Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

In WR 242/245, we’ll be practicing various ways to write and perform poetry. In order to do this, we’ll be reading a lot of poetry–published poetry and poetry written for class. We’ll also be reading some essays about poetry and watching performances of poetry.

As an instructor, I value a diversity of approaches to poetry, and my goal is to help you situate poetry within the history and practice of poetry so that you can continue to find things you like to read and write in the ways that are meaningful to you. Any poem you encounter has the potential to change your understanding of what poetry is and what it can do. 

Besides reading and thinking about poetry, we’ll also be writing and sharing it with each other in what’s called “workshop.” This should function as a supportive and thoughtful community for writing, sharing, and revising poetry.

I'm attaching a recent syllabus. Class will work roughly similarly to the way it's described here. The focus is on learning. Consistency is the key to a good course grade. Most assignment grades are based on completion. I don't want you to use AI to write your poems, summarize the poems we're reading, or respond to your classmates' poems. The penalty for doing so will be swift and clear. 

Students will need to use MyPCC, their MyPCC Google Docs, PCC email, and D2L.