Interdisciplinary Arts 0252 - Poetry & Curiosity: Writing Discovery Workshop

Poetry is an act of discovery. We write to discover what we don't know or understand about ourselves and the world around us. To make these discoveries we must pay attention: practice close observation, question our assumptions, and test our truths. In this way, poetry is a kind of research, and not so different than other fields. In this class, we'll look at poems that have curiosity and research at their score: scientific, historic, cultural and social. We'll develop our abilities as researchers and writers through on-site exercises, the cultivation of a writer's notebook, close readings and regular writing practice. We'll look at books by Elizabeth Bradfield, Camille Dungy, Terrance Hayes, Tyehimba Jess, Layli Longsoldier, Mary Peelen, Solmaz Sharif, Javier Zamora and others, and make our own curious poem collections. No prerequisites, but participants must be willing to read deeply, write regularly, and engage in class discussions with energetic curiosity and take occasional field trips (mostly on-campus).

Independent Work Multiple Cultural Perspectives Writing and Research In this course, students can generally expect to spend 6-8 hours weekly on work and preparation outside of class time.