This is a paid Adult School program. When registering, you will be taken to the Adult School website.
Are you mystified by poems? In this course, we will read Contemporary American Poetry, where the use of informal language brings an immediacy to poems that makes them accessible. Written from the middle of the twentieth century to the present day, contemporary poetry typically uses the language of ordinary speech as well as lines that do not depend upon rhyme or meter. In addition, there are no formal rules of structure that the poem must follow.
The poems we will read are sensory in nature, evoking sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch. We will “experience” the poems through the feelings they create in us. At the same time, we will learn the elements of poetry that differentiate it from other genres of writing. These elements can help us understand a poem, while illuminating how an image or a particularly vivid word emphasizes and brings attention to the meaning.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Our site host for this class requires participants to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Please be prepared to show proof of vaccination to the site host upon entry. If you will not be fully vaccinated before the start of this class please do not register. The Library will not provide refunds, credits, or exchanges for this class due to issues arising from vaccination status.