Reading and Writing Poetry in the Age of Social Media

Course Description

Summary

This course is a writing workshop designed to investigate, challenge, and use contemporary methods of production and distribution of poetry. Working on the page and online, we will write and read poems in relationship to online culture, popular culture, social media (Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram) and platforms of communication such as texts messages, email, YouTube, etc. What does it mean for the poet to be seemingly personal or impersonal on the internet or the page? What does it mean for the poet to withhold, alter, create, and reimagine a history (personal or otherwise) on these platforms? We will study early and modern poetic "brand-makers" such as Walt Whitman, Allen Ginsberg, Anne Sexton, and others. We will think about the internet and poetry as countercultural forces. Students are not allowed to take more than one Reading and Writing course per term. Corequisite: Students will be required to attend Wednesday literary evenings.