Jeffrey McDaniel

In this one-semester class, we will look at contemporary American poetry (1980 to the present) through the lens of the Pitt Poetry Series, published by the University of Pittsburgh Press. We will read a book each week. Students will write a critical response to each book and also have weekly writing prompts. Authors to be read include: Etheridge Knight, Sharon Olds, and Larry Levis from the 1980s and ’90s and Paisley Rekdal and Ross Gay from the 2000s. Roughly half of each class will be spent discussing published work; the other half will be spent discussing student work. The semester will culminate with each student turning in a portfolio of at least seven poems—three drafts for each poem. Students will also write a paper comparing a more recent Pitt poet with a writer from the syllabus.

One of the exciting literary developments in recent years is the plethora of work that disrupts the notion of genre—by writers such as Eula Biss, Jenny Offill, and Ben Lerner. In this workshop, we will read a book each week and consider architecture, diction, association, metaphor, and other issues of craft. Students will be required to bring in a new piece of writing each week and to write critical responses to the reading. This class will be a good fit for students who are comfortable reading 100-200 pages a week, in addition to generating their own creative writing. For workshop, students may submit poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, or anything in between. We will aim to locate a piece’s heat—its linguistic, figurative, and musical energy—and consider how that energy might be developed, or maximized, in subsequent drafts. Half of each class will be devoted to discussing the weekly reading; the other half will be spent discussing student work. Occasionally, we will also do in-class writing exercises. There will be weekly writing prompts, and students will work on their own hybrid projects. At the end of each semester, students will turn in a revised, final portfolio with at least two earlier drafts for each piece, as well as their hybrid project. There will be biweekly conferences. 

In this one-semester class, we will explore the intersection of sports and literary writing and journalism. We will read a mixture of books and essays by writers such as Mitchell Jackson, John McPhee, Ross Gay, and Hanif Abdurraqib, along with a sports poetry anthology edited by Natalie Diaz. There will be weekly critical responses. Writing assignments will include: an interview/portrait of an athlete, a first-person sports essay, a sports short story, and a sports poem. For conference work, each student will write an in-depth story about a local sports issue on the high-school or collegiate level. Students will be expected to interview the main characters in their piece and write multiple drafts, finding the story within the story and exploring it from multiple angles.

In this one-semester class, we will look at contemporary American poetry (1980 to the present) through the lens of the Pitt Poetry Series, published by the University of Pittsburgh Press. We will read a book each week. Students will write a critical response to each book and also have weekly writing prompts. Authors to be read include: Etheridge Knight, Sharon Olds, and Larry Levis from the 1980s and ’90s and David Hernandez, Ross Gay, and Quan Barry from the last few years. Roughly half of each class will be spent discussing published work, and the other half will be spent discussing student work. The semester will culminate with each student turning in a portfolio of at least seven poems—three drafts for each poem.

We will read, roughly, a book of poetry each week and discuss the reading in detail. We will look at American poets from the 19th century (Dickinson and Whitman), the 20th century (Hayden, Bishop, Lowell), and the 21st century (Terrance Hayes, D. A. Powell, and others). There will be critical response assignments, in-class exercises, small group meetings, and writing prompts to generate new material. As the fall semester progresses, we will begin to workshop student writing in class in addition to discussing published work. Students will be expected to write (and rewrite) with passion and vigor, turning in a new first draft each week. At the end of each semester, students will turn in a portfolio of poems, as well as a packet of revisions, so that we can chart the evolution of each poem. Students will also write a five-page paper each semester, comparing two poets from the syllabus. If you want to read (and think about) poetry, be part of a community of writers, and write (and rewrite) your own poems and grow, then this will be a good class for you. This class will alternate biweekly individual conferences with biweekly small group activities, including writing workshops, screenings, and field trips.

We will look at a wide range of mostly American poets who employ humor in their work. We will focus on post-World War II to the present. Poets to be read include Allen Ginsberg, Frank O’Hara, Charles Simic, Bernadette Mayer, Etheridge Knight, Billy Collins, David Berman, Sommer Browning, Chessy Normile, Nicanor Parra, and others. Students will read the equivalent of 100 pages of poetry each week and write weekly critical responses. Roughly half of each class will be spent discussing published work, and the other half will be spent discussing student work. There will be weekly writing prompts, and the semester will culminate with each student turning in a portfolio of at least seven poems—three drafts for each poem.

One of the exciting literary developments in recent years is the plethora of work that disrupts the notion of genre—writers such as Eula Biss, Jenny Offill, and Ben Lerner. In this workshop, we will read a book each week and consider architecture, diction, association, metaphor, and other issues of craft. Students will be required to bring in a new piece of writing each week and to occasionally write critical responses to the reading. This class will be a good fit for students who are comfortable reading 100-200 pages a week, in addition to generating their own creative writing. For workshop, students may submit poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, or anything in between. We will aim to locate a piece’s heat—its linguistic, figurative, and musical energy—and consider how that energy might be developed, or maximized, in subsequent drafts. Half of each class will be devoted to discussing the weekly reading; the other half will be spent discussing student work. Occasionally, we will do in-class writing exercises. There will be some take-home writing prompts. For conference, students will work on their own hybrid projects. At the end of each semester, students will turn in a revised, final portfolio with at least two earlier drafts for each piece, as well as their hybrid project.

One of the exciting literary developments in recent years is the plethora of work that disrupts the notion of genre—writers such as Eula Biss, Jenny Offill, and Ben Lerner. In this workshop, we will read a book each week and consider architecture, diction, association, metaphor, and other issues of craft. Students will be required to bring in a new piece of writing each week and to occasionally write critical responses to the reading. This class will be a good fit for students who are comfortable reading 100-200 pages a week in addition to generating their own creative writing. For workshop, students may submit poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, or anything in between. We will aim to locate a piece’s heat—its linguistic, figurative, and musical energy—and consider how that energy might be developed, or maximized, in subsequent drafts. Half of each class will be devoted to discussing the weekly reading; the other half will be spent discussing student work. Occasionally, we will do in-class writing exercises. There will be some take-home writing prompts. For conference, students will work on their own hybrid projects. At the end of the semester, students will turn in a revised, final portfolio with at least two earlier drafts for each piece, as well as their hybrid project.

One of the exciting literary developments in recent years is the plethora of work that refuses easy categorization created by authors such as Maggie Nelson, Jenny Offill, and Eula Biss. Our syllabus will be composed of texts that blur the lines of genre. We will consider architecture, diction, association, metaphor, and other issues of craft. Students will be required to write critical responses to the reading and to bring in a new piece of writing each week. For workshop, students can submit poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, or anything in between. We will aim to locate a piece’s heat—its linguistic, figurative, and musical energy—and consider how that energy might be developed, or maximized, in subsequent drafts and to what effect. Half of each class will be devoted to discussing the weekly reading; the other half will be spent discussing student work. Occasionally, we will do in-class writing exercises that emphasize intuition and chance and steer students toward a place of hybridity. In the spring semester, students will work on hybrid projects of their own. A background in creative writing is not essential to taking this class; a willingness to read and write and take creative risks is.

One of the exciting literary developments in recent years is the plethora of work that disrupts the notion of genre from writers such as Eula Biss, Jenny Offill, and Ben Lerner. In this workshop, we will read a book each week and consider architecture, diction, association, metaphor, and other issues of craft. Students will be required to bring in a new piece of writing each week and to write critical responses to the reading. This class is a good fit for students who are comfortable reading 100-200 pages a week in addition to generating their own creative writing. For workshop, students may submit poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, or anything in between. We will aim to locate a piece’s heat—its linguistic, figurative, and musical energy—and consider how that energy might be developed, or maximized, in subsequent drafts. Half of each class will be devoted to discussing the weekly reading; the other half will be spent discussing student work. Occasionally, we will do in-class writing exercises. There will be some take-home writing prompts. For conference, students will work on their own hybrid projects. At the end of the semester, students will turn in a revised, final portfolio with at least two earlier drafts for each piece, as well as a separate hybrid project.

In this poetry writing workshop, we will look at the first-person I. Class time will be split evenly between discussing outside reading and student work. We will read books by poets who collapse the space between the poetic speaker and the author, employing a more literal I. We will read books by poets who utilize masks and personas to explore depths of honesty, thought, and feeling that might otherwise be off-limits. We will also look at a more neutral I. We will consider the different ways in which a character may be created and inhabited via syntax, diction, emotional crescendos and deflations, associative leaps, metaphors, and tonal shifts. We will strive to come to a richer understanding of the possibilities of the first person. For a conference project, students will be asked to create their own mask, a constructed first person to breathe and speak through. The reading will be, roughly, a book a week. There will be a number of short response essays to the reading. Students will be expected to write and rewrite with passion and vigor, turning in a new first draft each week and a final manuscript of 7–9 poems, three drafts for each poem.

In this writing workshop, we will read books by poets who utilize masks and personas to explore depths of honesty, thought, and feeling that might otherwise be off-limits. We will consider the different ways in which a character may be created and inhabited via syntax, diction, emotional crescendos and deflations, associative leaps, metaphors, and tonal shifts. We will also read books by poets who collapse the space between poetic speaker and author, employing a more literal I. We will strive to come to a richer understanding of the possibilities of the first person. Students will be asked to create their own mask, a constructed first person to breathe and speak through, and also to write poems in the mind/throat/heart of a more literal I. The reading class will be roughly a book of poetry a week. There will be a number of short response essays to the reading. Students will be expected to write and rewrite with passion and vigor, turning in a new first draft each week and a final manuscript of six to 10 poems. Class time will be split evenly between discussing outside reading and student work. This class will be good for both workshop veterans and those who have been harboring an urge to give poetry a try.

We will read a book of poetry each week, a mix of work from the late-20th century as well as more recent texts. We will spend half of each class discussing the weekly reading and the other half discussing student work. At the end of the semester, students will turn in a portfolio of poems, with at least two earlier drafts for each poem. In addition to the reading and writing for class, students will have two major conference projects. Before spring break, each student will theatrically present a poem by a dead poet. This is more than just memorizing and reciting a poem; this is knowing a poem so well that you can speak it as if the words are springing from you. Later in the term, students will pick a location on campus and then theatrically present one of their own poems in that specific location. Both of these conference projects will require additional rehearsal time beyond class time.

We will read, roughly, a book of poetry each week and discuss the reading in detail. We will read, not chronologically, mostly American poets from the 19th (Dickinson and Whitman), 20th (Hayden, Bishop, Lowell), and 21st centuries (Terrance Hayes, D. A. Powell, and others). There will be critical response assignments, in-class exercises, small-group meetings, and writing prompts in order to generate new material. As the fall semester progresses, we will begin to workshop student writing in class in addition to discussing published work. Students will be expected to write (and rewrite) with passion and vigor, turning in a new first draft each week. At the end of each semester, students will turn in a portfolio of poems, as well as a packet of revisions, so we can chart the evolution of each poem. Students will also write a five-page paper each semester, comparing two poets from the syllabus. If you want to read and think about poetry, be a part of a community of writers, and write (and re-write) your own poems and grow, then this will be a good class for you.

We will read a book of contemporary poetry each week and spend roughly half of each class discussing the weekly book in detail. Poets to be read include: Terrance Hayes, Paisley Rekdal, and D. A. Powell. The second half of each class will be devoted to student work. If you want to read (and think about) a book of poetry each week and write (and rewrite) your own poetry, then this will be a good class for you. Students will be expected to write (and rewrite) with passion and vigor, turning in a new first draft each week. Occasionally, there will be critical response assignments, in-class exercises, small-group meetings, and writing prompts to generate new material. At the end of the semester, students will turn in a portfolio of poems, as well as a packet of revisions so that we can chart the evolution of each poem. Students will also write a five- to seven-page paper comparing two poets from the syllabus.

In this class, we will read and discuss books that do not fit cleanly in a single genre, work that blurs the boundaries between poetry and prose or of fiction and memoir. Authors to be read include: Maggie Nelson, Eula Biss, Aurelie Sheehan, Eliza Griswold, Ben Lerner, and others. Half of each class will be devoted to discussing the weekly book. The other half of each class will be spent discussing student work. So the class itself will be a hybrid of craft and multigenre workshop. Students will be encouraged, but not required, to embark on a project that explores hybrid forms. For workshop, students can bring in poetry or prose or anything in between. There will be biweekly one-on-one conferences, where any genre of creative writing will be welcomed and discussed.

In this class, we will read and discuss books that do not fit cleanly in a single genre, work that blurs the boundaries between poetry and prose or fiction and memoir. Authors to be read include: Maggie Nelson, Eula Biss, Aurelie Sheehan, Ben Lerner, and others. Half of each class will be devoted to discussing the weekly book. The other half will be spent discussing student work. So the class itself will be a hybrid of craft and multigenre workshop. Students will be encouraged, but not required, to embark on a project that explores hybrid forms. For workshop, students may bring in poetry or prose or anything in between. There will be biweekly, one-on-one conferences where any genre of creative writing will be welcomed and discussed.