English 414, Se 001
Course title: Whitman’s Children
Instructor: S. Firer
Office: CRT 576
Office phone: 229-6993
Office Hours:
Course Description:
In Whitman’s Children we will try to answer the question Lawrence Ferlinghetti asks in “Populist Manifesto”: “Where are Whitman’s wild children…?” We will study several contemporary writers, looking at ways their works extend, converse with, separate from,
and in some cases transform Walt Whitman’s literary legacy. For those who haven’t been exposed to Whitman’s writings before, we’ll start with a review of the 1855 edition of Leaves of Grass. We will consider collections by Adrienne Rich, Galway Kinnell,
Lucille Clifton, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Charles Bukowski and, of course, Allen Ginsberg. We’ll spend the last half of the session looking at a sampling of contemporary writers who are Whitman’s literary offspring, including Kenneth Koch, Frank O’Hara, Mary Oliver, Lorca, Neruda, and others.
Required Texts:
The Portable Walt Whitman, Edited by Michael Warner. ISBN 9780142437681. $20.00.
Howl, Allen Ginsberg. ISBN 0872860175. $7.95.
A New Selected Poems, Galway Kinnell. ISBN 9780618154456. $14.95.
An Atlas of the Difficult World, Adrienne Rich. ISBN 9780393308310. $12.95.
good woman: poems & a memoir 1969-80, lucille clifton. ISBN 9780918526595. $18.50.
The Gold Cell, Sharon Olds. ISBN 0394747704. $16.00.
The Sonnets, Ted Berrigan. ISBN 0140589276. $18.00.
You Get So Alone At Times That It Just Makes Sense, Charles Bukowski.
ISBN 0876856830. $16.99.
Additional titles may be added.
Grades will be based on: attendance* and participation (25%), quizzes, assignments and readings (25%), oral report** (25%), and final project*** (25%). Requirements: completion of all assigned readings and assignments, participation in class discussions, an oral report, and a final project tied to the concerns of the class.
*After three absences, your final grade will be lowered a third of a grade with each subsequent absence. (For example, a B will become a B- after your fourth absence). Exceptions will be made only under extreme circumstances.
**The oral report should present an author who could be considered part of the Whitman tradition. The report should include biographical information on the chosen author, at least fifteen of the author’s ideas on writing, connections to Whitman (style, substance and vision) and a sample of the author’s work. Include a works cited page and a selected bibliography of works by the author you have chosen.
***The final project can be either a 7 to 10 page academic paper (be sure to clear topic with me first) or a 10 page poetry manuscript with each poem linked to class attentions.
Final projects are due on: