WRIT UN2310

This is a good course if you're looking to develop a voice in poetry - I'd occasionally written poetry before but I'd never put the time or effort into developing my own style. By reading lots of poetry and discussing it you get to see what works for you and what doesn't and then experiment with those aspects of language in a non- judgemental space.

In this course, we discussed different 21st century poetry and considered it in conversation with poetic techniques and other works. We talked about poetry as politics, poetry as commentary, and how poetry fits into the modern world.

Josh is wonderful. This is the perfect class for anyone interested in Poetry, whether you are just starting out or you have a full portfolio of work. The class provides a good intro to a wide range of poetical styles and structures. Josh is extremely helpful, laid-back, and not afraid to give honest, constructive criticism on your work.

"Approaches to Poetry" eased my anxiety around writing poetry and allowed me to settle into a space where I could observe its mechanics in function. Through each poet, I entered a new genre with its own technologies. Using each in practice allowed me to feel more comfortable and intimate with the craft itself. Ultimately, I leave this course almost as if the blindfold has been taken off -- like I can meditate on what I am experiencing and reach for the mechanism I know fits the emotion.

Class was a survey on 21st century poetry.

Weekly writing assignments, reading assignments.

This course was very helpful in reintroducing the basics of poetry, which is, of course, essential to keep in the back of a mind as a poet. Upon having re-established the fundamentals, it then gracefully but firmly introduced students to different approaches one might take in poetry, after which students were put to attempt that approach themselves. The invaluable feedback provided by the instructor ensured that such ventures, though mildly uncomfortable from a creative perspective, were fully manageable and even exciting.

Reasons for inclusion of materials on syllabus were not clearly explained, student class presentations were not well linked with instructor's planned content.

Great class with a great professor. Josh is a cool, laid back guy and full of insightful, thought provoking things to say about poetry. We covered a whole bunch of poetic forms. Half the class was looking at student's writing and the other half looking discussing the week's form or style with reference to published poets - both well-known and contemporary.

I learned about different poetic techniques. I learned a lot about different poets that were influential for women, lesbian women, and poetry because of the way that they wrote and lived their lives. I liked reading Eileen Myles' work because of her use of pronouns. I thought Pat Parker was cool because of her use of singing and rhythm. Prof. Mountain gave a list of key terms so that was really helpful to have and learn from. It was easy to create poetry with that as a tool.