Dear Cassie,
But what if Mairead teaches what she likes, and she didn't
like Plath....? What of the canon then.
Who says she's a major woman poet anyway? And what
canon do you have in mind that still has Eliot on it. Is this a
Melbourne canon?
wystan
>
>
> I have to agree with Mairead's comments below. I have never taught poetry,
> but I'm certain of how I would react if a poetry teacher saw fit to direct
> my well-being by categorigally removing certain poets from course materials.
>
>
> The majority of English students, at least in Melbourne, are women. What are
> the implications of removing a major woman poet from the syllabus?
>
> It's one thing to challenge a member of the canon, and that's valid if it's
> done in a valid way. But in that case, why aren't we having a go at Eliot,
> for instance?
>
> I'm rethinking my views on Plath as we speak and am in that hazy place where
> I don't know what to think, which I personally think is often a precursor to
> fresh insight.
>
> Best,
>
> Cassie
>
>
> On Thu, 6 Jul 2000 19:23:15 -0400 (EDT), [log in to unmask] wrote:
>
> > David Lloyd has a thought-provoking essay, "Kant's Examples" (in
> > Alexander Gelley's Unruly Examples: On the Rhetoric of Exemplarity) in
> > which he talk about the "unexpungeable melancholy of the pedagogical
> scene,"
> > based as it is on the exemplarity of the teacher and the necessity to
> > progress past him/her. How do you, Mark, decide what would be bad, or
> > good, for your students? Are your students a homogeneous group, a clump?
> > How do you know what would be bad for them? In what sense bad? As I
> > would be in no way capable of deciding what poetry would be good, or bad,
> > for the students in my classes, I teach what I enjoy.
> >
> > In many of the courses I teach, it seems appropriate to read Plath.
> > Historically, she is an important figure in the tradition of American
> > poetry. She is a key figure in the construction of "the woman poet."
> > She is a highly skilled craftsperson. She was also an innovator, who
> > introduced many experiences particular to women into poetry. I hope
> > students will share my enjoyment. Like all students, I learn as I teach.
> > That's how I hope to minimize the unexpungeable melancholy.
> >
> > It is impossible for me to comprehend the contempt which you express for
> Plath.
> >
> > Mairead
> >
>
>
>
>
>
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