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Amelia Worsley (Section 01)
From Emily Dickinson to Sonia Sánchez, Amherst is known throughout the world for its poets. More than twenty well-known poets have written, lived, and taught in the area where we find ourselves living. This introductory course is designed to welcome students into the literary environment of Amherst. In addition to reading and discussing the work of canonical poets like Dickinson, Sánchez, Robert Frost, James Merrill, Sylvia Plath, and Richard Wilbur, we will also read the work of poets, like Martin Espada, who are writing today, making frequent visits to local poetry readings in order to meet these poets in person. The class also includes several field trips to places important to Amherst writers, such as the Dickinson House Museum, and makes use of manuscript versions of poems held by the Frost Library. Our main focus will be on the close-reading skills needed to engage with poetry of all kinds, and on the skills needed to write a college-level argumentative essay. The class culminates in a poetry reading, which students themselves will organize, to honor the work of Amherst Poets. No prior experience of poetry will be assumed; all welcome.
Fall semester. Professor Worsley.
If Overenrolled: Dean's office determines this.