Poetry and Pedagogy: The Challenge of the Contemporary

by Joan Retallack (Editor), Juliana Spahr (editors)

This anthology is a new reading of the contemporary poetries. The collection gathers together the work of a number of scholars, poets, and teachers on the challenges and productive possibilities that arise when teaching contemporary writing today.

Genres: Poetry

327 pages, Hardcover

First published February 7, 2006

Reviews

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a super useful, hands-on book. The first half is devoted to pedagogical theory is essays by wide-ranging contemporary poets and educators. The second half, entitled, "A New How-To" is comprised of essays (again, by contemporary & experimental poets & educators) that discuss ways of reading, discussing, teaching, and experimenting with contemporary poetries. I have eighty-seven bookmarks in this book, not just for teaching ideas, but also for ways of reading and learning that I want to try myself.

[Keely Hyslop · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't read this book cover to cover, but rather flipped through the essays that seemed pertinent. I adored Charles Bernstein's essay "The Difficult Poem" which struck just the right cord of wiry teasing and genuine comfort to those who find themselves at see when dealing with experimental, indeterminate, challenging poems. "Stages of Encounter with a Difficult Text" by Lyn Hejinian was also incredibly useful.