I was happy to hear last week that a panel I proposed was accepted for the 2012 AWP (Association of Writers and Writing Programs) conference in Chicago next year. I’m looking forward to it because of who agreed to participate AND because I am full of questions about the subject at hand. The idea for the panel grew, in part, out of my experiences teaching a writing class focused on fixed form and poetic meters last year. Teaching meter was particularly challenging and unlike other things I have taught (or attempted to teach). Anyhow, here’s the blurb for the panel — no schedule yet, but the conference is Feb 29-March 3.
Ear Candy: Teaching the Pleasures of Poetic Meter.
Liz Ahl, Jeff Oaks, Annie Finch, Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, Tara Betts
Rooted in a diversity of aesthetic and pedagogical perspectives, this panel focuses on the teaching and learning of meter: how, when, and why might one teach meter to young poets? Is teaching meter like teaching other elements of poetic craft and technique? Is meter akin to music or language when it comes to learning and teaching? How can we help our students sing out rather than slog through? How might activities like scansion, reading aloud, or imitation, help poets develop an ear for meter?
Liz Ahl 