32202

WiSe 23/24: I Hear America Singing: US Poetry from Whitman to Present

Julie Dickson

Kommentar

Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, first published in 1855, inaugurated a new era in US poetry with its free verse break from conventional form and subject matter. Beginning with Whitman and the very different (but likewise modernist precursor) Emily Dickinson, this course will take a whirlwind tour through 19th-century poetry, Modernism and the Harlem Renaissance, the Confessional and Black Arts movements, L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E and more, up to the “return” of the lyric in poetry today. We will read a wide range of texts, acknowledging canonical figures while also focusing on authors that have been historically marginalized. The goal of this course is first and foremost to provide an introduction to and an overview of US poetry from Whitman and Dickinson up to present-day poets, such as Natalie Diaz and Ocean Vuong. From this foundation, we will explore how poetry—as part of culture more broadly—can be viewed as an ongoing conversation and will ask how this dialogue engages specifically with US or “American” contexts and identities. But we will also pay very close attention to the poems themselves, their formal features and historical innovations, as well as our reading experience with this rich archive. As scholars, we will expand our ability to discuss these works through a selection of theoretical texts and creative assignments. We will also attend one local poetry reading in English, as scheduling allows. Schließen

16 Termine

Regelmäßige Termine der Lehrveranstaltung

Di, 12:00 - 14:00 16 Termine

Di, 17.10.2023 12:00 - 14:00

Dozenten:
Julie Dickson