Poetry and Protest

In this course we will be exploring poetry of dissent, resistance, and rebellion. In the public and political spheres, as well as the private, domestic ones, poets have written to confront gender, racial, and ethnic oppression. Protest can be expressed through content, as well as structure, for instance breaking free from traditional poetic forms. Examples of protest poets include Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes, Muriel Rukeyser, Allen Ginsberg, Audre Lorde, June Jordan, Sylvia Plath, Adrienne Rich, Anne Waldman, Charles Bernstein, Marge Piercy, Naomi Shihab Nye, Claudia Rankine, and Yusef Komunyakaa. Alongside poetry, we will read selections of criticism related to poetry, politics, and activism. This course will have a midterm exam and final essay. Other assignments may be given.