ENG 378 - Topics: The Cinepoem and the Video Essay: Lyrical Moments and Moving Memories (1)

Phillip Lopate called the video essay a “centaur” genre, half videography and half essaying, a genre with oddly conjoined parts. Often stitched together by amateurs combing over family videos, found footage, or choppy cell phone shots, cinepoems and video essays allow writers a unique opportunity to layer the written and spoken word on top of the densely packed information that images allow. This interdisciplinary course will examine and analyze early and contemporary examples of cinepoems & video essays, exploring the ways lyricism, nostalgia, and associative logic are layered together in these new media genres. In the final project, students will produce their own video literature based on an original poem or personal essay. Prerequisites: FYW course or ENG 201 or ENG 202 or ENG 215 or ENG 225
(Humanities)