​​Women’s Visionary Poetry and Fiction

PARW 6432
Credit Hours: 2
Fall 2022
Online via Zoom: 2pm-5pm: Thursday Sep 8; Fridays Sep 23, Oct 14, Oct 28, Nov 18, Dec 9
Monica Mody, Ph.D., M.F.A.
Office Hours: By appointment

COURSE DESCRIPTION

In their poetry and fiction—as in the ancient traditions of priestesses and mystics—women poets and storytellers tell us about other worlds—inner and outer, past and future; worlds of imagination, prayer, prophecy, and vision. We consider works by early and contemporary poets and writers, as well as essays and theory, as we explore the following questions: What is women’s visionary poetry and fiction? How do women writers make invisible inner experiences and spiritual landscapes tangible for readers? How do they use the crucible of language and story to tell the truths about themselves, power, relationships, and spirit? How do they inspire paths of solidarity and liberation; repatterning of meaning? Students are invited to create their own visionary works to further their engagement with women’s visionary poetry and fiction.

(This course description is inspired by Dr. Mara Lyn Keller's course description.)

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

In taking this course, the student will learn:
  • key themes and symbols in women’s visionary poetry and fiction;
  • a multi-faceted definition of women’s visionary literature;
  • diverse ways women writers explore and reimagine their being and histories—personal, collective, (inter)planetary; and possibilities of transformation;
  • how to connect with their own visionary memory and creative voice.

COURSE TEXTS AND MATERIALS
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Picture
Anthology

Harjo, Joy, LeAnne Howe, Jennifer Elise Foerster, and Gwen Westerman. When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through: A Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry. New York, N. Y.: W. W. Norton & Company, 2020. (selected poems)

Perspectives/Theory


(Additional materials may be provided during the course of the semester to supplement learning.)

Poetry/Fiction: Single Author Study

You will select at least four of the following books to discuss in class as a presenter or respondent:
  • Alvarado, Beth. Jillian in the Borderlands. New York, NY: Black Lawrence Press, 2020.
  • Badger, Darcie Little. A Snake Falls to Earth. Levine Querido, 2022.
  • Butler, Octavia E. Kindred. Boston: Beacon Press, 2003.
  • Christensen, Inger. Alphabet. New Directions Publishing Corporation, 2001.
  • Dimaline, Cherie. Hunting by Stars. London: Jacaranda, 2022.
  • Gumbs, Alexis Pauline. M Archive: After the End of the World. Durham: Duke University Press, 2018.
  • ​Hairston, Andrea. Mindscape: A Novel. Seattle, WA: Aqueduct Press, 2006.
  • Harjo, Joy. A Map to the Next World: Poetry and Tales. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2001.
  • Higuera, Donna Barba. The Last Cuentista. Montclair, NJ: Levine Querido, 2021.
  • Le Guin, Ursula. The Tombs of Atuan. New York: Bantam Books, 1975.
  • Monaghan, Patricia. Dancing with Chaos. Cliffs of Moher, Co. Clare, Ireland: Salmon Pub., 2002.
  • Okorafor, Nnedi. Akata Warrior. New York, NY: Viking, 2017.
  • Rivers, Diana. Journey to Zelindar: The Personal Account of Sair of Semasi: Book 986 of the Hadra Archives. Fayetteville, AR: Hadra Books, 2000.
  • Vo, Nghi. The Empress of Salt and Fortune. New York: Tom Doherty Associates, 2020.​
  • Windling, Terri. The Wood Wife. New York: Tom Doherty Associates, 1996.

COURSE ASSESSMENT MEASURES

  • 10% Class participation
          Full participation in this class requires that you:
            - attend all synchronous virtualized classes,
            - complete the readings and any other assignments on specified dates,
            - be actively and fully engaged in class,
            - contribute to class discussions
  • 30% Presentation
           You will be asked to sign up to present on one of the texts in modules two through five. Presentations should be 15-20 minutes long.
  • 15% Response Memos (3)
           You will write three response memos (about 250 words) during the weeks you are not presenting, reflecting on at least one of the books assigned for the module. The memos are to be submitted on Canvas before class.
  • 5% D.I.Y. Syllabus
           You are asked to suggest one book of fiction and one book of poetry that we are not reading for class. Add notes (150-200 words) about why the books you selected matter as texts of visionary fiction or visionary poetry. DUE on Canvas (Padlet) October 28 (for fiction titles); November 18 (for poetry titles). 
           (For extra credit, you are invited to suggest visionary anthologies as well.)
  • 25% Creative Presentation
           On the final day of class, December 9, you will present a visionary manifesto and original poetry/fiction written during the course. Presentations should be 10 minutes long.
  • 15% Final Reflection Paper
           Your final reflection will synthesize the most significant insights you gained throughout the semester from reading and discussing the texts, or in the course of developing your manifesto or creative work. Papers must draw on at least four of the course texts. Please use Chicago citations (750 words for Master’s students, 1000 words for PhD students). DUE on Canvas December 14.

COURSE CALENDAR

September 8: Introduction

Please read/listen to the following in advance of the session:
A sign-up sheet for presentations will be made available in class.

September 23: Coexistence: Otherworlds

Read the following poems in When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through:
  • “Indian Singing in 20th Century America,” p. 42
  • “Dream of Rebirth,” p. 46
  • “These Rivers Remember,” p. 49
  • “Song for Discharming,” p. 60

Select at least one of the following books that you will discuss in class as a presenter or respondent:
  • Badger, Darcie Little. A Snake Falls to Earth. Levine Querido, 2022.
  • Hairston, Andrea. Mindscape: A Novel. Seattle, WA: Aqueduct Press, 2006.
  • Windling, Terri. The Wood Wife. New York: Tom Doherty Associates, 1996.

October 14: Travelling Species

Read the following poems in When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through:
  • “The Song Called ‘White Antelope’s Chant’,” p. 120
  • “I Was Sleeping Where the Black Oaks Move,” p. 133
  • “We Come from the Stars,” p. 135
  • “The Milky Way Escapes My Mouth,” p. 167

Select at least one of the following books that you will discuss in class as a presenter or respondent:
  • Alvarado, Beth. Jillian in the Borderlands. New York, NY: Black Lawrence Press, 2020.*
  • Butler, Octavia E. Kindred. Boston: Beacon Press, 2003.
  • Higuera, Donna Barba. The Last Cuentista. Montclair, NJ: Levine Querido, 2021.
  • Rivers, Diana. Journey to Zelindar: The Personal Account of Sair of Semasi: Book 986 of the Hadra Archives. Fayetteville, AR: Hadra Books, 2000.

​(*Beth Alvarado will make a guest visit in the class.)

October 28: Dual/Multiple: Ways of Being

Read the following poems in When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through:
  • “Ka ʻŌlelo,” p. 240
  • “Variations on an Admonition,” p. 243
  • “Anatomy of a Wave,” p. 256
  • “Kumulipo,” p. 262

Select at least one of the following books that you will discuss in class as a presenter or respondent:
  • Dimaline, Cherie. Hunting by Stars. London: Jacaranda, 2022.
  • Le Guin, Ursula. The Tombs of Atuan. New York: Bantam Books, 1975.
  • Okorafor, Nnedi. Akata Warrior. New York, NY: Viking, 2017.
  • Vo, Nghi. The Empress of Salt and Fortune. New York: Tom Doherty Associates, 2020.

DUE: D.I.Y. Syllabus Suggestion (Fiction)

November 18: Lines and Forms

Read the following poems in When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through:
  • “The Dolphin Walking Stick,” p. 276
  • “Where Mountain Lion Lay Down With Deer,” p. 294
  • “Long Time Ago,” p. 295
  • “Blue Horses Rush In,” p. 309
  • “When My Brother Was an Aztec,” p. 349

Select at least one of the following books that you will discuss in class as a presenter or respondent:
  • Christensen, Inger. Alphabet. New Directions Publishing, 2001.
  • Gumbs, Alexis Pauline. M Archive: After the End of the World. Durham: Duke University Press, 2018.
  • Harjo, Joy. A Map to the Next World: Poetry and Tales. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2001.
  • Monaghan, Patricia. Dancing with Chaos. Cliffs of Moher, Co. Clare, Ireland: Salmon Pub., 2002.

DUE: D.I.Y. Syllabus Suggestion (Poetry)

December 9: Creative Presentations

Read the following poems in When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through:
  • “Literary Day Among the Birds,” p. 364
  • “Sippokni Sia,” p. 376
  • “The History of Fire,” p. 390
  • “Relic,” p. 413

Bring your visionary manifesto and original poetry/fiction to present before class.

DUE: December 14: Final Reflection Paper

The syllabus is subject to change at the instructor's discretion.