Writing and Reading Poems OpenCourseWare: MIT's Free Online Undergraduate Poetry Course

Published Apr 09, 2009

RSS Feed

This OpenCourseWare from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) can help increase your exposure to poetry. 'Writing and Reading Poems' contains numerous examples of poetry along with responses to individual works. This free material may be of interest to students seeking a Bachelor of Arts in English degree.

Writing and Reading Poems: Course Specifics

Degree Level Free Audio Video Downloads
Undergraduate Yes No No Yes

Lectures/Notes Study Materials Tests/Quizzes
No Yes No

Writing and Reading Poems: Course Description

This MIT OpenCourseWare contains class materials taken from a course originally taught by William Corbett. Students, who took the original course, were asked to imitate a certain poet's style in assignments. A selection of the results is available for download from the OpenCourseWare site. Poets imitated include Robert Creeley, Frank O'Hara and Philip Whalen. In addition, the site offers two student responses to particular poems -- Frank O'Hara's 'The Day Lady Died' and Philip Whalen's 'The Same Old Jazz.' The course also includes links to biographical information about these poets and others, along with audio files of the poets reading their works. Students working on a Bachelor of Arts in English may be interested in this course.

Imitation poems and poem responses along with links to poetry readings are available free with this course. To access these works, visit the poetry writing course page.

Featured School Choices: