21st-Century Poetry Course


Even though I'm sabbaticalling, I will soon be making book orders for my classes for Fall 2018 at FGCU:  Intro to Creative Writing, American Drama (love, love, love), and a senior class on 21st-Century Poetry. 

So for the latter class, I'm will be ordering individual books of poetry--I'm pretty much anti-anthology--but I want to use writers I haven't taught before (meaning no January Gill O'Neill, Jeannine Hall Gailey, Jericho Brown, Molly McCully Brown, Patricia Smith, Kelli Russell Agodon, Maggie Smith, Mark Doty, Rita Dove, Thylias Moss, Denise Duhamel, Maureen Seaton, Michael Hettich, Jesse Millner, Elizabeth Alexander, Matthew Dickman, Anne Carson, Jay Hopler, Kevin Young, Dean Young, Yusef Komunyakaa, Keith Ratzlaff, Allison Joseph, Natasha Tretheway, Matthew Zapruder, Martin Espada, Ross Gay, Claudia Rankine, Lola Haskins, Mia Leonin, Silvia Curbelo, etc.!!!).

So, on my definite list is Shaindel Beers, Layli Long Soldier, Annemarie Ní Churreáin, Kimberly Campanello, Kaveh Akbar, Danez Smith, and Victoria Chang.  I need two more. 

Suggestions? My only criterion is poets who can kick my ass. 

If you make a suggestion, make it no more than two!  See?  It's fucking impossible.  Go.

Comments

January said…
Joseph Legaspi - Threshold.

Will I see you on Tampa at AWP? 😉
Dave Bonta said…
I'm not sure what you define as ass-kicking, but I don't see Laura Kasischke or Mary Ruefle on your list—two favorites of mine whom I wouldn't hesitate to describe as giants.
Jim Brock said…
Thanks, Jan and Dave.

I'll likely take a day trip up to Tampa for the AWP (I do get a bit overwhelmed with the crowds), Jan. I want to catch the off-site Anhinga Press reading, in the very least. I'll definitely be there for the SIWC, though. Our paths will cross definitely in 2018, finally, and that makes me very, very happy. Oh, and I'm ordering up Threshold now. You two go back to your NYU days, no?

Dave, I've taught Ruefle, but never Kasischke (and her work astonishes me, which is a kind of ass-kicking).