“A poem does invite,” suggests Muriel Rukeyser in her 1949 publication, The Life of Poetry. The poem, suggests Rukeyser, invites the reader not only to feel but to engage in a “total response.” In this unit we will take up Rukeyser’s invitation to become immersed through total response by getting involved vocally, mentally, kinesthetically with poetry that documents and relates historical narratives.
The topic of this unit is documentary poetry. But, what does that mean? In his essay, “Documentary Poetry and Archival Desire,” published in the on-line journal, Jacket2, Joseph Harrington defines documentary poetry as designating “poetry that (1) contains quotations from or reproductions of documents or statements not produced by the poet and (2) relates historical narratives, whether macro or micro, human or natural.” I will add that documentary poetry investigates historical events of national and global significances and argues for political, social, and legal change.
In this unit, we will consider how documentary poetry records grief, mourns the dead, and memorializes the voices of those who can no longer speak, such as Chinese coal miners who were killed in the Sunjiawin mine disaster and the Jews who were sent to the gas chambers at Auschwitz. To frame our discussion, we will read widely and deeply in the form of documentary poetry, beginning with Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s famous 1844 poem “The Cry of the Children.” As we read, we will consider the implications of documentary poetry across history, emphasizing the present consequences of such calls and ultimately taking up Claudia Rankine’s 2014 work, Citizen. Ultimately, we will conclude the unit by constructing our own documentary poems.
As we investigate documentary poetry, I invite you to engage in a “total response” through reading annotations, contributions to the class blog, discussion, and performance.
Learning Outcomes
The topic of this unit is documentary poetry. But, what does that mean? In his essay, “Documentary Poetry and Archival Desire,” published in the on-line journal, Jacket2, Joseph Harrington defines documentary poetry as designating “poetry that (1) contains quotations from or reproductions of documents or statements not produced by the poet and (2) relates historical narratives, whether macro or micro, human or natural.” I will add that documentary poetry investigates historical events of national and global significances and argues for political, social, and legal change.
In this unit, we will consider how documentary poetry records grief, mourns the dead, and memorializes the voices of those who can no longer speak, such as Chinese coal miners who were killed in the Sunjiawin mine disaster and the Jews who were sent to the gas chambers at Auschwitz. To frame our discussion, we will read widely and deeply in the form of documentary poetry, beginning with Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s famous 1844 poem “The Cry of the Children.” As we read, we will consider the implications of documentary poetry across history, emphasizing the present consequences of such calls and ultimately taking up Claudia Rankine’s 2014 work, Citizen. Ultimately, we will conclude the unit by constructing our own documentary poems.
As we investigate documentary poetry, I invite you to engage in a “total response” through reading annotations, contributions to the class blog, discussion, and performance.
Learning Outcomes
- Articulate the definition of documentary poetry.
- Explain the similarities and differences between poems.
- Analyze the form and style of each poem.
- Examine the historical and political contexts associated with each poem.
- Discuss how each poem documents grief and presents modes of mourning and memorialization
- Assess the author’s purpose for each poem.
- Compose your own documentary poem.