Are you hungry?
Ignore your stomach for a moment. Ignore media, ignore, time, ignore rush.
Now, what do you hunger? If you are reading this blog or others like it, you hunger assonance, consonance, word play, meaning, query, richness, answers, possibilities, verbal cues, verbal sounds, image creation, fresh perspectives.
Ahh.
So, that’s what I meant.
Put down the double-fudge-cream-mocha-carmelotta-coffeeshake and hear me out. (don’t those things give you gas, too?)
I have the solution. Stick with black coffee and sign up for Modern and Contemporary American Poetry through Coursera.
This is an on-line course. FREE! It started yesterday but since GoDaddy had some issues, things weren’t working up to snuff anyway, so you still have time. In fact, I just started today. You have all week to get to the first lesson and it’s not all that time-consuming.
Coursera is “a social entrepreneurship company that partners with the top universities in the world to offer courses online for anyone to take, for free.
They offer courses in Humanities, Medicine, Biology, Social Sciences, Mathematics, Business, Computer Science, etc.
Modern and Contemporary American Poetry is being taught Al Filreis Kelly Professor, Faculty Director of the Kelly Writers House at the University of Pennsylvania, and a slew of Teaching Assistants from the UPenn.
They have an extremely active Facebook page with subgroups of subgroups, discussion forums, poetry blog-sharing, poem sharing.
Today I viewed a video discussion on the following poem by Emily Dickenson which was stimulating. It took a few read-throughs to get it, but I’m all the richer for it.
Next week we discuss Walt Whitman. But for today, I just want to encourage you to sign-up. Right now it’s just me and 30,000 other poetry lovers from around the world.
We could use one more. Come join us!
I dwell in Possibility – (466)
I dwell in Possibility –
A fairer House than Prose –
More numerous of Windows –
Superior – for Doors –
Of Chambers as the Cedars –
Impregnable of eye –
And for an everlasting Roof
The Gambrels of the Sky –
Of Visitors – the fairest –
For Occupation – This –
The spreading wide my narrow Hands
To gather Paradise –
Thanks for heads up on U of Penn Poetry. I did sign up. Maybe we can get together and talk sometimes via email.
Oh, yes. I sure hope I can keep up!
I found this blog through that course. Thirty thousand like minded people, or thirty thousand people trying anyway. Remarkable is what it is.
Remarkable is right, Scott. Sometimes I go to the site and I can hardly breathe; I’m all aflutter with anticipation. Thanks for hanging out at my little home.
I’m in. See you at the Forum(s).
I’ll keep the light on for you!