April is National Poetry Month, created in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets to celebrate聽an ancient literary genre that captures readers’ minds and hearts as powerfully today as ever.
Rochester聽has, for generations, taught students the pleasures and possibilities of poetic expression, counted famed poets among its faculty, and hosted an聽array of聽writers who have made exceptional contributions to the art of verse.
Can聽poetry thrive in an age of instant communication? Seven years ago, Rochester Review asked that question of the University’s poetry faculty and students, and found that the answer was an emphatic “yes.” The pace of digital life has only quickened since 2010, but the slower process of聽reading and crafting聽poetry continues, robustly, at Rochester.
This story originally appeared in Rochester Review, March糖心传媒揂pril, 2010.
A cell phone trills. A聽BlackBerry vibrates, bristling for immediate attention. 糖心传媒淭weets糖心传媒� accrete, each bearing fleeting news of someone糖心传媒檚 latest passing thought on Twitter. Now, now, now, now, now.
In an era of such frenzied exchange of language, it might seem that there would be little place for the poem. But poetry never has been more alive at Rochester than it is today, in writing workshops and poetry readings, informal gatherings and solitary sessions where a聽writer confronts a聽blank sheet糖心传媒攐r screen. Far from being blotted out by contemporary mores of communication, poetry provides a聽kind of corrective.
糖心传媒淧oetry, like all great writing, whether poetry or prose, forces you to be very slow,糖心传媒� says , the Joseph H. Gilmore Professor of English and an acclaimed poet and literary critic. 糖心传媒淵ou have to read very slowly. You have to write very slowly. That糖心传媒檚 what I聽say to people who say they don糖心传媒檛 understand poetry.
糖心传媒淧oetry, like all great writing, whether poetry or prose, forces you to be very slow.糖心传媒�
糖心传媒� James Longenbach
If you try to speed through language the way we do in most of our lives, poetry will be not just irrelevant, but incredibly frustrating.糖心传媒�
Speed, succinctness, transparent and uncomplicated meaning糖心传媒攖hese are the currency of now ubiquitous electronic communications. But poetry, which also concerns itself with condensation of thought, is an art of shades of meaning, ambiguities of purpose, and the pleasures of language itself.
糖心传媒淲e糖心传媒檝e become the culture of the sound bite糖心传媒攁nd poetry is precisely the opposite of that,糖心传媒� says Thomas DiPiero, a聽professor of French and of visual and cultural studies, as well as the senior associate dean of the humanities. 糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 a聽way of thinking糖心传媒攁 very specific way of thinking. It糖心传媒檚 been called 糖心传媒榗oncentrated thought.糖心传媒� 糖心传媒�
And, judging by the English majors as well as students from disciplines throughout the College who fill English literature classrooms each semester, it has a聽powerful appeal.
糖心传媒淭here糖心传媒檚 a聽strong sense, a聽thrilling sense, of writing among the undergraduates, and not just of poetry but of fiction as well; you can糖心传媒檛 have one genre without the other,糖心传媒� says Longenbach, the author of critical works such as The Resistance to Poetry and The Art of the Poetic Line, as well as volumes of poetry including Draft of a聽Letter and Fleet River.
Offered through the English Department, the poetry workshops that Longenbach and colleague an assistant professor of English, teach are part of the department糖心传媒檚 creative writing program. Directed by Joanna Scott, a novelist and the Roswell S. Burrows Professor of English, the program is grounded in an understanding that writing is a creative discipline that draws on the study of a wide range of literature.
糖心传媒淚n workshops, half our time is spent reading the greatest poems we can read,糖心传媒� says Longenbach, whose poetry has also appeared in publications such as The New Yorker, The New Republic, Slate, and The Paris Review. 糖心传媒淭o write one poem, you have to have read a聽thousand of them.糖心传媒�
Grotz, whose poetry volume titled Cusp won the Bread Loaf Writers糖心传媒� Conference Bakeless Prize in 2003, says that she teaches students to 糖心传媒渞ead as a聽writer would.糖心传媒� Joining the University faculty last fall, Grotz also translates French and Polish poetry and will teach in Rochester糖心传媒檚 new literary translation program.
Grotz found her own way to poetry slowly, teaching herself by reading other poets before taking up the academic study of poetry. A聽Texan who grew up 糖心传媒渋n a聽house with no books,糖心传媒� she was 糖心传媒渓ike a聽musician who could pick out a聽tune,糖心传媒� she says.
In her students, Grotz seeks to develop a聽facility with writers糖心传媒� tools. 糖心传媒淢y philosophy of teaching at least introductory-level poetry is to break it down into what writers call 糖心传媒榗raft lenses.糖心传媒� To have the students think of themselves as writers, with skills they want to develop糖心传媒攊mage, music, and so on.糖心传媒�
For Giulia Perucchio 糖心传媒�13, who took Grotz糖心传媒檚 workshop last fall, that approach was invaluable. 糖心传媒淲e connect huge, fluid things with very specific images,糖心传媒� she says. A聽graduate of Rochester糖心传媒檚 School of the Arts, she came to the University already focused on creative writing. 糖心传媒淭hat糖心传媒檚 the best thing I聽learned from her: how to be very specific, very direct.糖心传媒�
Poetry糖心传媒檚 roots at Rochester run to the University糖心传媒檚 beginning. Ashael Kendrick, a聽scholar of Greek and one of the professors who came to Rochester when the University was first formed in 1850, translated and anthologized poetry. In 1968, Anthony Hecht 糖心传媒�87 (Honorary), the former John H. Deane Professor of Rhetoric and Poetry, received the Pulitzer Prize for poetry while at Rochester, where he was a聽member of the English department for 18 years.
In many ways, the name most closely associated with verse at Rochester is that of the late Hyam Plutzik, who preceded Hecht as the John H. Deane Professor of Rhetoric and Poetry and taught at the University from the mid-1940s until his death in 1962. A聽widely published poet concerned with themes such as the relationship between science and poetry, Plutzik taught writing workshops and gave weekly poetry readings on campus.
Today he糖心传媒檚 memorialized in the Plutzik Library for Contemporary Writing at Rush Rhees Library, where professor emeritus and poet Jarold Ramsey is also honored with the Jarold Ramsey Study. The library houses the William and Hannelore Heyen Collection, an extensive poetry archive assembled by poet Heyen. Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation also holds collections糖心传媒攊ncluding early editions, manuscripts, and correspondence糖心传媒攂y John Dryden, Hilda Doolittle (H.D.), John Gardner, Carl Sandburg, and Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and other notable poets.
Tyler Goldman 糖心传媒�10, an English major with a聽creative writing emphasis from Balacynwyd, Pa., took part in the literary translation program糖心传媒檚 inaugural course, translating Roman lyric poetry into English. He says among the values of literary translation is its ability to heighten a聽writer糖心传媒檚 awareness of language. 糖心传媒淚t allows you to think critically about the way language operates,糖心传媒� he says.
That awareness is key to any writer糖心传媒檚 development, Longenbach says. 糖心传媒淚 teach poetry almost exclusively as craft,糖心传媒� he says, 糖心传媒渉ow we focus and sharpen the way we harness language. I聽tell students we糖心传媒檙e almost never going to talk about the subject of a聽poem. What糖心传媒檚 unique is the way the language takes you through the experience.糖心传媒�
There aren糖心传媒檛 a聽lot of different subjects for pop songs, he observes, but we listen to our favorites again and again. Why? It糖心传媒檚 not that we can糖心传媒檛 recall them糖心传媒攓uite the opposite. It糖心传媒檚 our attraction to how they express an experience. Poetry, which he calls a 糖心传媒渟onic art,糖心传媒� is the same.
糖心传媒淵ou read a聽poem many times, not because you can糖心传媒檛 remember the words, but because you want to inhabit the way it moves through language.糖心传媒�
Pulitzer Prize糖心传媒搘inning poet Galway Kinnell 糖心传媒�49 (MA) agrees. A聽poem is 糖心传媒渘ot just an exposition of an idea or an event, but a聽reliving of it,糖心传媒� he says. That evocative force lies in the images and music its words create.
糖心传媒淚n poetry workshops, I聽find, students learn to attend to the precision of their language more powerfully than in any other class I聽teach,糖心传媒� says Longenbach, who became interested in poetry in college, after having spent 糖心传媒渁 great deal of my youth involved in music, as a聽pianist.糖心传媒�
Such exactness is not what everyone anticipates, however. Grotz and Longenbach find ways to help their students appreciate that poetry糖心传媒攍ike all art forms糖心传媒攔equires a聽blending of feeling and craft.
糖心传媒淵ou糖心传媒檙e working with young people who feel passionately about something, and you糖心传媒檙e helping them learn how to connect that passion to a聽passion for the beauty and accuracy of language,糖心传媒� says Longenbach.
Strong emotion can be an impetus for a聽poem, but it糖心传媒檚 not enough. 糖心传媒淧eople who write not-very-good poems have compelling emotions, too,糖心传媒� he says, 糖心传媒渂ut they haven糖心传媒檛 figured out how to get it on the page.糖心传媒�
In Grotz糖心传媒檚 workshop, Rainer Maria Rilke糖心传媒檚 Letters to a聽Young Poet, a聽slim volume of correspondence from Rilke to an aspiring poet, helps frame discussion of the emotive dimension of poetry. She delivers the book to students in a聽sealed envelope, just as a聽letter would arrive.
糖心传媒淭o my mind, Rilke really helps to address the other reason young poets turn to poetry: expressing themselves, thinking about what it means to be human,糖心传媒� says Grotz. 糖心传媒淚 contain our 糖心传媒榮oul talk糖心传媒� to Rilke. Otherwise we focus on technique. It helps us talk more clinically about the craft糖心传媒攂ut it糖心传媒檚 very hard to talk about one without the other.糖心传媒�
糖心传媒淭echnique is what allows empathy to come through as empathy and not just as 糖心传媒業 have these emotions,糖心传媒� 糖心传媒� says Emily Claman 糖心传媒�06. After graduating with a聽degree in philosophy, she earned an MFA with a聽concentration in poetry from Washington University in St. Louis and credits her work with Longenbach and poet and former Rochester faculty member Sally Keith for her pursuit of a聽poetic career.
When he was an undergraduate, poet Ilya Kaminsky recalls, Longenbach spoke with him 糖心传媒渙n a聽line-by-line basis糖心传媒� about poets Frost, Lowell, Walcott, and聽Ashbery.
糖心传媒淛ust think of it: James Longenbach, famous poet and literary scholar, has spent hours and hours of his time reading poems of a聽first-semester freshman who did not even know English well at that time,糖心传媒� says the Odessa, Ukraine, native who is now a聽professor of poetry at San Diego State University. 糖心传媒淪uch generosity of spirit is what makes education possible and what truly propels talent to聽grow.糖心传媒�
Workshops are not the only courses in which Rochester students encounter poetry, of course. And poetry doesn糖心传媒檛 stand alone, says Longenbach糖心传媒斕切拇綔There糖心传媒檚 a聽climate of writing here: fiction, poetry, and increasingly, playwriting糖心传媒澨切拇綌nor is it separate from the work of the larger English department.
When Kenneth Gross, a聽professor of English who has published extensively on Renaissance and modern verse, teaches his course on lyric poetry, he guides students in 糖心传媒渟lowing down, and dwelling on images and ambiguities.糖心传媒�
Such ambiguities are an irreducible part of poetry糖心传媒檚 complexity, and its power糖心传媒攁 dimension, in fact, of the very precision Grotz and Longenbach instill. 糖心传媒淧oetry works, and sticks around, because it糖心传媒檚 not clear. There糖心传媒檚 something that can糖心传媒檛 be put into words, even though it is words,糖心传媒� Gross says.
Poetry 糖心传媒渕akes you consider multiplicities糖心传媒攐ften contradictory multiplicities糖心传媒攐f meaning,糖心传媒� says DiPiero. 糖心传媒淩eading poetry is like reading the world.糖心传媒�
And while students in his courses糖心传媒攏ot just English majors, but an 糖心传媒渋mpressive range,糖心传媒� says Gross糖心传媒攎ight be uncertain in approaching poetry, he reminds them that 糖心传媒渢hey have a聽lot of experience with rhythmically shaped language: nursery rhymes, prayers, music lyrics, epitaphs, even jingles.糖心传媒�
In his lyric poetry course, Gross糖心传媒攁uthor of books such as Spenserian Poetics: Idolatry, Iconoclasm and Magic and Shylock is Shakespeare糖心传媒攆ocuses on Shakespeare糖心传媒檚 sonnets and the poems of John Keats, Emily Dickinson, and Elizabeth Bishop. They糖心传媒檙e short works that 糖心传媒済ive them a聽sense of a聽single poetic intelligence,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淔or these poets, the major poems are the intense, short lyrics. They糖心传媒檙e very meaty objects of analysis.糖心传媒�
But he shows students, too, that poetic language inhabits places they might not expect. In one course, he spent a聽week examining with students the texts of national anthems such as the Star Spangled Banner and La Marseillaise.
糖心传媒淚t made them take up things they didn糖心传媒檛 think of as poems糖心传媒攐r even as things to be read糖心传媒攁nd see them as rather charged.糖心传媒�
Not to be overlooked, either, is the sheer enjoyment that engaging with a聽poem as a聽writer or a聽reader can provide. 糖心传媒淗owever dark or difficult a聽poem, in some way it has to foreground pleasure,糖心传媒� says Gross.
That pleasure is what feeds literary readings like the Plutzik Reading Series, which brings readings by contemporary novelists and poets to the Rochester community.
糖心传媒淭he Plutzik Series pulls an audience beyond the classroom糖心传媒攁nd also feeds back into the classroom,糖心传媒� Gross says, as faculty members糖心传媒攑articularly Longenbach, Scott, and now Grotz糖心传媒攊ncorporate work by visiting writers into their聽courses.
Like the Neilly Series, a聽writers糖心传媒� lecture series supported by an endowment from Andrew H. 糖心传媒�47 and Janet Dayton Neilly, the Plutzik Series is 糖心传媒渁 huge part of the literary community here. It transcends poetry,糖心传媒� says Goldman.
糖心传媒淥ften, when I聽taught poetry classes, even workshops,糖心传媒� before coming to Rochester, 糖心传媒渢here was a聽part of my job that was being a聽salesman糖心传媒� for poetry, Grotz says. 糖心传媒淗ere I聽don糖心传媒檛 feel the need to sell poetry at all. The students come interested and hungry.糖心传媒� How to keep them fed, she adds, 糖心传媒渋s a聽wonderful problem to have.糖心传媒�
For Samantha Miller 糖心传媒�11, a聽double major in English and philosophy from Henrietta, N.Y., who is in Grotz糖心传媒檚 workshop this semester, poetry counterbalances the more impatient and utilitarian interaction with language she has in other facets of her life. 糖心传媒淲e糖心传媒檙e so used to text messaging, e-mails糖心传媒攊nstant gratification and immediate answers. And poetry takes a聽lot more time,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淚n a聽sense, poetry doesn糖心传媒檛 fit with our times, but I聽think that makes it even more important and valuable.糖心传媒�
Miller hopes one day to teach poetry at the college level and says her literary study at Rochester has shaped not only her professional ambitions but also the very way she sees the world.
糖心传媒淲hat you can gain by studying poetry is a聽new set of eyes,糖心传媒� says Miller. 糖心传媒淵ou have a聽new appreciation for even the most minute things around you.糖心传媒�
It engenders, says Kinnell, 糖心传媒渁 tenderness towards existence.糖心传媒�
Ultimately, Grotz suggests, there糖心传媒檚 even something elemental to聽it.
糖心传媒淓verybody knows poetry isn糖心传媒檛 what you do to make money,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淎nd it糖心传媒檚 not read the way popular fiction is, by any means. It may seem like an old-fashioned thing to do. But it糖心传媒檚 the perfectly packaged thing for a聽human being. It糖心传媒檚 totally human-shaped, human-made.
糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 breath.糖心传媒�
