The Map

Your task in this assignment is to produce a map of the whole of American poetry as you understand it. This map may take whatever form you like--prose narrative, visual map, web site, etc.--so long as it meets the following criteria:

1. It should give some sense of American poetry as a whole.
2. It must give some sense of the interconnections among poets and/or between the poets and their social and historical context; American poetry should look less like a list than a web or a conversation.
3. It must name at least 20 poets. Although you should include the most important poets we study in class (whoever you take those to be), feel free to drop some of the less important poets and add some favorites of your own that we have not studied.
4. It must include at least 20 paragraphs of prose interpretation, explanation, or commentary. This criterion does not rule out a graphic representation (e.g. a classic visual map), but it does mean that a graphic representation would probably have to be accompanied by some kind of pamphlet, notebook, or guide.
5. Some of its commentary should be about individual poems, not just about poets or schools. The map should demonstrate an ability to interpret poetry, to understand the ideas in poems and the ways that poems use language and form.
6. Although you are welcome to borrow freely from the implicit map of American poetry that I draw in my course design and teaching, your map should include some original elements. Think of the map not as a summary of the class, but of your own original recreation of the whole of American poetry as you understand it.

You must turn in two drafts of the map, in accordance with the schedule. You should treat the first draft as a "test of concept," a way to try out your ideas for organizing and presenting information. The first draft will necessarily cover less material than the final map will, but it should nevertheless meet at least criteria 1, 2, and 5. Presumably, the first draft will be incorporated into the final draft, unless you change you mind about the content and/or format of your map (as you very well may do.)

Your grade on the first draft will make up 20% of the map grade, while your grade on the final draft will make up the remaining 80%. You have lots of room in the first draft for trial and error, in other words.