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Poems

 

Poetry for Children
Spring 2012

Mondays and Wednesdays, 3:35-4:50
 STV 347B
Dr. Karen Coats

 
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Course Description:

In a recent publication, renowned children’s literature critic Peter Hunt declared that there is no theory in or of children’s poetry. In this class, we will prove him wrong. We will begin by learning how to read and think about poetry for ourselves, and then suss out what is distinctive and important about children’s poetry in terms of its structure, meaning, and importance in the development of literary understanding in children and young people. We will not only discuss poetry, but perform it as well. The course will thus serve as an introduction to the study of poetry, with particular attention to the distinctive forms and uses of children’s poetry in the context of the various subdisciplines of English Studies (that is, rhetoric, linguistics, pedagogy, literary and cultural history and theory).

Required Texts:

Frost, Helen, Diamond Willow
Igus, Toyomi, I See the Rhythm of Gospel
Janeczko, Paul, A Poke in the I: A Collection of Concrete Poems
Nye, Naomi Shihab, Time You Let Me In
Padgett, Ron, The Teachers and Writers Handbook of Poetic Forms
Philip, Neil, The New Oxford Book of Children's Verse
Ruddell, Deborah A Whiff of Pine, a Hint of Skunk
Rylant, Cynthia, God Went to Beauty School
Steele, Timothy,  All the Fun's in How You Say a Thing

You will also be required to read a verse novel of your choice.

Additional Readings:

       Other poems and essays will be available through the English Department Digital Reserves or via pdf delivered through email.