Faculty Name

Katrina Vandenberg

Document Type

Syllabi

School

CLA

Department

CWP-MFA

Course Subject

WRIT

Course Number

WRIT

Course Section

8210

Course Title

Currents in Poetry

Academic Term and Year

Spring 2015

Credits

4.00

Area of Study

MFA, MFAO

Course Description

CURRENTS IN POETRY: Riding the Waves as Editor and Poet /Water~Stone Review MFA/MALS elective, MFA Writing Credit Prerequisite: "Groundings in the Craft: Elements of Poetry" or permission of the instructor. What urgency moves a poem out of the pile and onto the page for publication? Contemporary poetry boasts multiple aesthetics and thousands of poems making the rounds of literary magazines. How do editors choose what to publish? How do writers navigate the currents of contemporary poetry, making a place in it yet remaining open to diverse influences and in turn influencing it? As members of the Water-Stone Review poetry editorial board, you will work from the perspectives of editor and writer to engage with the ‘thrill of the big littles.’ The ‘big little’ magazine or literary journal traditionally has determined the parameters of American poetry, both establishing standards and featuring edgy new arrivals; that process, one editor suggests, “keeps writers writing and their work flowing . . . . ” How will thinking—and seeing—as an editor influence your work? You will read, discuss, and select poetry submissions to Water-Stone Review, explore other literary journals, study essays on poetic craft, complete short writing exercises, and prepare poems for submission to journals of your choice. Students will revise and workshop at least one selection of their own work in this course as they prepare their journal submissions.

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