Welcome to English 133 Online

An online poetry class seems a little strange at first glance. Poetry is the language of feeling, the result of the creative urge, a higher aspect of the human spirit. Technology and the internet have often been portrayed as enemies of the intimate, the feeling, and the creative. 

Closer inspection and experience show the two are not enemies anymore than the manual typewriter was the enemy of the quill pen. Few poets were able to dash off their poems and hand deliver them to their intended audience. Many sent their intimate feelings by post to friends, lovers, and editors, knowing the response might be weeks, even years in returning. 

The solitary relationship of the starving poet writing in his garret might well be updated to starving poet in his cheap apartment working on his laptop. The tools may have changed, but the poetic urge has certainly not diminished. 

Poetry for the rest of us
Even one text for the course: "Poetry for Dummies," was spawned from the multitude of ". . . for Dummies" books, many published to help beginners cope with the challenges of computers, software, and the internet. Some people feel the title is denigrating, suggesting the mentally handicapped, the intellectually challenged. I and many others simply feel that "dummy" refers to someone who is ignorant, less educated, or less sophisticated about a subject than we would like to be. We would also like help that suggests it is accessible, simple and clear. How well the text succeeds, we will have to judge at the end of the course. For more about the texts, check under the "start" menu. 

Poetry has been like a life long friend for me. Sometimes I spend lots of time with it. Other times, I will not read poetry for long periods. When I tried to write poetry, I preferred not to read any for a while. I felt I would be too influenced by what I had just encountered. But like a best friend, poetry has been supportive, comforting, certainly challenging, and definitely uplifting. I look forward to sharing my friend with you and hope your experience with poetry will be as pleasant as mine has been.

Not a creative writing course
Now I suppose it is time to tell you what the class is not. This class is not a creative writing class. That means you will not be graded on the poems you write or have written. You will have an opportunity (voluntary most of the time) to share some or even much of your writing with others in the class. I have threads set up in the discussion forum for this purpose.  

The course will introduce you to new poems and poets and give you tools to read and understand poetry better than you may at the beginning. To accomplish this, you will read many poems, analyze and respond to some, and acquire a vocabulary to talk knowledgeably about poetry and some of the poets. More on this is included in the course assignments page.  

Graded class
Please note that this course is graded. The grading system is explained in detail in the course description. Please, if you decide this class is not for you or if you are unable to continue, formally withdraw. 

Officially withdraw
If you do not officially withdraw, you will receive a 0.0 grade. That five credits of 0.0 can have devastating impact on your g.p.a.

If you are wondering who will be reading your papers, in the picture below, I am enjoying a dive in the Sea of Cortez, Baja Sur,Mexico.                          

Click "Start Course" on the left menu to continue.

Paul Allen
Instructor of English
GRCC
(253) 833-9111 ext. 4235
Email is best-
pallen@oneroomschool.com