COMS 304: POETRY IN PERFORMANCE

Spring 2010

Professor: Christie Logan, Ph.D.
Office: Manzanita (MZ) 342
phone: 818 - 677-2859

Office hours:
Wed & Fri 12:30 -2, and by appointment
email: christie.logan@csun.edu
*On days I’m not in, email is ABSOLUTELY the best way to reach me.

Course Description

In this course we will explore the intersections of poetry and performance as aesthetic and communicative practices, and poetics as a particular mode of communication for individuals, communities and cultures. We approach poetry in its broadest sense: as language based in imagination, association and metaphor; language intended to open up new ways of seeing the world and expressing our interactions with it.

Poetry can tell stories in unique ways. Poetry makes us read it differently than we read prose. Poetry offers distilled moments of intensified human experience, it transforms the ordinary and mundane into the mythic and universal. A poem’s meaning reverberates beyond its literal content, a poem says more than its words alone mean. Here’s an example:

3 A.M. By Joy Harjoe

In the Albuquerque airport
trying to find a flight
to Old Oraibi, Third Mesa
TWA
is the only desk open
bright lights outline New York
Chicago
and the attendant doesn’t know
that Third Mesa
is a part of the center
of the world
and who are we
just two indians
at three in the morning
trying to find a way back

and then I remembered
that time Simon
took a Yellow Cab
out to Acoma from Albuquerque
a twenty-five dollar ride
to the center of himself

3 A.M. is not too late
to find the way back

This course will be a hands-on, on-your-feet laboratory for writing and performing poetry. In class sessions we will participate in a series of writing exercises, starting with free-writing and moving into crafting raw writing into poetry, working individually and collaboratively at various times. In the performance workshops we’ll work with poems from the textbooks & others I put on reserve, with poems you bring in to class, and with poems we create in the class. In this interactive process we will explore the power of poetic language to uniquely express human experiences, histories, hopes and dreams. Our performance work will enable us to explore the communicative possibilities of giving voice and body to such language.

What We Must Be Committed To Do:

• Be present (both physically and mentally) for all class sessions so that you may learn from others and offer colleagues your insights.
• Commit yourself to producing well-prepared, thoughtful, and coherent written and performance work.
• Be open to listening, respecting, and understanding perspectives that differ from your own.

Course Objectives:  this course is intended to enable you to:

• understand poetry as an aesthetic, communicative, and performative act
• develop methods for analyzing poetic form and function and envisioning its performance
• improve your oral communication and expressive skills
• critically examine your own ideas and the ideas of others and to express this critique in your aesthetic practices
• experience and appreciate the risk-taking involved in creating and sharing written work and embodied performances
• improve critical thinking skills through the examination of poetry, critical texts on poetic form and function, and examples of adapting poetry for performance
• employ analytic, critical and creative methods to adapting poetry for live performance
• develop skills as an engaged and reflective audience for live performance
  

Texts

Online readings are listed as links on the course schedule.  The full listing can be found on the Online Readings page of our COMS 304 site. Other poetry & texts may be placed on reserve in Aronstam Departmental Library.

We will use WebCT for our course newsgroup and chat rooms. You are automatically registered on WebCT when you register for this course. To log in to WebCT, use your campus user ID and password (the one you use for SOLAR). You can access the WCT Newsgroup from our COMS 304 site.

Course Requirements

In-class Workshops: 20%
You are graded on the extent and quality of your contribution to class workshops & discussions, exercises etc. You are expected to come prepared, to speak up - on topic, to listen attentively to your colleagues, to actively engage in discussions & workshops, to respect others’ POV -- in short, to contribute in a productive way to the ongoing work of the class. Preparation and citizenship, put simply. Your participation in performance and writing workshops is integral to your success in the course, along with the success of your peers. Participation in class is important -- it's worth 20% of your final grade.

Reading Check Quizzes: 10%
The reading assignments are important prompts for class discussion, exercises and workshops, and performance work. To ensure that you are keeping up with the reading and doing a conscientious job preparing to come to class, there will be several unannounced reading “checks” throughout the semester. The point totals for these checks will vary, though these quizzes will cumulatively be worth a total of 10 points (and 10% percent of your final grade).

Performance Response Papers: 10%
You will be assigned performances to respond to for each round of performances. Two (2) copies of these 1-2 page responses will be due the class period following the performance.

Performances:
The first performance a poem to introduce yourself is C/NC. Points for the others are detailed below. For this introductory performance, the single most important criterion for your selection is choosing a poem you like—because it intrigues you, amuses you, makes you feel happy or sad or some other emotion. In short, it moves you in some way.

Graded performances are detailed below. For these,

• Select a poem or poems from the course text or the poetry websites provided. If you choose a poem from some other source or location, you must clear it with me before your selection is due. Your poetry selection or adaptation is due in advance of your scheduled performance (see the course schedule for due dates).
• Memorize your poem, rehearse, and deliver the performance. All performances must be memorized. You will sign up in advance for a performance day.
• Develop a 1-2 page Performance Plan and annotated script, due to be posted on the newsgroup before class on the day you perform. Guidelines for each performance assignment will be posed on the newsgroup.
  
  You may work with a partner or in a group for three of these performances. Please note: When you elect to do group or partner performances, you will need to meet with your classmates outside of class to plan, prepare, and rehearse. Be sure you can make and keep that commitment.
  

Performance 1: Performing Poetry of Voice and Character – 10%
In creating this performance, you will choose a single poem and create a 2-4 minute solo performance. If you choose a brief poem that does not meet the minimum time requirement, you should perform the poem more than once, in different contexts, settings, character(s), etc. This assignment is worth a total of 10 points (and 10% of your final grade). Post on the course newsgroup your performance plan and annotated script before class on the day you perform.

Performance 2: Writing and Experimenting with Poetic Form – 15%
For this 4-6-minute performance, you will select a poem or poems that experiment in some way with form. You may create a solo performance or work with a partner or group of 3. This assignment is worth a total of 15 points (and 15% of your final grade). If you choose to perform with a partner or group, you will all receive the same grade, unless group members convince me otherwise. Post on the course newsgroup your performance plan and annotated script before class on the day you perform.

Performance 3: Slam Poetry – 10%
For this performance, the class will create a slam poetry event. For your part, select a slam-style poem or poems that will yield a 3-4 minute solo performance. This assignment is worth a total of 10 points (and 10% of your final grade). Post on the course newsgroup your annotated script before class on the day you perform (no performance plan for this one).

Performance 4: Group Performance – 25%
This is your culminating creative project: a 20-25 minute ensemble performance in a campus space of your choosing - it doesn't have to be our classroom. I encourage you to choose a site that provides an expressive physical context and geography for the theme, actions and experiences of your performance. If it's a public space, keep in mind that we need to be able to see and hear you, so be aware of potential distractions or interruptions. However, I encourage you to be creative in finding a locale or site that brings your piece to life. The campus has some really intriguing spaces; start exploring now.

This is a staged and fully memorized [no scripts allowed in performance] ensemble performance of several poems, compiled and arranged in a dramatic progression that is complex and has an emotional &/or intellectual logic, and that takes us through an experience and teaches us something. You may focus on a theme, a human condition, relationship or situation etc. -- something that brings to light something new, that gives us insight or enables us to see things in a different way.Post on the course newsgroup your performance plan and annotated script before class on the day you perform. Be sure you properly cite the sources for the various pieces in the script in a bibliography. This script should also specify the cast for each piece, line assignments within poems if applicable, & stage directions throughout (within pieces and as transitions between pieces). Also include a diagram of your stage area and setup. This assignment is worth a total of 25 points (and 25% of your final grade).

Grading System:

Individual assignments are graded on a standard 10% scale. Number grades only are recorded for assignments. These add up to a percentage. The final course grade will be plus/minus, determined by course totals as follows:

COURSE POLICIES

1. The class is highly interactive and collaborative; the extent and quality of your contributions to class discussions and activities counts for 20% of your course grade. Absences or tardiness or leaving class early will negatively affect your final grade, even beyond the 20%. Turn off cell phones etc. during class time.
2. Please make every effort to be on time and ready to work at the beginning of class. If you are late on performance days, please WAIT in the hallway until you hear applause. Please do not interrupt a performance in progress.
3. It is always your choice whether or not to share what you’ve written with the class. I will periodically collect your writings and I will read them; however, I will never coerce you to read your own writing aloud. My hope is that we will establish a collaborative and nurturing climate that will motivate all participants to freely share our work.
4. I recommend that you team up with one or more colleagues for your rehearsals outside of class. You can be invaluable to each other by providing audience feedback to each other as you develop your performances.
5. Due Dates are firm. We will adhere strictly to the deadlines on the course schedule unless a change is announced in class. Assignments are due as listed on the course schedule. You will sign up in class for performance days, and there are no makeups of missed performances. Papers and other graded work will be reduced one full grade point for each day - not class day, any day - late. Exceptions will be granted in only the most unanticipated or extreme situations (e.g., medical emergency). I will ask for documentation - please don’t take it personally.
6. Students are responsible for proper spelling, grammar, usage and syntax in all written assignments. If you need help in these areas, I urge you to use the services of the Writing Lab of the Learning Resource Center located in the Student Services Building, room 408. Workshops and individual tutoring are available free to all CSUN students. There is even an online writing lab. In-class writing will not be graded on mechanics.
7. All scripts should be typed and papers should be in appropriate format [double-spaced, with headers, numbered pages and standard fonts & margins]. For this class, use Modern Languages Association [MLA] style manual format - print out this MLA template: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/MLAstyle.pdf
8. Academic honesty is expected and required. Academic dishonesty defrauds all those who depend on the integrity of University courses and is an offense with serious consequences, covered by Title 5 of the California Administrative Code. Information and guidance to avoid dishonesty is published in the University Catalog, Schedule of Classes, and the Student Handbook. Any form of cheating or plagiarism will not be tolerated. Click here for the university's policy on violations. If you are caught cheating or plagiarizing in any form, I will assign you a grade of "F" for the course and will pursue university disciplinary action to the fullest extent. If you are uncertain about the ethical responsibilities of particular assignments, citations, research processes, etc., consult the professor before submitting the assignment.
9. Always Ask for help when you need it. I am happy to meet with you during office hours or by appointment. Don't hesitate to ask for additional help. And don't wait until you're behind - ask for help as soon as you need it.

Welcome to the class! I'm looking forward to a creative and rewarding semester together.

Wondering where to begin? If you don’t have a poem in mind for the intro poem performance (due next week) or don’t have much exposure to poetry, here are some suggestions for places to look:

1] our textbook — if you find one you like, look up other poems by that author
2] peruse the poetry anthology shelves in Oviatt Library
3] check out the online sources available from our course homepage - http://www.csun.edu/~vcspc00g/304/ . There are two pages of online resources, including searchable and browsable databases of poems by a variety of authors. Some highlights below.

The Poetry Society of America (PSA) – http://www.poetrysociety.org has several projects to link to:
The PSA inaugurated POETRY IN MOTION® in New York in 1992 and has since expanded the program to numerous cities from coast to coast. The program, which places poems in buses and subways, currently reaches over 10 million Americans on a daily basis. These poems are also online - and searchable by city. Check out the Favorite Poem Project, a compendium of folks reading their favorite poems: Click “poems” for the written texts. Go to the course Online Poetry Resources for more.

1st day writing exercise:

Please hand this in before you leave or email it to me before the next class meeting.

1] Do you remember your first encounter with poetry? Your last? Describe what you remember.
2] What is your experience with poetry now? To what extent is poetry a part of your life? Why or why not?
3] What are your hopes and fears for this class?
4] Anything else on your mind?

304 Homepage | Course Schedule | Online Readings Links
Other Online Poetry Resources |WebCT Course Newsgroup

This page created & maintained by Christie Logan, Ph.D.
Last update:January 9, 2010