A Poetics of Difficulty

Harvard FAS

Through the careful reading of and exploratory writing about selected works of contemporary poetry, together with some key pieces of criticism and philosophy, the seminar will explore different modalities of difficulty. The hypothesis driving the course is that in difficult times, reading difficult writing can be a vital and affectively powerful task. Readings will likely include work by Susan Howe, Nathanial Mackay, Rae Armantrout, Dan Beachy-Quick, Myung Mi Kim, Claudia Rankine, Dawn Lundy…