It is always what is under pressure in us, especially under pressure of concealment—that explodes in poetry.

—Adrienne Rich

This course developed in response to Amanda Gorman’s Inauguration poem, “The Hill We Climb,” with its hopeful line, “When day comes, we step out of the shade, aflame, and unafraid.” Gorman’s triumph was hailed as the arrival of a young Black female poet on the public stage. Yet, in the context of poetry, what does the descriptor “female” signify? This course will ask, what does it mean to talk about “women’s poetry” at all? Was it ever, and is it still, a useful categorization? What differences, if any, are reflected in women’s poetic writings? Is there something unique about the subjects women explore? In the way women make use of language? Or, alternatively, does poetic language transcend gender distinctions? If the latter, why are women still vastly underrepresented in poetry publications? Does that reality reflect something inaccessible or threatening about women’s deepest preoccupations? These questions will be explored through readings of poems by Emily Dickinson, Sylvia Plath, Audre Lorde, Gwendolyn Brooks, Amanda Gorman, Margaret Atwood, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, and others.

This course is now FULL. If you would like to join the waitlist, email us at info@thomasmore.qc.ca. Should vacancies develop, those on the waiting list will be contacted on a first-come, first-served basis.

First Session: Tuesday 27 April 2021

Course Length: 6 weeks, Tuesdays (starting 27 April), 6:15 to 8:15 p.m. 

Discussion Team: Imogen Brian, Claire English, Kathe Lieber

Degree Credit: Half credit

Course Fee: 

$120.00 (standard tuition)

$80.00 (promotion for new students)

Administrative Fee:

$25.00

Total:

$145.00 (standard tuition)

$105.00 (promotion for new students)

Course fees are refundable in full before the second session. After the second session, a fee of $50 for the withdrawal will be applied. Refunds will not be issued after the third session. Please note that non-attendance does not constitute a withdrawal.

This course is now FULL. If you would like to join the waitlist, email us at info@thomasmore.qc.ca. Should vacancies develop, those on the waiting list will be contacted on a first-come, first-served basis.