CRW 252 Spoken Word: An Underrecognized Genre of Poetry
Spoken Word poetry is a creative writing genre originating from the hip-hop, open-mic poetry culture of Chicago; it is often disregarded as a pseudo form of poetry in higher education. This introductory course aims to work against the notion that Spoken Word is inferior by showcasing Queer / Poets of Color who started with Spoken Word poetry and now have remarkable success with their published poetry collections. Students will study and practice writing Spoken Word poetry, as well as engage in and lead the Spoken Word poetry creative process by presenting a poet, participating in writing workshops, and taking part in peer critiques. This is primarily a lecture class with elements of discussion and workshop.