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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY
COURSE CODE: "CW 354"
COURSE NAME: "Creative Writing Workshop: Poetry"
SEMESTER & YEAR:
Spring 2025
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SYLLABUS
INSTRUCTOR:
William Schutt
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS:
MW 4:30 PM 5:45 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS:
45
CREDITS:
3
PREREQUISITES:
Prerequisite: EN 103 or 105 with grade of C or above
OFFICE HOURS:
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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.
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SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:
Students will read and discuss various poems from the textbook that will serve as inspiration and guides for making their own work. Instructor will provide prompts. Workshops, brief lectures, and class discussions will acquaint students with tools for critical reading and incorporating feedback into their own writing. They will participate in a traditional creative writing workshop, reading and commenting on classmates’ poems in a safe space where we’ll take the craft seriously but not ourselves. It’s important we feel comfortable messing around on the page! Students will compile a portfolio of the work they produce during the term (10 revised poems plus drafts and a short paper on one of the poets discovered in the textbook).
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LEARNING OUTCOMES:
This course aims to develop the creative, editorial, and reading habits needed to make quality poems, to develop self-editing skills, to cultivate an aesthetic sensibility. At the conclusion of this course, students will have established a steady writing routine using prompts and exercises, developed a sense of the thematic and stylistic choices that poets before them have made and they themselves may make use of, and drafted and revised a large body of original work.
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TEXTBOOK:
| Book Title | Author | Publisher | ISBN number | Library Call Number | Comments | Format | Local Bookstore | Online Purchase |
| The Zoo of the New: : A Book of Exceptional Poems | Nick Laird & Don Paterson | Penguin | 978- 0141392493 | | | Hard Copy | Almost Corner Bookstore | |
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REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
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GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
| Assignment | Guidelines | Weight |
| Class participation | Regular attendance, considerate observations of class readings, enthusiastic involvement in in-class writing exercises, and constructive commentary on
classmates' work
| 35 |
| Drafts/Poem submission | Timely submission of all written assignments that engage with the writing prompt dynamically and demonstrate an understanding of the technique and
craft discussed. | 30 |
| Final Portfolio | Final portfolio, showcasing the semester's work with thoughtful revisions
based on workshop discussions and feedback from peers and professor. Final
portfolio will include final drafts, first drafts, and a 1000-word reflection on
one poem from anthology | 30 |
| Recitation | Near the end of the term, students will recite a poem of their choosing (min.
10 lines) from the anthology. | 5 |
-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
You cannot make-up a major exam (midterm or final) without the permission of the Dean’s Office. The Dean’s Office will grant such permission only 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. Students who will be absent from a major exam must notify the Dean’s Office prior to that exam. 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.
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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.
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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.
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SCHEDULE
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SCHEDULE*
*subject to change at professor’s discretion; always check Moodle for updates
WEEK 1
January 20: Introduction to course, syllabus review, writing activity.
January 22: Discussion/in-class writing. Come to class with textbook AND having read “And the days are not full enough,” “Cut,” “The Orange,” O Western Wind,” “The Truth the Dead Know.” **The anthology is organized in alphabetical order by title, not including articles (like “a” and “the”)**
WEEK 2
January 27: Workshop 1
January 29: Come to class with textbook having read “Badly Chosen Lover,” “Dear Bryan Winter,” “Having a Coke with You,” “somewhere i have never travelled,” “Theme for English B”
WEEK 3
February 3: Workshop 2
February 5: Come to class with textbook having read “Boots, Boots, Boots,” “Bus Stop,” “In the Middle of the Road,” “Meeting Point,” “Please Can I Have a Man”
February 7 (makeup day for April 21): Come to class with textbook having read “Last Haiku,” “This Living Hand” and all poems by Sappho. **In the back of the anthology there is a list of all the poems in alphabetical order by author name. You can then easily locate Sappho’s poems there.**
WEEK 4
February 10: Workshop 3
February 12: Come to class having read “Dolor,” “I Used to Be but Now I am,” “Index,” “One Train May Hide Another” and “A Song on the End of the World”
WEEK 5
February 17: Workshop 4
February 19: Come to class with textbook having read “Adelstrop,” “Butcher Shop,” “A Disused Shed in Co. Wexford,” “A Hill,” “Shame”
WEEK 6
February 24: Workshop 5
February 26: Come to class with textbook having read “Poem Written in a Copy of Beowulf,” “There sat down, once, a thing on Henry’s heart,” “Those Winter Sundays,” “What lips my lips have kissed” and “When I consider how my light is spent”
WEEK 7
March 3: Workshop 6
March 5: No class—one-on-one midterm conferences TBS
WEEK 8 (No school, spring break)
March 10-14
WEEK 9
March 17: Excursion to Villa Sciarra. Reading handout to be provided.
March 19: Come to class having read “The Colonel,” “The List of Famous Hats,” “The Stranger”
WEEK 10
March 24: Workshop 7
March 26: Come to class having read “The Moose,” “The Whitsun Weddings,” “What He Thought”
WEEK 11
March 31: Workshop 8
April 2: Come to class having read “Animals Are Passing from Our Lives,” “Green Crab Shell,” “The Kelp Eaters,” “The Sloth”
WEEK 12
April 7: Workshop 9
April 9: Come to class having read “Failing and Flying,” “The Gate,” “Nostos,” “Questions about Angels,” “The Underground”
WEEK 13
April 14: Workshop 10
April 16: Centos, erasures and other un-creative strategies. Reading TBD.
WEEK 14
April 21: NO CLASS
April 23: Come to class prepared to recite one poem from anthology (minimum 14 lines) and say why you chose it. There shall be food and clapping.
WEEK 15
April 28: Discussion of revision strategies and final portfolio
April 30: Keats Country. Excursion to the Protestant Cemetery and Keats/Shelley House.
FINAL ASSIGNMENT:
In lieu of a final exam, you will submit a portfolio of your work this semester by email no later than May 5 at 12 midnight.
Your final portfolio should include, in this order:
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Title page (Title of Portfolio, Student Name, CW 354)
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10 original revised poems
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10 first drafts
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1000-word analytical paper on a poem or poet of your choosing from the anthology. Your paper should be a close reading of the poem you choose. Some interpretation of the poem’s meaning is fine, but rather than overexplain what the poem means, concentrate on the effect of the poet’s choices (for ex. diction, tone, line lengths and line breaks, stanza, meter, rhyme, imagery, metaphor) and what makes the poem, to your mind, successful, interesting, inspiring, etc. Paper should be titled ‘On[Title of Poem] by [Name of Poet]’. Participating in class discussion will prepare you and instructor will provide extra materials for guidance.
Poems should be single-spaced, paper double-spaced. Your name need only appear on the title page.
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