The Canadian Modernist Poetry Project Carleton University Department of English Fall 2009 ENGL 4806C The Modernist Project: Studies in Canadian Literature Prerequisite: fourth-year standing in Honours English or permission of the Department Instructor: Collett Tracey Office phone: 520-2600 ext. 2328 Email: [email protected] Office: 1910 Dunton Tower Office Hours: TBA Course Description: Questioning boundaries and breaking away from the past are fundamental to the spirit of Canadian modernism. In order to do this, not only do the barriers to change have to be overcome, but vehicles of expression have to be found in order to draw like-minded people together who can build the momentum required to make a new vision reality. As John Sutherland, Louis Dudek, Raymond Souster and others have shown, during the modernist movement in Canada it was the little magazines and little presses that provided that impetus and published often unknown poets who were experimenting with new techniques and forms. In Montreal, three important little presses were founded that span and reflect the changing spirit of modernism – First Statement Press, Contact Press and Delta Canada. In this seminar course we will consider the history and context of each, examining how they began, who began them and how they contributed to the development of modernist poetry in Canada. In the process we will undertake close readings of poems by such writers as Irving Layton, Louis Dudek, Raymond Souster, Dorothy Livesay, Miriam Waddington, P.K. Page, Patrick Anderson, Frank Scott, Arthur Smith and many others. Required Texts: Available in class Evaluation: Class Participation & Seminar 40% Essay 60% For Students with Disabilities: Students with disabilities needing academic accommodations are required to contact a co-ordinator at the Paul Menton Centre to complete the necessary letters of accommodation. The student must then make an appointment to discuss their needs with the instructor at least two weeks prior to the first class or CUTV test. This is to ensure sufficient time is available to make the necessary accommodation arrangements. Please note the following deadlines for submitting completed forms to the PMC for formally scheduled exam accommodations: November 5, 2004 for fall and fall/winter term courses and March 11, 2005 for winter term courses. For Religious Observance: Students requesting academic accommodation on the basis of religious observance should make a formal, written request to their instructors for alternate dates and/or means of satisfying academic requirements. Such requests should be made during the first two weeks of class, or as soon as possible after the need for accommodation is known to exist, but no later than two weeks before the compulsory academic event. Accommodation is to be worked out directly and on an individual basis between the student and the instructor(s) involved. Instructors will make accommodations in a way that avoids academic disadvantage to the student. Students or instructors who have questions or want to confirm accommodation eligibility of a religious event or practice may refer to the Equity Services website for a list of holy days and Carleton’s Academic Accommodation policies, or may contact an Equity Services Advisor in the Equity Services Department for assistance. For Pregnancy: Pregnant students requiring academic accommodations are encouraged to contact an Equity Advisor in Equity Services to complete a letter of accommodation. The student must then make an appointment to discuss her needs with the instructor at least two weeks prior to the first academic event in which it is anticipated the accommodation will be required. Plagiarism: Plagiarism is defined by the university as using and passing off as one’s own idea or work, the ideas or work of others, without expressly giving credit to those others. It is a form of intellectual theft, and constitutes an Instructional Offence at Carleton. See the statement on Instructional Offences in the Undergraduate Calendar. Attendance and Late Paper Policy: I expect you to be at class and to contribute to discussions. For this reason I have dedicated a portion of the grade to attendance and participation. Your papers are due on the last day of each semester. Unless you have serious extenuating circumstances and discuss these with me, I will deduct 5% of your paper grade for each day it is late. .