Creative Writing 420—Poetry Workshop
Instructor: Dr. Steve Cirrone
Office: RS322
Office Hours:
Email: steve.cirrone@scc.losrios.edu
Office phone: 916-588-2608
WELCOME TO CREATIVE WRITING: POETRY WORKSHOP!!
SPECIAL ATTENDANCE NOTE:
Since this is primarily a workshop class, your attendance and participation is vital to your
progress and your success in this course. Any student missing 6 or more class periods for
any reason may be withdrawn from the class at the instructor’s discretion. Prolonged and
consecutive absences are strongly discouraged. Also, you will be REQUIRED to attend at
least THREE of the guest poet spotlights; of course you may attend all of them, but
attending less than three will be cause for failing this course.
REQUIRED TEXTS:
The Giant Book of Poetry, edited by William H. Roetzheim
Any handouts, if provided
COURSEWORK:
By the end of the semester, you will have put together a poetry portfolio for my review.
The portfolio will consist of, in this order: 1) your written philosophy (a defense) on what
poetry is (this is turned in towards the end of the course); 2) one sonnet or quatrain-styled
ballad (strict form); 3) 2 imagist or free-style poems; 4) one response/mimic poem (any
form); 5) 3 thematically connected poems (any form); 6) one poem about poetry or
artistic creation (any form).
NOTE: You will be assigned a grade for the course at the time of your portfolio review,
but no pieces can be included in your portfolio that have not already been reviewed by
me during the course of the semester as indicated below. Any missing assignment from
your portfolio may lower your final grade by one full letter.
Learning Outcomes and Objectives:
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produce and assemble a portfolio of original poetry.
critically analyze and compare works of professional literary poetry from various
genres and historical periods to distinguish approaches, poetic elements, and
broaden an appreciation for style.
evaluate and identify structural elements of poetry such as imagery, metaphor,
point of view, rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, and fixed forms.
analyze the expression of philosophical, religious, and ethical dilemmas
throughout history as expressed through the creation of poetry.
appraise and evaluate student poems in a workshop setting.
examine and appraise the quality of one's own writing.
practice methods of revision.
Creative Writing 420 – Poetry Workshop – Syllabus – Meets 9-10:20am in RS331
Syllabus Note: I have assigned MANY poems below for you to read—obviously we will
not be able to refer to all of these during the course of a class period; rather, I have
culled a variety of examples from your text to fit the lecture/focus of the day. I encourage
you to read as many of the assigned poems as possible to help you with your writing
assignments. Reading and digesting more examples means exposing yourself to more
possibilities when it comes to what you can produce, and possibilities are key in writing
poetry. Also note that throughout the course of the semester, we will have GUEST
POETS come in to share with us their work and their philosophy about writing poetry.
These are sure to be amazing class events, and you’re required to attend at least three of
them over the course of the semester.
January 18: Introductions/Class Parameters Explained
Discussion: What is Poetry? What is the IMAGE THREAD?
GROUP A TEAMS CREATED
20: Bring in an original poem to introduce yourself to your peers
(2 minute maximum reading time)
25: Lecture: METRICAL STRUCTURE (sonnet, quatrain, ballad) and RHYME SCHEME
Read: GBP Introduction, Appendix A
Read: Sidney “Be Your Words Made” p.41, “To Sleep” p.42; Drayton “Love’s Farewell”
p.43; Shakespeare “Sonnet LV” p. 46, “Sonnet CXXX” p. 47; Herrick “To the Virgins”
p. 55; Crowley “Drinking” p. 59; William Blake “The Garden of Love” p. 62, “The
Tiger” p. 63, Byron, “She Walks in Beauty” p.102; Shelley “Ozymandias” p. 106;
Browning “Sonnets from the Portuguese XIV” p. 146; Bronte “I am the Only Being
Whose Doom,” p. 206; Baudelaire, “A Carrion,” p. 218; Baudelaire, “The Ghostly
Visitant,” 226; Dickenson “A narrow fellow in the grass,” p 232; Henley “Invictus” p.
283; Housman “To an Athlete Dying Young,” p. 290; Yeats “The Ballad of Father
Gilligan,” p. 299; Frost “A Late Walk,” p. 327; Frost “The Aim was Song,” p. 347;
Service “The Smoking Frog,” p. 384; Wilbur “A Summer Morning,” p. 463; Heaney
“Clearances,” p. 538
27 GROUP A WORKSHOP—Sonnet/Quatrain
February 1: GROUP A WORKSHOP continues
3: Lecture: IMAGISM, AVANTE-GARDISM and FREE-VERSE
Read: Ryussi “A lost child” p. 61; Jokun “Ah! I intended” p. 61; Blake “The Sick Rose”
p. 63; Baudelaire “from Fuses—on Love, “from fuses—on Art” and “from Fuses—on
God” p. 220-221; Stoddard “The Jar” p. 231; Dickinson “A Word is Dead” p. 233;
Dickinson “I’m nobody! Who are you?” p. 240; Dickinson “Wild nights!” p. 246; Naylor
“Authorship” p. 291; Crane “In the desert” pg. 319; Frost “Fire and Ice,” pg. 336;
Stevens “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird,” pg. 393; Williams – all selections –
pgs. 396-404; Pound “In the State of the Metro,” pg. 410; Hughes – all selections – pgs.
434-435; Smith “Not Waving but Drowning,” pg. 435; Auden – all selections – pgs. 437438; Lax “Alley Violinst,” pg. 454; Mueller “Imaginary Paintings” p. 473; Justice
“American Sketches,” p. 478; Creeley – all selections – pgs. 481-484; Wright
“Beginning,” pg. 486; Gunn “Still Life,” pg. 498; Padilla “Landscapes,” pg. 508; Baraka
“Wise I,” pg. 516; Strand “Keeping Things Whole,” pg. 519; Atwood “You Fit Into Me,”
pg. 537; Locklin “Late Registration,” pg. 573; Dybek “Brass Knuckles,” pg 577; Olds
“The Pope’s Penis,” pg. 590; Bryan “Beyond Recall” pg. 595; Wallace, “Thirteen” pg.
598; Levis “The Poem You Asked For,” pg. 603; Patten “Party Piece,” pg. 604; McHugh
“Ode to the Maggot,” pg. 610; Alegria “Documentary” p. 621; Jones “The Bell,” pg. 638;
Fisk “Intrigue,” pg. 649; Daniels “Wheels,” pg. 658
Sonnet/Ballad Due to Me for Review
8: GROUP A WORKSHOP – Imagist/Avante-garde poem
10: Class Readings
GROUP B TEAMS CREATED
2 Imagist/Free Verse Poems Due to Me for Review
15: GUEST POET SPOTLIGHT
17: LECTURE: DEFINING YOUR VOICE AGAINST A STREAM OF OTHERS
Bring in three poems from your favorite poet
GROUP B WORKSHOP—Mimicry/Response
22: GROUP B WORKSHOP—Mimicry/Response
24 CLASS READINGS
Response/Mimic Poem Due to Me for Review
March 1: Lecture: HOW TO DEVELOP A THEME
Sex and Passion
Read: All poetry under Subject Lust, betrayal and lost love, subheadings “Failed
Relationships,” “Lust,” and “Philandering” (index found pg. 699); Dericotte “Allen
Ginsberg” pg. 570
GROUP C CREATED
3: War
Read: All poetry under Subject War and Peace, subheadings “Casualties,” “Futility” and
“Glory” (index found pg. 701)
GROUP C WORKSHOP (30 mins)
8: GUEST POET SPOTLIGHT
10: Death and Loss
Read: All poetry under Subject Eternity, subheading “Immortality” (index found pg. 695-696)
Read: All poetry under Subject Growing Up and Growing Old, subheading “Waiting for
Death” (index found pg. 697)
Read: All poetry under Subject Loss and Sorrow, subheadings “Loss of a spouse” (index
found pg. 698-699)
GROUP C WORKSHOP (30 mins)
15: Nature
Read: All poetry under Subject Nature, subheadings “Earth,” “Landscape,” “Trees” and
“Wind and Storms” (index found pg. 700)
GROUP C WORKSHOP (30 mins)
17: OFF
22: Inspirational and Purposeful
Read: All poetry under Subject Make a Statement, subheadings “Human Rights” and
“Oppression and Discrimination” (index found pg. 699)
Read: All poetry under Subject Inspiration and Faith, subheadings “Inspiration” an
“Questioning Religion” (index found pg. 698)
GROUP C WORKSHOP (30 mins)
24: CLASS READINGS
Thematic Poems Due to Me for Review (3 poems)
29: Lecture: Poetic Angst—Writing Poems about Poetry
Read: All poetry under Subject Writing, art and poetry, subheadings “Ars Poetica,”
“Poetry” and “Reading”; Read Collins “Introduction to Poetry” and “Nightclub”, pgs.
563-564
GROUP D CREATED
31: GROUP D WORKSHOP
April 5: GROUP D WORKSHOP
7: CLASS READINGS
Poem on Poetry Due to Me for Review
12: GUEST POET SPOTLIGHT
14: Lecture—How to Write the Defense and Set-up Your Portfolio
SPRING BREAK
26: Read: Class Selections
WORKSHOP—Open Day, Finishing Touches
28: Read: Class Selections
WORKSHOP—Open Day, Finishing Touches
Defense Due to Me for Review
May 3 WORKSHOP—Open Day, Finishing Touches
5: Portfolio Review
10: Portfolio Review
12: Portfolio Review
WRITE DOWN TWO PEER NAMES AND PHONE NUMBERS/EMAIL
ADDRESSES:
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