UPDATE: 31 JAN 2014

For next class session, please read Matt Hart's Debacle Debacle (H_NGM_N Books, 2013) and be prepared to discuss the collection.

Additionally, you will need to turn in a hard-copy of a typed, two-page, double-space response to the book. Your response essay should engage Hart's book using one of the critical articles, essays, or chapters we've read so far this semester. To do so, please look at how writers such as Stephen Burt, James Longenbach, or Elisa Gabbert critically engage with a poem. Think of their writing as a model for how you can approach Hart's book. Ultimately, you'll want to provide a close reading of one of two poems in the collection that are emblematic of Debacle Debacle's broader concerns or aesthetic traits.

In addition to being two-pages, double-spaced and typed, your responses should be in 12-point Times New Roman font with standard one inch margins. You name should appear in the top, right-hand corner and the essay should be formatted according to MLA-stlye guidelines. To this end, you should be properly quoting  both Hart's book and at least one of the articles.

By Wednesday at 4pm, everyone should email three questions that they would like to ask Hart after his reading. These questions should engage his poems and the critical readings directly; moreover, they should be formed in such a manner that they will prompt extended discussion, not just "Yes" or "No" answers. I will read over your questions and provide feedback for how they can be improved. You will be expected to ask all the poets questions after their readings.

On Thursday, instead of having a regular class session, Matt Hart will be reading. I will provide more information regarding the reading in Tuesday's class session.

Catherine Wing Poetry Reading

What: Catherine Wing Poetry Reading and Discussion

Date: Thursday, 30 January 2014

Time: 6:00pm – 7:15pm

Location: Case Western Reserve University

Room: Clarke Hall 206 (map)

Please join us for an evening of poetry with Catherine Wing. She will read from her most recent collection Gin & Bleach (Sarabande Books, 2012), as well as other work. Her performance will be followed by a question-and-answer session. This event is free and open to the public. It would be very much appreciated if you could spread this announcement and/or word of the event over the course of the next few days.

Catherine Wing was born in Louisville, Kentucky, and attended Brown University before earning her MFA from the University of Washington. Her collections of poetry include Enter Invisible (2005), nominated for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and Gin & Bleach (2012). Her poetry has appeared in such journals as Poetry, the Nation, and the Chicago Review and has been featured in a number of anthologies, including Best American Poetry (2010). Wing has received fellowships and residencies from Yaddo, the MacDowell Colony, and the Sewanee Writers’ Conference and teaches poetry at Kent State.