Mythology and Contemporary Poetry / EN6060 (10 credits)

 
This course invites a close study of the ongoing persistence and creative value of mythology in
 
modern poetry. Every week we will look at a myth/traditional narrative and how contemporary
 
poetry responds to the imaginative, political, and personal dimensions that that myth still
 
conveys in contemporary poetry. Among the poets studied will be Jorie Graham, Paula Meehan,
 
Seamus Heaney, Czeslaw Milosz, Eavan Boland, and Eilean Ni Chuilleanain. Informing myths will
 
be Ceres and Persephone, Diana and Acteon, scenes from The Odyssey, and others.  The course
 
will culminate in a weekend trip to the Beara Peninsula, to visit ancient sites such as the Hag of
 
Beara, the gravesite of the Children of Lir, and Teach Donn (the gateway to the Celtic
 
Underworld)