Comments for
workshop
-Comments for
workshop

Week 8
Sep. 30

Library field trip

Week 6
Sep. 16

Sep. 18

Oct. 2
Week 9
Oct. 7
Oct. 9

-Copies of 2 of
your poems

Preparing your
presentation
Baby Talk and
Black Face
(on Diction)
Baby Talk and
Black Face
(on Syntax)

-Critical response

Handouts:
Berryman

-Critical response

Handouts:
Kasischke

-Copies of 2 of
your poems

Week 10
Oct. 14
Workshop
Oct. 16

Workshop

Week 11
Oct. 21
Transitions, and
Oct. 23

Leaps--

-Comments for
workshop
-Comments for
workshop
-Critical
response
-Critical
response

Handout:
Levis
Handout:
Komunyakaa

-Copies of 2 of
your revised
poems
Week 12
Oct. 28
Revision Workshop
Oct. 30

Revision Workshop

Week 13
Nov. 4
On Poetic Closure

Nov. 6

On Poetic Closure

-Comments for
workshop
-Comments for
workshop

***DRAFT PORTFOLIO DUE***

-Critcal
response

Handout:
Bishop, James Wright, Allbery,
Zagajewski,

-Critical
response

Handout:
Gluck, Hirshfield, Pegeen Kelly

-Copies of 2 of
your revised
poems
Week 14
Nov. 11 Author Discussion
and Skype:
Vievee Francis and
Matthew Olzmann
Nov. 13 Author Discussion
and Skype:
David Thomas
Martinez
Week 15
Nov. 18 Author Discussion
and Skype:
Natalie Diaz
Nov. 20 Author Discussion
and Skype:

-Comments for
workshop
-Comments for
workshop

Roger Reeves
Week 16
Nov. 25 Author Discussion
and Skype:
Allison Hedge Coke
Nov. 27

THANKSGIVING:
NO CLASS

Week 17
Dec. 2
Author Discussion
and Skype:
Tarfia Fiazullah
Dec. 4

Author Discussion
and Skype:
Jamaal May

***FINAL PORTFOLIO DUE***