American poetry will focus on three seminal American Poets: Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, and Robert Frost. We will discuss how these three poets helped to create an original poetic voice for America that was distinctive from the British tradition and mirrored the times of massive change in American society in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Poems discussed will include: "Song of Myself," "Because I Could Not Stop for Death," and "The Road Not Taken" among others. Particular attention will be paid to poets' biographies, how to read poetry for enjoyment and enlightenment and to examining how well these three poets actually "fit" our popular conceptions of them.