Close-reading magnificent 20th century poems by American and British authors, including WB Yeats, WH Auden, Wallace Stevens, Elizabeth Bishop, Marianne Moore, and Hart Crane.

Close-reading poetry by one of England's foremost living poets, described by the Poetry Foundation as writing in an "unusual, almost visionary style – personifying Nature and its birds, beasts and flowers; plumbing the historical and spiritual depths of the landscape." We will pay close attention to the role of nature and myth in her poetry.

Have you ever wondered why we go to school? We're supposed to, of course, but what are the norms and values that underpin that widely held belief? And what do we really get taught to do, anyway? This class will be part history and part experiment as we discuss the origins of the modern theory and practice of education, looking at how the model evolved from antiquity to the present. We will pay particular attention to models that have not been adopted in the mainstream (i.e., Montessori, Waldorf, etc.), and will consider other models of education (apprenticeship, immersion, etc.) to see what we can learn. Then we'll roll up our sleeves and design our own school, from scratch.