Ancient bards, sonneteers, rappers; nursery rhymes, love lyrics, inauguration odes: poetry has always been part of lived experience. This course considers the poetics, politics, and social practices that produce new forms of creative responses in poetry. Examining a range of poetic strategies and genres selected from different historical periods, cultural locations, and literary movements, students investigate how artistic tensions, traditions, and formal challenges are posed by writers who continually attempt to enhance the art's potential.