A beginning course for students interested in writing poetry. The course involves discussion of selected texts by accomplished writers, assignments designed to develop specific skills and techniques, class discussion of student work, and individual conferences. As a final project, students are expected to write a collection of at least six polished poems. This course provides students with an opportunity to transform their knowledge of people, places, activities, and things into a variety of creative prose forms, including memoirs, profiles, satires, reviews, and reports. The course involves readings from such contemporary masters of non-fiction as Annie Dillard, John McPhee, and Richard Rodriguez, as well as class discussion of the students' own work.
Attention is paid to style, organization, revision, and audience needs.
Heritage of Western Literature I. A study of works that provide the foundations for the Western literatures, including the Classical, Judeo-Christian, Celtic, and Germanic traditions through the fifteenth century. An examination of such writers as Homer, Sophocles, Plato, Virgil, Augustine, Bocaccio, Dante, and Chaucer, as well as the national epics of Western European countries. The course explores the development of Western culture as revealed by its literature. Cornerstone 1A. Three hours. A study of works that define the modern tradition in Western literatures.