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CRWR 10305 91 (Summer 2017) Fundamentals of Poetry
Fundamentals of Poetry Writing: Sound, Music, Depth The idea that poetry animates the music of language is commonplace. And yet, Aimé Césaire provocatively suggests that “The only acceptable music comes from somewhere deeper than sound. The search for music is a crime against the music of poetry which can only be the beating of the mind’s wave against the rock of the world.” What is this music “deeper than sound”? How is it related to the more obvious “audible” sounds of poetry? How can poets practice beating their “mind’s wave against the rock of the world”? This course invites students to experiment with both the audible and inaudible elements of poetry. We’ll practice traditional music-making devices, such as rhythm and rhyme, at the same time that we explore the musical movements of mind and the moods that lyricism makes available. The class will practice literary community building by discussing peers’ poems in workshops, and by responding to poems and essays by contemporary and modern poets and critics.