Exploding Text is a hands-on exploration of spoken word/performance. Like poetry itself, we begin with the oral tradition – Homer, griots of West Africa, Native American traditions: orality not as pre-writing but an equivalent consciousness. We will consider writing as a score for performance, and performance as a tool for editing. We will learn to use recording as a laboratory for writing and digital media as a means of poetic transmission. Hip hop and slam will be touchstones of our work; collaborations with other arts encouraged. Attendance at poetry readings and a final group performance will be part of the curriculum.
Sample reading list:
Walter Ong, Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word
Harryette Mullen, Muse and Drudge
Alice Notley, The Descent of Alette
Frank Stanford, The Battlefield Where the Moon Says I Love You
Fernando Pessoa, translated by Richard Zenith, Fernando Pessoa & Co.
Danez Smith, [Insert] Boy
See instructor for complete list
Reading/Writing assignments:
Weekly reading and other short multimedia workshop assignments 20-75 pages per week. Final project includes both textual and performance components.
Other Requirements:
United States Travel Required
Prerequisites and Restrictions:
Admission to the course is by application only. Apply here.
