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As much as possible, all work for the class should be posted on our web listserve. If at all possible, I would like to avoid paper submissions. This also means that you will be able to read your fellow student's submission on line, and respond to them; although reading all posts to the listerve is not required and you should always do the assigned reading before reading the listserve posts.

The first thing to do it to subscribe to the list. With your email and password, you will have access to the list web archive. When subscribing, you can also choose the "digest function" — you will then get all the posts together once each day. You can also set other subscription options. To get to the options page, after you have subscribed, go to the information page and type your email into the last fill-in box at the bottom of the page ("Unsubscribe or edit options"). You can select "disable" mail delivery (first option) if you prefer to read the list on the web interface only (and avoid getting any emails from the class list). You can also get to the options page by using the link provided in the "welcome" message when you subscribed.
        Posts can be sent in any format and you can send attachments and links. For the benefit of those using the archive, use word-wrap. Note also: the archive will only display plain text and will convert any images into attachments. So the archive is not the ideal site on which to read the list.

Please note that this is a web-based course. The web-based syllabus is the primary course text. The web syllabus will be revised over the course of the semester; final assignments will be posted by at least one week ahead of the date listed. While there are many assigned readings from the anthology, many others will be available only via the web. Some may wish to print-out the on-line readings; where possible, on-line texts that are being dicussed in class will be projected onto the screen (but you may prefer to bring your own hard copies with you).

Requirements
In addition to the assigned reading, there is ONE WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT PER WEEK, consisting of a critical response to the reading AND a creative response. Please post your response no later than Tuesday morning.

A note on the reading: The amount of reading varies from week to week and inevitably much of the reading will not be discussed in class. What is discussed in class will be determined, in part, by posts to the list. If you find there is too much reading for a given week, stop after an alloted amount of time. In such cases, you will need to use your own judgment as to whether it is better to read everything quickly to pick a few pieces to read in depth.

•Respondents: In an effort to keep the focus on in-class (and virtual) discussion, I would like each of you to pick three poems or essays for which you will be the "respondent." This doesn't involve any extra work beyond the posts / wreadings and I am not asking for presentations or explanations or papers about the poems. Rather, the respondent will start off each class. You can simply present what you have posted to the list, or ask set of questions to the group as a way getting the discussion started, or talk about your reactions to the poem, or do something else that you invent for the occasion.  It's best if we can spread the responses equally throughout the semester, but it's likely there will be multiple responses in each class. For those who might want to respond collaboratively or performatively -- that would be very welcome. Please email me in the first week of classes your three choices: these can be changed at your request.

•Wreading Experiments. These exercises (something like lab work) are designed to provide interactive engagement with the assigned reading. Each week, suggestions are given for possible experiments but you may substitute at any time from the larger list. And you can always do an imitation in place of one the listed experiments or simply type or handwrite the poem or read it out loud.. Do at least one of these each week. For each experiment please provide a short commentary on the process, the results, the relation to the original, and your assessment of (the value of) the experiment.
PLEASE NOTE: the point of these "wreadings" is not for you to create poems of your own, though that may well happen. These exercises are designed to create a greater engagement with the assigned reading and a greater understanding of the structures of, and possibilities for, poetic composition.

•Weekly INFORMAL responses to the assigned readings -- usually a notebook or journal entry. These are meant to be spontaneous, unedited responses, NOT expository essays or drafts for papers. Wherever possible, use the POEM PROFILER (or use EZ format).. Length from three to ten pages each week. Fragments, lists, incomplete thoughts are fine
.
Please date and number each response

>>>> The responses are open-ended and can be in whatever form you choose -- they are meant to encourage interaction with the poems and also serve as a record of your reading.
>>>For each week, I have provided a set of questions to answer: it is not necessary to answer each and every question but to use these questions as guides for your own response. If you have other things to write that seem more useful to you: go ahead.
>>>A good way to fulfill this requirement is to keep a journal noting responses, comments, opinions of readings, lectures, class discussion, and poetry readings. The journal -- or notebook -- is an open form in which you can feel free to record your impressions in an informal manner. It's best to keep an actual diary or notebook. Then, each week, you can select the material you wish to submit.
>>>>Use the journal /response papers to document what you are reading -- both assigned and unassigned reading; and also any literary events, especially poetry readings, that you attend.

SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR RESPONSES:
What do you think of the poem? Give as much detail as you can as to why you feel the way you do. What does the poem sound like, what does it remind you of? Quote specific lines or phrases that seem relevant. Being specific is the hardest part of this assignment and I almost always request descriptions of the form and style of the different poems: which can be as simple as a description of the visual shape of the poem, its length, the type of lines (long, short, metrical, enjambed), the sort of style or rhetoric or vocabulary (unusual, common, pastoral, urban, urbane, fast-paced, slow-moving, pictorial, bombastic, introspective, descriptive, narrative, fragmentary, etc.).

>>>>>The point is not for you to analyze or explain the poem but rather to try to react to it. Cataloging the features of the poem won't explain it but it may enable you to enter into the poem more fully.

• Of the poems read for this week, which is your favorite? Why? Which is the best. Why? Are favorite and best the same? Rank the poems in your order of preference.
• Of the poems read for this week, which did you like least? Why?
• Of the poems read for this week, which is the worst. Why? What are your criteria for deciding the quality of poem. Can poems that you don't like or understand still be good poems?
• If you have heard the audio performance, describe the performance and how it extends or contradicts the written version of the poem
  
  POEM PROFILER
  The "Poem Profiler" (click on link above or use EZ format) asks a number of specific questions that should enable you to give detailed, rather than general, responses to a particular poem. Use the Profiler to help specify your responses. Initially, run the Profiler on several poems; after that, use it only selectively to further your reading and if and as you find it useful. After the first couple of tries, don't use it if you don't find it useful. Since the profiler is a work in progress, please send me suggestions for additions.
  
  Here's an alternate way of profiling:
  
• Pick one poem. Describe (or catalog) its features. What kind of vocabulary does the poem use? What kind of diction or syntax is used? What is the mood of the poem? What is the most unusual feature of the poem? What does the poem sound like - give some examples of sound patterns in the poem. Detail any literary "devices" used.
• Compare poems in terms of continuity (hypotactic) / discontinuity (paratactic); fragmentation / unified; symmetrical/asymmetrical, smooth flowing / jerky or abrupt movement.
• Detail the connection between the elements of a poem: expository (a discursive argument), narrative (temporal sequence of beginning, middle end), associative, surreal or dream-like, disjunctive, etc.
• Do you see anything that all the poems assigned for this week have in common?
• How does the set of poems for this week differ from the poems from last week?
• What issues of poetics - how a poem means or how it is made - are brought up by the readings. What were some of the issues raised along this line in last week's class discussion?
• [Try this one sometime after midsemester] Looking back on your previous responses, have you changed your opinions about any poems. How?

It is not necessary, or practical, for you to comment on every assigned poem. But if you choose to focus on one poet or poem, or to do the experiments, preface your response with a very quick take on the reading overall (likes/dislikes, general features, etc.).

• Try imitating the style of the poem, or parodying it. Try the wreading experiments!
• To become more involved with the writing, try typing out some of the poems and include your reactions to that process. Read poems aloud to friends, relatives, or whomever, and report on your and their reactions. Write poems in response to the poems.
• Keep a running account of your reaction to the class as whole - what's working, what's interesting, what's not. After each class, write a paragraph describing your reactions to the discussions that took place.
• Include the contexts in which you are reading or writing in your notebook. What's your mood, what's on your mind. oHow do the poems affect or interact with that, if at all.
• Include, if you like, "diary" material about your life or general or poetic observations, interspersed with comments about the readings. Don't be afraid to go off on tangents, associated thoughts. Include shopping lists, dreams, travel notes, etc.

In addition to the general responses discussed above,over the course of the semester, your weekly assignments should include these three elements:
1. Write about some poems not discussed in class.
2. Pick one poem from the readings and keep a running commentary on it - that is, write about this same poems several times over the course of the term.
3. At least once in the semester, compare or contrast a poem by two different authors and two by the same author (from the assigned readings).

•Semester-long special project for extra credit. This is an ongoing writing or research project.The project can be a research or writing project of your own choice, subject to approval. For example, a more in-depth look at one of the topics covered in class or perhaps some research on poetry/poetics (20th century) from areas not covered. COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS are encouraged!

•Extensions: You will see that through the syllabus, there are a number of readings marked "Extensions." These are primarily to guide further reading after the class is finished. These reading are OPTIONAL! However, you may wish to substitute one of these for an assigned set of readings or provide responses to these reading as extra credit.

Grades
The most important requirement is attendance and participation at all class meetings. Grades will be based primarily on responses, experiments, and class participation. You may also wish to do supplemental work for the class, for example extra responses to the optional "extensions" reading or a final or semester project. But this is not necessary for those of you who do a thorough job with the weekly assignment. There is no final exam or paper in this class.

All work is due one week following the last class, but it is preferable to have it all finished by the final class.

Please be sure to include your name and the date of the class on everything submit.

Generally, I will not give a grade for your responses each week or even a mid-term grade. If there is a problem, I will let you know; otherwise, the aim in engagement and conversation, not agreement or right answers. If your response is fine, I will often simply say so; while I do read all the responses carefully, I do not always make extensive comments. If your midterm grade falls below "B-" I will notify you of a possible grade problem. If you don't get such a notice, you can assume your grade is above "B-". If you require more detailed information about your grade, email me.

Mid-term assessment. A good way to assess how you are doing is to consider how you might have reacted to the reading you are doing now, versus six months ago. In other words, is the class giving you a way to respond to a wide range of poetry in a way you didn't have available previously? That's my criteria for if the class is working, if I am doing what I can, and if you are doing what you can. I would welcome you to email your assessment.

Response to Frequently Asked Question:
Grading for this class is not based on competition with the other members of the class or on objective standards of quality that apply equally to everyone (in other words, the class is not graded on curve). As Blake says: “One Law for the Lion & Ox is oppression.” Those for whom this is a first modern poetry (or modern art) class will not be expected to provide the same kind of responses (at least in the first half of the course) as English majors with a some experience reading poetry. But this is not to say that the responses of those new to modern poetry will not be, or should not be, as valuable or good or insightful as the responses of more experienced hands. The primary grading criteria would be better described as how much you are learning from the course; everything about the course is designed to maximize the amount you can learn about this complex field in a very short period of time.

A Note on Sound Files
Most of the sound files that are listed on the syllabus are MP3s—you can download them to your computer and they will play in almost any media player or portable MP3 player. A very few files are in RealAudio and these files require the Real player, which can download and install from Real.Com. These cannot be played on portable digital devices. Some of the files are our "Protected" media server; to access these files, you will need to be registered for the course and have a PennKey. These files are for your personal use only during the course of the semester; do not copy them and please delete them by the end of the semester. Note: the files you find on PennSound pages are available to everyone for noncommercial and educational exchange — only the files in the "protected" area, which require PennKey access, have the restrictions on copying or retaining. If a sound files is not working, please email me immediatey and I will try to get the problem fixed.
PLEASE KEEP IN MIND that the audio text of a poem may differ from the written text; in some cases, there will be audio files without corresponding texts; in those cases, respond simply to audio, treating it as a work in its own right. If you wish more informaiton about a particular poem, please ask.