Let's crack poems open and see them for their parts. W.D. Snodgrass took 101 acclaimed poems and did just that: he re-wrote them into what he called De/Compositions--or, good poems gone wrong. Snodgrass recast each poem, line-by-line, until the poem diverged into another beast entirely. His versions document how artistic choices accumulate to a transcendent final product. We'll take a similar tack. Each week, you'll tackle a poem, render your own version, and share. Our versions will question each choice the poet made, at the same time we’ll direct energies into making the poems "ours."
If folks are cool with that, I'll let participants know as they sign up to take 7/19/2011-7/30/2011 to familizarize themselves with Rules of Thumb, and that we'll start with intros 8/1. In the meantime, please be thinking about your favorite poem to share!
