How perfectly timed is this post! Just yesterday, while spending 7 hours cooped up in the house with my five-year-old granddaughter, I started reading her poetry. She ignored me at first, and then, suddenly, was caught. How I love Creeley's poem, too. And you. xo
Love this and also I ALWAYS get recognized at the liquor store. Usually when I'm doing some insane ritual, like deciding to drink champagne every day for the last two weeks of the year.
AHHH of COURSE I'm going to love a newsletter in which ModPo gets some love and you mentioned so many good poets--and then you say some of your favorite people are poets, and I click the link and it's ME, tra la, tra la,, this is me singing in joy.
I took "Archaeology's Dirty Little Secrets" on Coursera in their early years, and absolutely loved it. Haven't had as fine an experience with the platform since then, but maybe I'll try ModPo, it sounds wonderful and timely for me.
I've kept this quote from an excellent NY Times interview, about 10 years ago, with poet Ellen Bass, on the purpose of poetry in a precarious and often violent world: "Most of us recognize our world’s at a tipping point right now. People are suffering, the environment is being destroyed, species are going extinct. And then there’s climate change. We could go on and on. I really don’t know what poetry can do. Can it save the earth? Or the girls abducted in Nigeria? That would be asking some heavy lifting of poetry. But it can do what it has always done. It can be a way to come into actual contact with reality, a way not to turn away. The Russian literary theorist Viktor Shklovsky said, “To make a stone stony: that is the purpose of art.” Being fully present for our most intense experiences is a great challenge, but there is a depth of living that comes from that presence that is, perhaps, the only true consolation and the source of meaningful action."
Laura, I loved reading this post and had to stop numerous times to crack up. I love seeing your sense of humor come through. I’m honored by the mention and so happy we ended up choosing the same day to visit. As for lasting effect, I feel like the course has reinvigorated my creative spirit. I feel certain, just by the way you wrote about it, that the experience will have a lasting positive effect of your writing, and your general happiness, as well. Now, you can always find the poetic beauty, even if you’re just looking at a urinal. Also, congratulations on the Time list! I think it’s amazing when living authors, especially ones still working and growing, are recognized on greatness lists with late, classic writers. It really puts your talent in perspective. Take care and keep in touch!
You wer e in my town, even in West Philly. and I never knewr? That ModPo class sounds like one of the first ones I took in grad school, but turbo-charged.
The advantage of aiming for the certificate is that it made me write the essays, which I found valuable and rewarding. I will plan on writing again next year if the prompts are new, and yes, I do plan to return!
ModPo, that glorious Frankenstein of a course that I could not stop blabbing about, took many, many more hours than I anticipated. That's never happened to me before- not in Coursera, nor college, nor grad school. My time management skills weren't bad before, but I've had to take them up a notch. And of course, Twitter's implosion really did help.
Funny about the progress bar- I ignored it as I found for one thing, it had no idea how may hours getting through a ModPo week actually took! Plus it told me in week 2 that the quiz I passed made it absurdly likely I would complete the course. Week 2!
I didn't realize Aiden and you were rookies until the end. I thought there were no other rookies. Did you feel the same way?
Amazing lineup of poets - with one notable exception. How can you study modern poetry without including Billy Collins? Try American Sonnet or The Revenant or The Lanyard or, well, really anything is good.
How perfectly timed is this post! Just yesterday, while spending 7 hours cooped up in the house with my five-year-old granddaughter, I started reading her poetry. She ignored me at first, and then, suddenly, was caught. How I love Creeley's poem, too. And you. xo
It’s still astonishing to me how much I remember of Scruples all these years later. Thanks for making me feel a little less embarrassed about it.
Love this and also I ALWAYS get recognized at the liquor store. Usually when I'm doing some insane ritual, like deciding to drink champagne every day for the last two weeks of the year.
The advantage of trying for a certificate is that it forces you to write the essays! Let's return next year!
And it was much more time-intensive than I expected. Much, much more...
My goodness Laura! I think you will return to ModPo, and I find nothing wrong with that nickname! I'll wear my pumpkin hat just for you.
Mona
AHHH of COURSE I'm going to love a newsletter in which ModPo gets some love and you mentioned so many good poets--and then you say some of your favorite people are poets, and I click the link and it's ME, tra la, tra la,, this is me singing in joy.
I took "Archaeology's Dirty Little Secrets" on Coursera in their early years, and absolutely loved it. Haven't had as fine an experience with the platform since then, but maybe I'll try ModPo, it sounds wonderful and timely for me.
I've kept this quote from an excellent NY Times interview, about 10 years ago, with poet Ellen Bass, on the purpose of poetry in a precarious and often violent world: "Most of us recognize our world’s at a tipping point right now. People are suffering, the environment is being destroyed, species are going extinct. And then there’s climate change. We could go on and on. I really don’t know what poetry can do. Can it save the earth? Or the girls abducted in Nigeria? That would be asking some heavy lifting of poetry. But it can do what it has always done. It can be a way to come into actual contact with reality, a way not to turn away. The Russian literary theorist Viktor Shklovsky said, “To make a stone stony: that is the purpose of art.” Being fully present for our most intense experiences is a great challenge, but there is a depth of living that comes from that presence that is, perhaps, the only true consolation and the source of meaningful action."
Laura, I loved reading this post and had to stop numerous times to crack up. I love seeing your sense of humor come through. I’m honored by the mention and so happy we ended up choosing the same day to visit. As for lasting effect, I feel like the course has reinvigorated my creative spirit. I feel certain, just by the way you wrote about it, that the experience will have a lasting positive effect of your writing, and your general happiness, as well. Now, you can always find the poetic beauty, even if you’re just looking at a urinal. Also, congratulations on the Time list! I think it’s amazing when living authors, especially ones still working and growing, are recognized on greatness lists with late, classic writers. It really puts your talent in perspective. Take care and keep in touch!
Thank you for this.
Baby steps. The key to happiness. IYKYK
You wer e in my town, even in West Philly. and I never knewr? That ModPo class sounds like one of the first ones I took in grad school, but turbo-charged.
So sorry to have missed you!
"I Know a Man" and "Love Comes Quietly" are two of the best poems ever written.
I didn't know what IYKYK meant. thanks for telling me.
Apologies if this is a duplicate post...
The advantage of aiming for the certificate is that it made me write the essays, which I found valuable and rewarding. I will plan on writing again next year if the prompts are new, and yes, I do plan to return!
ModPo, that glorious Frankenstein of a course that I could not stop blabbing about, took many, many more hours than I anticipated. That's never happened to me before- not in Coursera, nor college, nor grad school. My time management skills weren't bad before, but I've had to take them up a notch. And of course, Twitter's implosion really did help.
Funny about the progress bar- I ignored it as I found for one thing, it had no idea how may hours getting through a ModPo week actually took! Plus it told me in week 2 that the quiz I passed made it absurdly likely I would complete the course. Week 2!
I didn't realize Aiden and you were rookies until the end. I thought there were no other rookies. Did you feel the same way?
Lost my other comment BUT I’m signed up for all the SloPo January through April AND Global Study Group AND European Timezone group!
Amazing lineup of poets - with one notable exception. How can you study modern poetry without including Billy Collins? Try American Sonnet or The Revenant or The Lanyard or, well, really anything is good.
And Scruples!!!