My Seminar at the West Chester Poetry Conference
 

Hi All,

At this summer's conference, I'll be doing a seminar that features the work of several Spherians (Maryann Corbett, Catherine Chandler, R.S. Gwynn, and Kim Addonizio) and many others. See below. Hope to see you there! Best, Tony

The Documentary Method: History Poems, Found Poems, Centos, Ekphrastic Poems, and the Dramatic Monologue.


In this seminar we will explore the use of the documentary method of creating poems, a technique that Marjorie Perloff has called (tongue in cheek) “uncreative writing.” We will read a wide variety of 20th and 21st century poets who use translation, transformation and adaptation techniques in poetry writing, working with found texts, manipulating other texts through experimental methods, and/or constructing poems based on historical research (working from oral histories, diaries, letters, interviews, trial transcripts, and so on). Also, we will explore the practice of the dramatic monologue by classic and contemporary poets, with hopes of putting these two techniques together. Readings include: blackout poetry (Austin Kleon); centos (Maryann Corbett, Catherine Chandler, Debra San and R.S. Gwynn); ekphrastic poetry (Kim Addonizio, Sharon Olds, William Carlos Williams, W.H. Auden); headline poetry (Julius Lester, Howard Nemerov); dramatic monologue (Robert Hayden, Ai, Tom Waits); found poetry (William Carlos Williams, Kenneth Goldsmith, Hart Seely, H.L. Hix, Charles Reznikoff, Kwame Dawes, Patricia Smith, Geoffrey Brock, Amin Esmailpour); and essays on the documentary method (Marjorie Perloff, Kenneth Goldsmith, Bill Nichols, Pepita Ferrari, and Martin Earl). Though this is a critical seminar, students will be provided with a slate of writing prompts based on the readings.

The 2016 West Chester University Poetry Conference will take place from Wednesday, June 8 through Saturday, June 11, 2016. The Conference schedule and activities is under development and will be posted as soon as it is available.

Contact: Office of Dean
College of Arts & Sciences
West Chester University
Anderson Hall
West Chester, PA 19383
610.436.3521
wcupoetrycenter@wcupa.edu