All poetry is performative, and certain performances in non-poetry genres—including stand-up comedy, political speech-making, and cinematic acting—can be considered “poetic” in character, but at this moment in American history it is important for us to ask whether and how any such performances are impactful in real time. Last century, the gulf between stage monologues and poetry written for the printed page widened considerably; in just the past few years, however, we have seen a sea change: “slam” poetry and spoken-word performance are becoming more linguistically intricate, while so-called “academic” creative writing is now more dramatic and explosively expressive, both on and off the page, than ever before. In this course, students will create original works of poetry and poetic prose, workshop the writing of their peers, and learn the practices of impactful oral performance across genres. No prior experience with live performance or creative writing is required. Course readings and viewings will focus on, among other topics, multimedia poetry; poetic writing for page, stage, and screen; and a bevy of popular performers who have found a way—some through dynamic live performances, some through social media, some through viral videos—to influence their culture. Authors to be studied include Douglas Kearney, Keston Sutherland, John Murillo, Patricia Smith, Sarah Kay, Steve Roggenbuck, Warsan Shire, and Abe Smith; performers to be studied include Bo Burnham, Hans Teeuwen, Reggie Watts, Mitch Hedberg, Eddie Murphy, Charlie Chaplin, Richard Pryor, Steven Wright, and Bill Hicks.