Week 8

Contemporary Alaskan poetry is as varied and diverse as the people who now inhabit its land. The “Alaskan” identity is now complicated by the often transient nature of some of our population. This week you should be thinking and writing about the problem of identity in Alaska. Also, you should pay attention to the similarities and differences of the poetry that emerges from contemporary Alaskan poets, including John Haines.

Reading Assignment

Jill Osier’s poem “Snow Becoming Light by Morning”

John Straley’s “every single day”

A brief interview and the poem “Certain Frequencies” by Derick Burleson

Take Your Midterm

Please go to this course in Blackboard and take the midterm by March 11th. You will have two hours to complete this short-essay, open-book exam.