Between the Essay and the Poem

Description

We tend to think of essays as pieces of writing that lay out an argument. In this class, we explore essays that may contain an argument — but one that is not always stated outright. Instead, the argument may be embodied in the writing itself. Similarly, we tend to think of poems as expressing feeling or image rather than making a case. Yet poems can suggest an argument, even if not in the linear, step-by-step way we associate with argumentative writing. In this class, we explore the overlap between essayistic and poetic expression. We will read texts by Charles Baudelaire, Ira Sukrungruang, Lydia Davis, Anne Carson, Eula Biss, and others, and consider the nuanced ways in which they work across — and between — these two forms. For those who are interested, there will also be writing prompts to explore these ideas through your own work.

Barbara Thimm is a writer, translator, and educator. Her translations of selected poems by Timothy Donnelly and Mary Jo Bang were published by luxbooks in Germany. “A Discovery Behind the House,” the translation of a short story by Ror Wolf, appeared in Asymptote. She lives in Cambridge with her husband and two sons.