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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "CW 354"
COURSE NAME: "Creative Writing Workshop: Poetry"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Summer Session I 2023
SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Aidan Fadden
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS: MTWTH 11:10 AM 1:00 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES: Prerequisite: EN 103 or 105 with grade of C or above
OFFICE HOURS: MW 11-12 and by appointment

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course aims to develop the creative, editorial, and reading habits needed for the production of poems; to develop self-editing skills; to foster an aesthetic sensibility for use in writing poems. Students will read both contemporary and canonical poetry and materials related to analyzing and editing poems, and participate in a traditional creative writing workshop through in-class writing exercises, reading classmates’ poems, and producing their own poems and discussing them in workshop. Students will compile a portfolio of the work they produce during the term. Students completing this workshop course will be familiar with the skills needed to produce poems, to self-edit work in progress, and to discern the characteristics of quality poetry.
SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:

This poetry workshop takes the city of Rome as Muse and backdrop. Using the recent anthology, Poems of Rome, students will read contemporary and canonical poems written by poets who have been touched and inspired by the Eternal City. Weekly site visits, guided by special guests with relevant expertise, will take students out to the sources of poetic inspiration. Workshops, mini-lectures, and discussions will highlight traditional and innovative verse structures and techniques, providing students also with tools for critical reading and incorporating feedback into their own writing. Combining first-hand experience with influences from the texts, students will create a final portfolio of their own poems. 

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
This course aims to develop the creative, editorial, and reading habits needed for the production of poems; to develop self-editing skills; to foster an aesthetic sensibility for use in writing poems. Having engaged with Rome-inspired poems, both canonical and contemporary, students will have a clear understanding of the perception -- and of the importance -- of Rome in the literary imagination of poets. Through participation in peer-led workshop discussions, they will enhance creative and critical skills as they develop a sense of their own aesthetic as writers. Students completing this workshop course will be familiar with the skills needed to produce original poems, to self-edit work in progress, and to discern the characteristics of quality poetry.
TEXTBOOK:
Book TitleAuthorPublisherISBN numberLibrary Call NumberCommentsFormatLocal BookstoreOnline Purchase
Poems of RomeKarl Kirchwey, editorEveryman's Library, Knopf 978-1101908013 Required text. Hard CopyAlmost Corner Booskhop, via del Moro 45  
REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
NONE
GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
AssignmentGuidelinesWeight
Class participationRegular workshop commentary on classmates' work, showing preparation, thoughtfulness, and kindness. 20
Midterm portfolioA midpoint collection of work, including at least two drafts that reflect the commentary of classmates and professor, as well as students' own further thought and revision. 20
Final portfolioA final collection of work created over the term, demonstrating thoughtfulness, creativity, and revision based on the comments of classmates and the professor. 60

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the course.
BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.

-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:

ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS AND EXAMINATION POLICY

Students are allowed two absences, no questions asked. Each subsequent absence will cause the final grade to be lowered by 5 points. Two late entrances count as one absence, so please arrive on time. After five absences, the student will automatically fail the course. This workshop has no exams, but excessive absences can only be excused by the Dean’s Office when the absence was caused by a serious impediment, such as a documented illness, hospitalization or death in the immediate family (in which you must attend the funeral) or other situations of similar gravity. Absences due to other meaningful conflicts, such as job interviews, family celebrations, travel difficulties, student misunderstandings or personal convenience, will not be excused. Absences from class due to the observance of a religious holiday will normally be excused. Individual students who will have to miss class to observe a religious holiday should notify the instructor by the end of the Add/Drop period to make prior arrangements for making up any work that will be missed.

ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision.
STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.

SCHEDULE

WEEK 1: INTRODUCTIONS

Special Guests.

READINGS: Introduction to the Anthology: Karl Kirchwey, “A Poet’s Roman Baedeker.” 

Versions of Du Bellay’s sonnet no. 3: Ezra Pound, “Rome”; Robert Lowell, “Rome in the 16th Century”; Seamus Heaney, “Du Bellay in Rome”; de Quevedo, “Rome buried.”

Charles Wright, “Roma I.” Rosanna Warren, “What Leaves.”

Elizabeth Jennings, “Fountain.” James Wright, “The Vestal in the Forum.”

ASSIGNMENT: Write and workshop 2 poems based on readings and your experiences in Rome. Option: attempt a sonnet.

 

WEEK 2: CIMITERO ACATTOLICO/“The Protestant Cemetery”

Guided site visit.

READINGS: Thomas Hardy, “Rome: at the Pyramid”; Shelley, stanzas from “Adonais”; Christina Rossetti, “On Keats”; Oscar Wilde, “The Grave of Keats” and “The Grave of Shelley”; James Wright, “In View of the Protestant Cemetery”

ASSIGNMENT: Write and workshop 2 poems based on readings and your experiences in Rome. Option: attempt an elegy.

 

 

WEEK 3: THE KEATS-SHELLEY HOUSE

Guided site visit.

READINGS: Stella Gibbons, “Writ in Water”; John Keats, “This Living Hand”; David Constantine, “26 Piazza di Spagna”; Jorie Graham, “Scirocco”; Richard Wilbur, “Piazza di Spagna, Early Morning”; Hawley Truax, “The Spanish Steps.”

ASSIGNMENT: Write and workshop 2 poems based on readings and your experiences in Rome. Option: attempt a poem that reflects Romanticism in some way.

 

WEEK 4: CAMPO DE’ FIORI

Guided site visit.

READINGS: Czeslaw Milosz, “Campo dei Fiori”; Heather McHugh, “What He Thought”; Swinburne, “The Monument of Giordano Bruno”; Moira Egan, “Campo de’ Fiori”; Richard Kenney, “At the Pteranodon Baths.”

ASSIGNMENT: Write and workshop 2 poems based on readings and your experiences in Rome. Option: attempt a poem based on a historical figure.

 

WEEK 5: ART & CHURCHES

Guided tour of selected churches.

READINGS: Richard Kenney, “Imaginative Literature 101”; Hannah Sanghee Park, “Galleria Borghese”; Elizabeth Jennings, “Caravaggio’s ‘Narcissus’ in Rome:; Peter Riley, “S. Cecilia in Trastevere”; F.T. Prince, “San Luigi dei Francesi”; Thom Gunn, “In Santa Maria del Popolo.”

ASSIGNMENT: Write and workshop 2 poems based on readings and your experiences in Rome. Option: write an ekphrastic poem based on artwork you have seen.

 

FINAL PORTFOLIO. FINAL WORKSHOP DISCUSSIONS. FAREWELLS.

 

Supplemental readings, videos, and podcasts will be provided. The idea is to use Rome as Muse, as students explore the city both in person and through Rome-inspired poems, written by poets who have been here before.