SUBJECT: LANGUAGE ARTS COURSE: CARIBBEAN POETRY COURSE CODE: PROGRAMME: SECONDARY SEMESTER: ONE YEAR: TWO PREREQUISITE: INTRODUCTION TO POETRY CREDITS: 3 DURATION: 45 HOURS RATIONALE Caribbean Poetry is designed to provide student-teachers with an understanding of the development of poetry in the region and the range of issues associated with its history. The course is intended to expose students to the works of known and lesser-known poets, especially the contributions of women and poets from the Spanish and or French Caribbean, and to develop an appreciation for this literary form. It is also envisioned that students will examine major socio-economic and environmental issues and develop values that will engender changes for sustainable development in the many areas of Caribbean life. The course is also intended to further students’ interest in and enjoyment of poetry. OBJECTIVES At the end of this course students should be able to:

1. identify distinctive features of Caribbean poetry and arrive at their own definitions

2. explore the phases of Caribbean poetry and the poets who contribute to each. 3. do a close study of a poet from the Caribbean canon. 4. identify and analyse/compare common themes in Caribbean poetry. 5. examine the works of poets under study in relation to various literary

perspectives/theories in relation. 6. analyse the works of a poet from the Spanish or French Caribbean 7. appreciate, through the poems under discussion, values (related to equity, human

rights, peace, citizenship etc) that produce a sustainable society UNIT 1: 8 HOURS DEFINITIONS

Definitions of Caribbean poetry Distinctive features of Caribbean poetry

UNIT 2: 4 HOURS HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

Distinct phases/features of Caribbean poetry: pre 19th century; 19th century; early – mid 20th century;

The poetry of Claude McKay and Una Marson – a general overview UNIT 3: 10 HOURS COMMON THEMES (This list is not exhaustive) Exploration of at least two themes in a number of poems

Slavery, colonialism and power relationships Identity Race, colour, class Resistance and rebellion Exile and displacement Relations with the empire Fragmentation Language Coping strategies/survival Oral traditions Music and religion Place – the environment and people

UNIT 4: 17 HOURS A LOOK AT THE CANON Close study of one of the following:

Kamau Brathwaite Derek Walcott Lorna Goodison Olive Senior Mervyn Morris Edward Baugh Dennis Scott Louise Bennett

(Literary theories: Students will be sensitized to some of these theories that may be applied in analysing the poems under study e.g. Postcolonial, Reader Response, New Criticism, Marxist, Feminist) [Please note that the themes in Unit 4 may be applied to the poets being studied in Units 4 and 5] UNIT 5: 10 HOURS

OTHER VOICES – (Copies of selected poems to be given to students)

Selections from the non-anglophone Caribbean e.g. The works of either Nicolas Guillen or Aime Cesaire.

The contributions of women to the development of Caribbean poetry. Caribbean voices: from the outside looking in - Dionne Brand, David Dabydeen,

Fred D’Aguiar, Grace Nichols and others that are chosen by the lecturer. EVALUATION Course Work 60% (3 pieces – must include the mini project) Examination 40% (2 questions) Suggested Activities

Group presentations Research Discussions Poetry readings

SUGGESTED COURSE WORK ACTIVITIES

Mini Project – select a sustainability issue. Show how different poets represent as well as suggest treatment/coping strategies. Compare your own responses and suggestions re this issue. Use other frames of reference (e.g. the media). (Group Work)

Select poem from any period. Identify ways in which this poem is characteristic of this period. Find another poem from another period/geographic location, with similar theme. Compare the treatment of this theme.

In-class test (open book). Analysis of unseen poem or response to an essay question.

Respond to a critic’s reading of a poem. To what extent does this reflect your own views? Points of departure?

References (These are some suggestions and not exhaustive) Baugh, Edward. It Was The Singing. Sandberry Press.

Brand, Dionne. No Language is Neutral. McClelland & Stewart.

Brathwaite, Kamau Edward. The Arrivants. Oxford Univ. Press.

Breiner, Laurence. An Introduction to West Indian Poetry. Cambridge University

Press.

Brown, Stewart, Ed. Caribbean Poetry Now. Edward Arnold.

Brown, Stewart and Ian McDonald. The Heinemann Book of Caribbean Poetry.

Heinemann.

Goodison, Lorna. Selected Poems. University of Michigan Press.

Hamner, Robert. Ed. Critical Perspectives on Derek Walcott. Three Continents Press.

Nichols, Grace. I is a Long Memoried Woman. The Red Sea Press.

Morris, Mervyn. Examination Centre.

Ramchand, Kenneth and Cecil Gray. West Indian Poetry. Longman.

Senior, Olive. Gardening in the Tropics. McClelland & Stewart.