RFW Poetry: Correspondence, Address, and Epistolary Poetry: In this Reading for Writers seminar, we will use a practitioner’s sensibility to explore poetry that boldly addresses, speaks to, and speaks towards. Epistolary poetry is (broadly) the “letter poem,” but by thinking more expansively about audience, direct correspondence, intimacy, distance, and performativity, we’ll hopefully expand our definitions of both a “letter” and a “poem.” This will lead us towards experiments in collaborative writing, writing as someone other than ourselves, writing unsendable letters, coded poems for one person’s eyes only, and other playful activities bending form and authorship. What is special about a poem to someone(s), and how can the particularities of that someone(s) help us sharpen our own writing craft? When I speak to you in a poem, what responsibilities do I agree to take on? Students should be prepared to respond to weekly readings, participate in craft discussions, produce their own letter-poems and poem-letters, reflect on issues of writing process, and write collaboratively in various ways throughout the semester. Authors we will consider include Eileen Myles, Rainer Maria Rilke, Emily Dickinson, Frank Lima, June Jordan, Bhanu Kapil, and many others.

RFW Poetry: Correspondence, Address, and Epistolary Poetry: In this Reading for Writers seminar, we will use a practitioner’s sensibility to explore poetry that boldly addresses, speaks to, and speaks towards. Epistolary poetry is (broadly) the “letter poem,” but by thinking more expansively about audience, direct correspondence, intimacy, distance, and performativity, we’ll hopefully expand our definitions of both a “letter” and a “poem.” This will lead us towards experiments in collaborative writing, writing as someone other than ourselves, writing unsendable letters, coded poems for one person’s eyes only, and other playful activities bending form and authorship. What is special about a poem to someone(s), and how can the particularities of that someone(s) help us sharpen our own writing craft? When I speak to you in a poem, what responsibilities do I agree to take on? Students should be prepared to respond to weekly readings, participate in craft discussions, produce their own letter-poems and poem-letters, reflect on issues of writing process, and write collaboratively in various ways throughout the semester. Authors we will consider include Eileen Myles, Dionne Brand, Emily Dickinson, Frank Lima, Evie Shockley, Bernadette Mayer, and many others.