Project 2 Workshops — Sept. 21–25

I ran the class roll through the randomizer again and here's the schedule we got for our second round of workshops, focusing on poems written in response to Project 2: Surveillance Poetics:

• Monday, Sept. 21: Edgar, Baxter, Hoffman
• Wednesday, Sept. 23: Haig, Pieper, Roller
• Friday, Sept. 25: Nelson, Scheifele, Hardcastle

Please send out your poems to the list no later than our class meeting on Friday, September 18th.

Also I wanted to jot down a few reminders on responses coming out of our first round of workshopping:

• You should be making specific comments on certain lines, words, phrases, etc. using the comments function in Word. If you're not using Word or a program with similar functionality, please add numbered references in brackets and make end note-like comments at the bottom of the document. These can be in-the-moment reactions to these elements as you read them.
• You should also write some sort of narrative response to the poem at the bottom of the page. In contrast to the in-the-moment comments this provides you with a chance to reflect on the poem after reading it in its entirety.
• Comments should, above all, be constructive and respectful — which doesn't mean that you can't disagree with the choices the poet made, just that you shouldn't be a jerk about it — and should be substantive. Empty praise doesn't help the poet, nor do vague comments: back up your claims with rationale; explain the effects their choices have upon you as a reader. "I don't understand this" is a cop out as well — make your best effort to absorb the poem and report on the impressions that you do get.
• Proposing alternatives (to word choices, line breaks, etc.) is a very effective sort of feedback as well. Though it shouldn't be the sum total of your response, playing "if I was writing this poem" is a great approach to take.

N.b. I've posted a shrunk (so as to be somewhat anonymized) screen cap of my comments on Kelly's first poem above. You won't necessarily write that much, but it's something to aim towards. Showing your peers that you care about and respect their work is, first and foremost, being a good workshop citizen. It's also not a bad way to get the same treatment from them as well!