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Class 1: Writing One’s Name!

Read Chen Chen, “Chen [No Middle Name] Chen”: ttps://www.kenyonreview.org/wp-content/uploads/Chen-No-Middle-Name-Chen-1-768×994.jpg

and Danez Smith, “Alternate Names for Black Boys”: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/56843/alternate-names-for-black-boys

and Ocean Vuong, “Someday I’ll  Love Ocean Vuong”: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/05/04/someday-ill-love-ocean-vuong

and Omotara James, “Promise” (also includes first draft of the poem): https://www.92y.org/poetry/discovery-contest/winners/omotara-james

Write a formal response to one of these poems on the forum online.

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Class 2: Discussion and writing assignment

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Class 3: Writing One’s Body!

Read two poems by Joshua Jennifer Espinoza: https://hyperallergic.com/392384/two-poems-by-joshua-jennifer-espinoza/

and Rickey Laurentiis, “One Country”: https://www.poetryproject.org/one-country-by-rickey-laurentiis/

and June Jordan, “Poem About My Rights”: [CW] https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48762/poem-about-my-rights

and Brenda Shaughnessy, “Gay Pride Weekend, S.F., 1992”: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/91498/gay-pride-weekend-sf-1992

IN CLASS: Read excerpt from “I’m So Fine”: https://lehmanfallcw.commons.gc.cuny.edu/wp-content/blogs.dir/13153/files/2020/10/Im-So-Fine-Digital-Excerpt.pdf

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Class 4: Writing What Happens To One’s Body! [CW: assault]

Read Natalie Eilbert, “Genesis”: Genesis_Eilbert

and Jamila Woods, Deep in the Homeroom of Doom

and Latasha N. Nevada Diggs, “My First Black Nature Poem™”: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/56492/my-first-black-nature-poemtm

and read Marwa Helal, “You Got the Keys Keys Keys: An Ode to DJ Khaled”: https://www.theliftedbrow.com/liftedbrow/2018/9/26/two-poems-by-marwa-helal

(and, if you have time, read and Muriel Leung, “Mourn You Better (Ecstatic Phrase)”: http://www.ghostproposal.com/issue5/murielleung.php [the photos are a part of it!])

 

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Class 5: WORKSHOP