To many, it seems natural to turn to poetry in their darkest or most joyous hours, but strong feelings are always flowing underground. We dig the narrow shaft of a poem to hoist a shimmering bucket. This class is for people who want to read poetry with more confidence and pleasure. We will read poems by great poets such as Robert Frost, Elizabeth Bishop, John Keats, and Emily Dickinson and also fine contemporary poets such a Louise Glück, Philip Levine, and Henri Cole. We’ll study the way poets use traditional forms such as the sonnet and villanelle to harness their passions.

Note: Students who have taken previous poetry-reading classes with Don Barkin are welcome to take this one, as the reading will be in a fresh anthology of poems and poets.

Suggested Readings: The instructor will provide an anthology, both digitally and printed out at the first class.

Don Barkin has degrees from Harvard College and Cambridge University. He has taught seminars for a number of years at Yale and Wesleyan. He has published three books of poetry. He has been a newspaper reporter and school teacher.

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