Poetry of the Third Space

Catalog description

In this course, students will read work by poets who occupy a 'third space' between worlds, cultures, and/or languages, with special emphasis on contemporary poets whose work raises questions about identity, nationhood, and race, and whose work demonstrates a range of different Englishes. The reading list will include poetry by Ladan Osman, Noor Jaber, Fatimah Asghar, and Suheir Hammad, alongside essays by Wail Hassan, Momina Masood, and Anne Carson. Students will spend time close reading poems that stretch the English language, mutate it, break it and make it anew to prioritize voices that have historically been excluded from its center. Students at all levels of experience and comfort with poetry are welcome.