WRIT12403 - Poetry of Place

Course Description

“Those places from which we come and those to which we’ve moved provide the ground against which the figures of our lives themselves move, change, depart. Poetry is forever looking to discover and then describe what we mean by a sense of ‘home.'”  --David St. John

What influence does place, both real and imagined, have on our poetry? How does poetry of place help us both hold onto and transform our childhood memories?  How do the invisible maps of our experiences stand as templates for our own poetry?

In this four-week course we will examine poets who have created memorable physical spaces on the page in hopes of emulating these skills in our own work. Students will create new poems with the help of writing prompts, and discussions of poems and essays from our text, Poets on Place by w.t. pfefferle. Student work will be critiqued in a workshop format.

A short reading assignment will be sent to students to read before the first class.