Weeks 9 & 10: Poetry as Audio and Video Performances

Monday, March 17

In class:
- Introduction to audio recorded poetry
  - The Poetic Function of Language
  - "What is Multimodality?" video with Gunther Kress
- The Last Poets:
  - "The Last Poets" (1970) (Album)(Lyrics)
  - "Party and Bullshit" (1993) - Biggie Smalls (lyrics)
  - "The Corner" (2005) - Common
Assignment:
- Watch "Ursula Rucker: Poet" documentary
- Listen to "Return to Innocence Lost" (1999) as produced in Things Fall Apart.
- Here's a written version of the poem.
- Write a response to "Return to Innocence Lost" as performed in the documentary and in the album. What different kinds of information can we get from the video vs. the audio performances?

In class:
- Amanda Gorman, "Using Your Voice Is a Political Choice" (2018)
- Shane Koyczan "To this Day" (2013)
Assigment:
- Read "Poetry Slam" and "Performance" in Princeton Encyclopedia
- On Friday, Feb 21 those in the NYC Trip attended a show at the Broadway Comedy Club. For reference and for those who were unable to attend, here’s some information on the lineup, which featured Harry Terjanian, Karen Bergreen, Talent Harris, Sureni Weerasekera, Alex Gorge. Watch some of these performances for our asynchronous class.

Asynchronous class:
- Write a detailed analysis of one of the standup comedy performances. Include a link to the video. Incorporate screenshots and links to specific moments in the video (in YouTube, you can share a link to a specific second in the video), and analyze at least one moment in this, discussing how the multimodality of these performances use the poetic function of language. Post this analysis in ASULearn by Saturday morning.
- Read and respond substantively to at least 2 your classmates posts, and watch the performances, before class on Monday.
Assignment
- Explore The Art of the Title.

Screenshot of "The Complete Works" photo of highway and the words "place to place & / a poem because of it"

In class:
- Introduction to writing on video and videopoetry
  - “North by Northwest” (1959)
  - “Pinky and the Brain Title Sequence“ (1995)
  - "Cowboy Bebop Title Sequence" (1998)
  - "Fuck You" by Cee Lo Green (2010)
  - "Right Action" by Franz Ferdinand (2013)
Assignment:
- Watch “Introduction to the Concept and Theory of Videopoetry” by Tom Konyves
- Watch “Sign Language” (1985) by Tom Konyves
- Watch “When” (2009) by Ottar Ormstad
- Write a brief response to the videopoems by Konyves and Ormstad. Post before class on Wednesday.

Asynchronous class:
- Write a detailed analysis of The Complete Works. Take 2 screenshots (or GIF captures) from the film and analyze what Stephenson is doing in that moment in the film. Post this analysis in ASULearn by Saturday morning.
- Read and respond substantively to at least 2 your classmates posts, and watch the performances, before class on Monday.