Studies in English: Enjoying Poetry
Studies in English: Enjoying Poetry
“Ink runs from the corners of my mouth. / There is no happiness like mine. / I have been eating poetry.” - from “Eating Poetry,” by Mark Strand
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Is there “no happiness like . . . eating poetry”?
In Mark Strand’s surreal and humorous “Eating Poetry,” the speaker vividly describes what it feels like to enjoy poetry. In this case, we see a speaker who literally eats poems, their mouth covered not with crumbs but ink, horrifying the “librarian” who is not used to such a sight. By the end of the poem, the speaker has been transformed by this delightful feast and feels an unbounded exuberance: “I am a new man. / I snarl at her and bark. / I romp with joy in the bookish dark.”
While we will not actually eat poems in this class, we will consume them in a different sense by reading them, thinking deeply about them, and letting them fuel our creative practices and our lives. Questions that will guide our thinking in this class include, but are not limited to: Why does poetry often seem intimidating and difficult to many readers? What are ways of reading that invite us to enjoy poems? How does poetry work to generate meaning in ways that are different from prose? What magic can poetry add to our lives? And how can poetry change not only our own lives, but also the world? As we consider these and other questions, we will read an array of poems from authors across historical periods, from "Cædmon’s Hymn" (7th century CE) all the way up to the present day.
Active class participation will be an essential component of the class. Written assignments will include a creative notebook project, short response essays, and a final project.