The poet Robert Duncan refers to the idea of "The Truth and Life of Myth" in his book Fictive Certainties . For Duncan myth itself is seen as a particular way of thinking and feeling in language that encompasses both narrative and visual image, story and light. How does myth unite these energies in a primary way? What is mytho-poetic thinking and how does one catch its wave? How can "the truth and life of myth" (as opposed to mere allusion) be drawn from for our own writing, be it in poetry, fiction or creative nonfiction? Readings will include Roberto Calasso's The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony, Raul Zurita’s Inri, and Alice Notley’s The Descent of Alette , as well as excerpts from Ezra Pound and H.D. Myths from Ancient Greece to Mesopotamia to the Pre-Columbian World will be considered. The program will also feature a weekly series of films that incorporate the action of myth, from directors like Maya Deren, Apichatpong Weerasathakul, and Pier Paolo Pasolini. The class involves both critical and creative wiring, as well as an independent project in which students are asked to explore and create a new version of a particular myth of their choosing.
Anticipated Credit Equivalencies
8 - Poetics
8 - Creative Writing
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the humanities; poetics; writing