I believe that the best writing is derived from good reading; therefore, this class is reading intensive. I try to balance the reading load by giving you time to respond to the reading in class. Please keep up with the reading and be prepared to participate in class discussions. You should expect to be asked to respond to your reading (textbook or handouts) in class every day. Reading responses will sometimes take the form of quizzes, sometimes they will be a written response to a particular prompt, and sometimes they may be more creative or experimental. They may even be oral responses or participation responses. You will need to be active readers! Reading responses are a record of your thinking about the texts–an occasion for you to reflect and make connections. Reading responses (including in-class discussions) will be worth 10% of your final grade.

Reading and responding to the writing of others helps you read your own writing more carefully and critically. Therefore, you will be required write critical responses to the creative work of your peers through constructive comments and  written responses during in-class workshops.  You will submit thorough, thoughtful comments that your assigned writer can act on in their revisions. Writing responses will be worth 10% of your final grade.

You will be responsible for five “ready for publication” poems (two revisions per poem). These works will be discussed more fully in separate assignment sheets. Please read and reread these assignment sheets and follow them closely. The poems should not exceed two pages per poem, single-spaced, flush left margins (no centered poems), and titled. The first page should include your name and your email address (bottom right footer). Use 1 inch margins. No insulting, page-lengthening, goofball spacing font arrangements. Drafts of poems and revisions will be worth 50% total.

Final Project

This final portfolio will give you a chance to return once more to your writing and make it as successful as it can be. At the end of the semester after the reading and workshops are completed, and after you have received your comments from me, you will apply your new knowledge and experience to your work one last time. This final portfolio will be a testament to your understanding of yourself as a writer and of your chosen genre. It will consist of a minimum of five to 15 pages of perfectly revised poetry writing and a two-page reflection.  See Final Project page. The Final Project will be submitted via email as a single document to tmorris@georgiasouthern.edu. Think of this portfolio as your professional work, ready for submission. Your portfolio will be worth 20% of your final grade.

Attendance

This is a class that depends on your being there. Your participation, readings responses, and quizzes cannot be made up. Therefore, you must be in class (and attend your assigned outside meetings). You are allowed three absences. No excuses. No penalties. After three your grade will be dropped a letter per absence; you will be dropped from the course with a WF after seven absences. Excessive tardiness will also impact reading response averages and accumulation of absences.