READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS FOR WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 25 - OCTOBER 1, 2006:

Tuesday, September 26, 2006:

Please read Chapter 7 (Tale, Teller, and Tone) from Writing Poems.

Important!! Poem #2 (poem about a family member and/or a childhood memory (see complete guidelines in poet below)) is due in class today!!

Thursday, September 28, 2006:

Class Canceled Today - Instructor giving out-of-town poetry reading

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Here is this week's memoir prompt for blog posts due on Sunday, October 1, 2006:

Describe a significant quarrel between yourself and a family member. What was the quarrel about? Was the quarrel ongoing over many years or an isolated incident? Did you resolve the difference or did it cause a complete break of relations? Was it violent? Do you regret the quarrel?

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Other important announcements:

VLP will be hosting it's September poetry slam, a political-themed slam, on Thursday, September 28, from 7:00-9:00 p.m. at the Coffee Shop Gallery on 24 W. Main Street. Remember that you will be required to attend at least one outside literary event in order to write one of your writerly immersion papers (a comparison and contrast of two different literary events/readings).

Important!! Please make sure to bring your blue Harbrace handbook to class with you on Tuesday, October 3, 2006.

READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS FOR WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 18 - SEPTEMBER 24, 2006:

Tuesday, September 19, 2006:

Please read Chapter 4 (Making the Line (II)) in Writing Poems.

Thursday, September 21, 2006:

Please read Chapter 5 (The Sound (and Look) of Sense) from Writing Poems.

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And here's the memoir prompt from The Autobiography Box for blog posts due on Sunday, September 24:

Is there a piece of music that reminds you of a particular time and place in your life? In Marcel Proust's Remembrance of Things Past, there is a violinist named Vinteuil who plays a simple and not very interesting theme of music. But as the years go by, Marcel finds that even a mediocre piece of music can carry with it lots of memory. The music that may cause an outpouring of memories for you may be a Beethoven sonata or a silly pop song. Thin of one of these tunes and describe the memories that come to you.

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Don't forget that Poem #2 (A Poem About Family and/or Childhood Memory) is due on Tuesday, September 26!! Here are the guidelines :

Please write a family-related poem and/or a poem of childhood memory.

The challenge of this assignment is to write a poem dealing with family and/or childhood memory that completely avoids hackneyed language, cliche, and sentimentality.

The poem should incorporate concrete details and sensory images.

Be sensitive to the music of language, and carefully consider how sounds are determined by word choice, line length, line breaks, etc.

Please make sure to give your poem a title, and that your poem is typed/word-processed.

READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS FOR WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 11 – SEPTEMBER 17, 2006:

Tuesday, September 12, 2006:

Reading Assignment: Writing Poems, Chapter 10 – Finding the
Poem; Writing Poems, Chapter 2 – Verse

Thursday, September 14, 2006:

Reading Assignment: Writing Poems, Chapter 3 – Making the Line
(I)

Important!! Poem #1 Due Today

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Guidelines for Poetry Assignment #1: Image-Based Poem (Due
Thursday, September 14, 2006:

Write a poem that is saturated with concrete, sensual imagery.

Poem can be on any topic.

Poem must utilize at least five of the seven different types of imagery
discussed in class.

Try to make the imagery as precise as possible, while also using
imaginative word choice and methods of description to make the imagery
lively and fresh.

Avoid clichés and hackneyed language. Avoid using abstractions. The
poem should “show vs. tell” and use detailed, concrete language.

Remember that imagery doesn’t necessarily have to be “pretty,” and that
poems don’t necessarily have to evoke beauty, although they can and
some do.

Poem should be in free verse (i.e., please don’t attempt to make it
rhyme).

Remember to give your poem a title when you are finished.

Please type/word process your poem and bring a hard copy to class on
the due date. I'll write comments/suggestions for revision for you to
work with, and this will be the first piece that you revise for
submission in your creative writing portfolio. (With this in mind,
please make sure to keep the first version/draft that I return to you
with comments for the "before" part of your "before and after"
portfolio submission.)

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And finally, here is this week’s memoir prompt, for blog posts due on
Sunday, September 17, 2006:

Recall your greatest accomplishment. Was it an award? Did you have a
child? Was it something you were honored with publicly or was it a
secret thing? Did you do it alone or with a group of people?