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Jeffrey Harrison
Jeffrey Harrison (Poetry) Jeffrey Harrison is the author of four full-length books of poetry, The Singing Underneath (1988), selected by James Merrill for the National Poetry Series, Signs of Arrival (1996), Feeding the Fire (Sarabande Books, 2001), and Incomplete Knowledge (Four Way Books, 2006), as well The Names of Things: New and Selected Poems, published in England by the Waywiser Press in June 2006. His chapbook, The Undertaking, came out in 2005. He has received fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as two Pushcart Prizes, the Amy Lowell Traveling Poetry Scholarship, and the Lavan Younger Poets Award from the Academy of American Poets. His poems have appeared in The New Republic, The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Poetry, The Yale Review, Poets of the New Century, and in many other magazines and anthologies. He has taught at several universities and schools, including George Washington University, Phillips Academy, where he was the Roger Murray Writer-in-Residence, and College of the Holy Cross Selected Publications: An Undertaking (Haven Street Press, April, 2005) Feeding the Fire (Sarabande Books, November, 2001) Incomplete Knowledge (Four Way Books, 2006) Teaching Philosophy: To begin in general terms, I believe that a teacher's approach should be adjusted to meet the needs of each student, and I will make every effort to do that. I also believe that there are many ways to write a good poem, and further, that any form, style, mode, or poetic device can be used to good or ill effect-depending not on what is being used but on how it is used. In other words, I am not interested in proselytizing for one particular esthetic approach-formal or free verse, narrative as opposed to lyric (or vice verse), compression vs. discursiveness, etc. That said, I do have opinions, like anyone else. I tend to dislike deliberate obscurity, for instance, and I tend to gravitate toward poetry that is seriously engaged with both experience and language. In discussing student work, I will focus on as many aspects of the craft and art of poetry as seem pertinent, ranging from large-scale issues (like how to push a poem further in order to achieve a greater emotional intensity) to small-scale issues like word choice and lines. These areas of discussion include (but are not limited to) imagery, metaphor, syntax, argument, pacing, structure, cadence, sonority, and voice. The idea, of course, is not only to help the student learn how to use all the tools of the craft, but also to help the student grow as a poet and to encourage the exploration that leads to such growth. I generally ask each student to turn in four to six poems per packet, made up of some combination of revisions and new work. I ask that the student send me two copies of each poem, so that I have the earlier version if a revision follows. I line-edit the poems but also write very thorough letters. I prefer to use regular mail, but an occasional e-mail exchange is fine, especially for staying in touch and working out logistical details. In addition to the poems, I require each student to read and annotate one craft or critical essay per packet, and to read one book of poetry per packet and annotate one or two of the poems. The annotations of the poems and the essay can be done together or separately, but the more the student can relate the reading to his or her own work, the better. The point of the annotations is not to produce publishable articles but to be wrestling with the issues involved in making poems. I will comment on the annotations in my letters, but I do not generally mark them up. I tend to give the next reading assignment when returning a packet, but the student is encouraged to make suggestions. The poems and annotations should be accompanied by a letter from the student expressing any concerns, questions, or comments that are pertinent to the packet or to the student's growth as a poet. The student should also feel free to comment briefly on the poems he or she is turning in. Links: Jeffrey Harrison's Official Website http://home.comcast.net/~jeffrey.harrison/index.htm A link to Jeff's most recent English book, The Names of Things: New and Selected Poems: Amazon page for Jeffrey Harrison's book An Undertaking (chapbook): Jeffrey Harrison's most recent full-length book: An online interview (at Smartish Pace site): A selection of poems on the web (at Poet of the Month):
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