Based on The Mind’s Eye: A Guide for Writing Poetry by Kevin Clark
Secondary text: Contemporary American Poetry, edited by R.S. Gwynn and April Lindner
Date | Reading | Writing & Quizzes
Week One: Imagery, Idiom, & Inspiration
Day 1
First day
Day 2
The Mind’s Eye: Introduction, Chapters 1 & 2
Chapter 1 exercise [NOT COPIED]
Contemporary American Poetry
Stern “The Dancing” 78
Wright “Autumn Begins …” 145, “Lying in a Hammock …” 146
Rich “Living in Sin” 163, “Diving into the Wreck” 164
Barrax “Strangers Like Us …” 205
Williams “Hood” 226
Week Two: Sound, Imagery, & Revision
Day 1
Chapter 2 exercise [COPIED]
Contemporary American Poetry
Olds “Topography” 299
Nye “The Traveling Onion” 418
Addonizio “Target” 449
Day 2
The Mind’s Eye: Chapter 3
READING QUIZ
Week Three: Conflict, Transformation, & Revision
Day 1
Chapter 3 exercise [NOT COPIED]
Contemporary American Poetry
Ammons “First Carolina Said-Song” 101
Levine “They Feed They Lion” 150
Goldbarth “Dog, Fish, Shoes (or Beans)” 357
Day 2
The Mind’s Eye: Chapter 4
Contemporary American Poetry
Kinnell “After Making Love We Hear Footsteps” 128
Ruark “Polio” 273
Week Four: Psychological Portraiture / Narrative Tension
Day 1
Chapter 4 exercise [COPIED]
Contemporary American Poetry
Lim “Starlight Haven” 323
Emanuel “Frying Trout While Drunk” 369
Dove “Adolescence III” 424
Day 2
The Mind’s Eye: Chapters 5 & 6
Contemporary American Poetry
Doty “Bill’s Story” 437
Fennelly “Asked for a Happy Memory” 483
Hoffman “Bob” 55
Stokesbury “The Day Kennedy Died” 332
Peacock “A Favor of Love” 346
Rose “Grandmother Rattler” 363
Week Five: Plot, Drama, & Sequence
Day 1
Choice of exercise: Chapter 5 or 6 [NOT COPIED]
Contemporary American Poetry
Sexton “Cinderella” 159
Rich “Rape” 167
Plath “Daddy” 197
Wiman “Afterwards” 473
Day 2
The Mind’s Eye: Chapter 7
READING QUIZ
Week Six: The Shapes of Poems
Day 1
Chapter 7 exercise [NOT COPIED]
Contemporary American Poetry
Kinnell “Goodbye” 129
Goldbarth “Rarefied” 359
Day 2
The Mind’s Eye: Chapters 8 & 9
Contemporary American Poetry
Wilbur “The Pardon” 18
Williams “Folding His USA Today …” 185
Hass “A Story About the Body” 265
Forche “The Colonel” 385
Week Seven: Open Forms Vs. Traditional Forms / Realism Vs. Surrealism
Day 1
Choice of exercise: Chapter 8 or 9 [COPIED]
Contemporary American Poetry
Hacker “Wagers” 300
Alavarez “Bilingual Sestina” 384
Schnackenberg “Nightfishing” 440
Mullen “Dim Lady” 436
Addonizio “Fine” 449
Day 2
The Mind’s Eye: Chapters 10 & 11
READING QUIZ
Contemporary American Poetry
Bly “After Drinking All Night with a Friend” 125
Simic “I Was Stolen” 239
Edson “Ape” 214
Merwin “For the Anniversary of My Death” 138
Week Eight: Dream Poems, Mourning Poems, & Love Poems
Day 1
Choice of exercise: Chapter 10 or 11 [NOT COPIED]
Contemporary American Poetry
Ginsberg “A Supermarket in California” 121
Merwin “The Last One” 139
Harper “We Assume …” 237
Ai “She Didn’t Even Wave …” 353
Day 2
The Mind’s Eye: Chapters 12 & 13
Contemporary American Poetry
Dickey “Adultery” 40
Espaillat “Visiting Day” 192
Dunn “The Sexual Revolution” 252
Cortez “Undressing a Cop” 377
Dove “American Smooth” 426
Andrews “Primping in the Rearview Mirror” 461
Nelson “Lonely Eagles” 335
Hudgins “Air View of an Industrial Scene” 408
Week Nine: Poems of Desire / Poems of History
Day 1
Choice of exercise: Chapter 12 or 13 [NOT COPIED]
Contemporary American Poetry
Hall “Sperm Count” 349
Rios “The Purpose of Altar Boys” 429
Duhamel “Ego” 467
Day 2
The Mind’s Eye: Chapters 14 & 15
READING QUIZ
Week Ten: Imagination & “Final” Revisions
Day 1
NO POEM DUE
Focus on final revisions (During your revision process, you might want to consider some of the ideas from Chapters 14 and 15.)
Day 2
Catch-up workshop
Final Exam
FINAL PORTFOLIO DUE
The final exam is the submission of your poetry portfolio. Each poem’s revision should be stapled above its original. Please place all poems in a manila envelope and write your name and contact information on the outside of the envelope.
Downloadable Syllabus
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