Class 11

Materials for today's class: The "Whither Prose Poetry" handout.

Notes from today's discussion:

What are the differences in expectations when a reader approaches a story versus a poem?
Reader expects a plot, beginning, middle, end, characters in a story.
Line breaks, meter, rhyme in poetry.
Meaning is on the surface in a story, but “hidden” in a poem. Requires more thought. Encourages a “mental free play.”
Full meaning in a poem is never fully disclosed.
Stories are more concrete. Poems can be more a snapshot of emotion or various abstractions, eg. Love.

What are the differences in responsibilities when a writer creates a story versus a poem?
In a story: character development, language has more breadth, concrete language, rising action, climax etc., filling in “what” details, larger focus on reader reaction
In a poem: Language has more depth, abstract thought, more pressure on each word, more “why” questions, purpose can be more “personal,” less focus on a “target audience”
Stories affected by the “cultural moment” in terms of genre, topic, subject, style, social trends. In poetry, trends tend to be slower; easier to look back; trends in form rather than subject
In poetry, the language is often more figurative; the poem seems to be spoken to you , the reader; the poet can have more “patience” to describe things, as opposed to the clarity/brevity/efficiency model of prose.
Poetry often features the struggle of language to create the intangible.

What does a story do that a poem does not? What are the essential components of a story?
Story can be digested in one reading.
Story has a plan, asks you to follow the plan, timeline
Story is external
Story isn’t necessarily “about” the writer, can be made up
Main character/protagonist, sense of yearning, movement based on their desire, conflict

What does a poem do that a story does not? What are the essential components of a poem?
Asks to be read more than once.
Poem might be immersive
Poem is internal
Poem is about the writer/speaker, relating real experience
No responsibility to “movement”: can focus on stationary object, description, emotion, etc.
Doesn’t require characters, struggle, conflict

What are the differences in the various reactions elicited by a story versus a poem?
Stories can be dissected in a “normative” way: plot, character, believability
Stories often try to entertain, whereas poems often try to enlighten

HOMEWORK
1) Read the Prose Poems for next week ("The List: Poetic Parataxis") and write a Critical Reading Response. Be sure to include in your response some of the items from today's discussion. Whither prose poetry? What does the genre let us do that other genres do not?
2) Creative Assignment: Write a prose poem that focuses, as this week's readings do, on "The Lyric Moment." In class we defined the Lyric Moment as a moment of grace or beauty; a moment that can't be improved on; a highly detailed instant; a poem that uses figurative language and heightened imagery & emotion; a poem that begins in the external world but quickly moves inward.