ENG201Y: Group presentations: some instructions

All three of you in the group will present on the same poem

The class must have the text of the poem two weeks before your presentation: up to 5% will be deducted from presenters’ marks if this doesn’t happen.
If it’s in the anthology but not on the syllabus, write the title of the poem and the page number on the board.
If it’s not in the anthology, make sure that everybody has a copy.
- You can bring in 35 xeroxes to class (Get it done for 5 cents or less and CP will reimburse you.)
- You can give CP a xerox of the poem in time for her to give copies to the class two weeks before.

Each of you will present on the poem from a specific, different perspective e.g.

contemporary reactions (ask a librarian at Robarts to help you find reviews)
biographical/psychological importance
identity politics (race, gender, nationality – black, female, Canadian, etc.)
-related: cultural function of poetry, e.g.
- what does Alligator Pie have to do with the Toronto Public Library?
- what sort of Poet Laureate will George Bowering be?
- what else happens at a poetry reading? at a poetry slam?
a genre or mode (elegy, pastoral, etc.)
a mythic pattern
an image

You’re thoroughly encouraged to use secondary sources

ask me or a librarian for help
I would (in most cases) suggest starting with a reference book, e.g. The Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature
- read the entry for your author and for “Poetry in English” and see where this goes

The group’s presentation should take no more than 45 minutes

each contribution should take no more than 10 minutes
CP has a large gong and a long hook which will be used after 12 minutes
members of the group should explicitly articulate the relationships among individual presentations (i.e. you should know what everybody else is doing and how what you’re doing relates to that!)
each contribution should be designed to provoke discussion
hold the discussion until after all of you have presented!

Each of you will hand in a written version of your presentation.

The written version must contain all of the information that you present.
The written version must document the source(s) of the information that you use, precisely and using conventional bibliographical format.
The written version may be in point form, as long as it is as coherent, comprehensive, clear, and legible.
You may hand in the written notes up to a week later, in order to incorporate insights from discussion.