Specialisation seminar: American poetry in Polish translation

The seminar focuses on the experience of reading and processes of translating American poetry. A selection of poems from the 19th to the 20th cent. will be explored in class in the context of social and literary history. We will also address reception and translation of American poetry. We will seek to invite contemporary poets and translators to share their work and comment on poetry writing and translating.

List of topics

• Introduction, list of terms (Littlewood, pp. 249-253) (2 hours)

• Elements of poetry and reading poetry (Whitla, pp. 175-186); poem: selected poems of Emily Dickinson (2 hours)

• Critical analysis, prosody, scansion (Whitla, pp. 186-195); poem: selected poems of Emily Dickinson in translation (2 hours)

• Line length, stanzas, diction, ambiguity and irony (Whitla, pp. 195-205); selected poetry of Walt Whitman (2 hours)

• Four verse forms (Whitla, pp. 205-212); selected poetry of Walt Whitman in translation (2 hours)

• Summary and midterm test (2 hours)

• Discussion of the test (2 hours)

• selected poems by Robert Frost (2 hours)

• selected poems by Robert Frost in translation (2 hours)

• selected poems by Langston Hughes (2 hours)

• selected poems by Langston Hughes in translation (2 hours)

• selected poems by Elizabeth Bishop (2 hours)

• selected poems by Elizabeth Bishop in translation (2 hours)

• selected poems by Gwendolyn Brooks and their translations; summary (2 hours)

• Final test (2 hours)

Total: 30 contact hours

Assessment methods:

- mid-term test and final test – W1, U1, U2

- graded involvement in class – U3

Assessment criteria:

fail – 0-59 %

satisfactory – 60-69 %

satisfactory plus – 70-75 %

good – 76-85 %

good plus – 86-90 %

very good – 91-100 %