Reading American Poetry - Einzelansicht

This seminar has a special focus on modernist poetry, i.e. on works from the early twentieth century by poets such as Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot, Marianne Moore, Hart Crane, and Wallace Stevens.

Accordingly, the course requires not only a general interest in poetry and the period of Modernism, but also a willingness to engage with some of the most difficult texts in the canon and to deal with an intensive reading load of both primary and secondary literature.

Throughout the course, you will be expected to offer close readings of the poems on the syllabus in the form of a) short papers and b) oral presentations.

In addition, there will be spontaneous quizzes to test your reading and understanding of the material.

Before signing up, please take a first look at Pound’s Cantos, Eliot’s The Waste Land, and Crane’s The Bridge online, e.g. at http://www.poetryfoundation.org.