Forum
The three poets chosen/in which the poet’s own life becomes an important element
of the subject of his or her poetry
Part I: The three poets chosen for this week are among the leading poets of
contemporary American literature (there are many others, however). As you read
their work from the Poetry Foundation’s website, read a little bit about their
biographies as well. How do you see these poets fitting into the American
literary tradition as we have experienced it so far?
Part II: One contemporary trend in poetry is known loosely as the
“confessional mode,” in which the poet’s own life becomes an important element
of the subject of his or her poetry. All three of these poets clearly work in
the confessional vein to some extent. How do they keep their poems from being
merely about themselves?
Part III. You probably know John Grisham better from his novels than from his
journalistic essays. In what ways does his magazine essay, included in our
text, seem “fictional” to you–not necessarily fictional in the sense of
things being made up, but rather in terms of style or writing technique?
Instructions: Your initial discussion should be at least 250 words. Please
also respond to a minimum of two of your classmates’ initial posts and bring
together pieces of the discussion and take those ideas further. These
responses should be at least 150 words.
As you may know from the attached rubric, students are expected to post on
three separate days each week for average credit. During the week, read the
messages posted by your instructor and classmates and join the discussion.
Your instructor may ask questions, provide explanations, and include links to
other resources.
To earn a higher grade on each week’s discussion, students are expected to
post more frequently. To sum up: posting three times in a week will earn a
grade of a C. Four posts of high quality according to the rubric will earn a
B, and five high quality posts according to the rubric earn an A. Again,
please check the rubric for details on this.
Read: John Grisham: Somewhere for Everyone (in our text).
Read: Sharon Olds, “First Thanksgiving” at
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/53387
Read: Sharon Olds, “Still Life in Landscape” at
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/53386
Read: Sharon Olds, “After Making Love in Winter” at
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/browse?contentId=36723
Read: Sharon Olds, “The Planned Child” at
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/browse?contentId=36230
Read: Linda Pastan, “A Rainy Country” at
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/browse?contentId=42085
Read: Linda Pastan, “I Am Learning to Abandon the World” at
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/detail/34957
Read: Linda Pastan, “The Obligation to Be Happy” at
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/detail/39788
Read: Linda Pastan, “Why Are Your Poems So Dark?” at
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/detail/41918
Read: Larry Levis, “SIgns” at
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/47941
Read: Larry Levis, “To a Wren on Calvary” at
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/47946
Read: Larry Levis, “Winter Stars” at
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/53388
