The course is one of two Creative Writing Foundations courses that collectively explore a broad range of genres, forms, and modes of creative writing. Paired with Fiction and Nonfiction, Poetry and Prose focuses on modern and contemporary poetry, where the boundaries between poetry and prose are blurred, and various forms, from traditional to experimental ones, are adopted. Informed by the increasing transnational literary tradition, as well as canonical and contemporary repertoires, the course uniquely examines the intricate interplay of poetry and prose. It investigates what constitutes poetry versus prose, prose versus poetry, and how writers harness the potential of contemporary poetry, where poetic and prosaic traditions are both adopted and adapted. Through close reading and critique of selected works of modern and contemporary poetry, students will deepen and widen their understanding of the evolving literary tradition, where poetry and prose intersect and intertwine. Students will create original works by engaging in exercises that involve modelling, adaptation, and constraints, while also analysing the poetic and prosaic qualities in their writing.
- To explore with examples the distinctions and commonalities between poetry and prose as genres and modes of creative writing.
- To investigate the evolving landscape of contemporary poetry, where the line between poetry and prose is challenged.
- To immerse students in the contemporary practice of writing that blends poetry and prose through engaging in exercises that involve modelling, adaptation, and constraints, as well as rigorous editing.
- To develop students’ understanding of poetic and prosaic languages, thereby strengthening their writing within and across specific creative writing genres or modes.
All lessons require mandatory attendance.
Moodle: The course Moodle site is the leading portal for your learning throughout the semester. You will also upload your written assignments to Moodle (via Turnitin).
Readings: Weekly readings will consist of primary reading(s), which constitute works in poetry and/or prose; and/or secondary reading(s), which comprise critical/theoretical text(s). Any recommended readings are intended to offer more perspectives.
Readings will be available on Moodle and/or in the libraries. Students need to complete the assigned primary and/or secondary readings to fully understand the lessons.
Participation 15%
Mid-term poetry draft 30%
Poetry portfolio 35%
Critical-reflective essay 25%
Recommended readings include a variety of creative and critical publications that explore diverse interpretations and understandings of poetry and prose. Here is a list of examples:
Anthologies
Great American Prose Poems: From Poe to the Present (Scribner, 2003), edited by David Lehman
The Penguin Book of the Prose Poem from Baudelaire to Anne Carson (Penguin Classic, 2018), edited by Jeremy Noel-Tod
Poems of the Decade 2011-2020: An Anthology of the Forward Books of Poetry (Faber & Faber, 2021), edited by William Sieghart
Collected Poems
- The Collected Poems of Frank O’Hara (University of California Press, 1995), edited by Donald Allen
- Complete Poems (Chatto & Windus, 2004), Elizabeth Bishop
- What Happened: Poems 1997-2017 (Math Paper Press, 2017), Alvin Pang
Poetry Collections
- When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities (Bloodaxe, 2019), Chen Chen
- Poor (Penguin, 2020), Caleb Femi
- Self-Portrait as Othello (Carcanet, 2023), Jason Allen-Paisant
- With My Back to the World (Corsair, 2024), Victoria Chang
Critical Volumes
- Prose Poetry: An Introduction (Princeton University Press, 2020), Paul Hetherington and Cassandra Atherton
- A Companion to Contemporary British and Irish Poetry, 1960–2015 (Wiley, 2020), edited by Wolfgang Gortschacher and David Malcolm
Texts are presented in chronological order in each category.