A friend recommended this course and I rather reluctantly agreed. I'm not often eager to commit to anything, much less a 10-week course. I stuck my little toe in and then fell into the course whole-heartedly. This course is so much more than a study of poetry, although it is certainly that in its comprehensive manner of presenting a variety of poets and poems. But, through the resources available, like the incredible forums and videos or audio taped presentations, I fell deeper into a realm of understanding the vast possibilities of the written or spoken word. I saw for the first time a connection between art and poetry. Between philosophy of the poets and their concept of poetry. This course has been a springboard to learning and I have been elated to have been a participant for 10 weeks. I'm eager for more.

Modern and Contemporary American Poetry is an amazing ten week course which I would recommend to anyone who has an interest in poetry. Al and his team of TA's create a vibrant and fun environment which helped me to develop a greater understanding of poetry.

The discussion forums, the interaction between fellow students and Al and the TA's, and the occasional guest Poet really gives a personal touch to the proceedings.

The weekly broadcasts were engaging and insightful and I really appreciated the fact that the times of each webcast was staggered to suit the 'ModPo' community worldwide. A really nice touch guys, so thank you from Europe, (does that still include the UK?!) In Ireland we are five hours ahead of Philly time.

This is my second year to take the course and I look forward to taking it again.

My daytime hours are devoted to being a nanny granny to two beloved pre-school grandchildren. (We do alot with nursery rhymes!) Basically, I audited this course - no time nor energy in the evenings to complete assignments. Nevertheless, the course was absolutely wonderful. I've loved poetry my entire life but once I left university reading poems became a solitary, sometimes lonely pleasure. This course took away the loneliness plus introducing me to modern poets whose work I didn't know. I've loved Emily Dickinson and Wallace Stevens since the 1970s so it was wonderful to get to spend some time with them too.

I highly recommend this course - it will change the way you think about poetry. I liked the way the course is organized - introduces you to Dickinson and Whitman, and walks you through various 'schools' of poetry, right up to poets who are now writing poems with great creativity to question, reflect, or to make us, the readers, think about the way things have been, and how they need to change (to create a better society).

The professor, Mr. Filreis and the TAs brought much knowledge and compassion in their work which, in return, brought me, as a student of ModPo, an appreciation and love for a variety of poetry through the work of many new poets and to continue on the journey to explore more beautiful works of these talented artists. Thank you to the Awesome staff of ModPo!!!

The course is comprehensive and introduces me to new forms of poetry that I never explored. The TAs did an exceptional job of analyzing the poems, and they were articulate and engaging. This is a wonderful class and i would highly recommend it to others.

Thank you to all who are involved in this extensive catalogue and learning. The ModPo world is large and wonderful.

This course was really useful. It was very informative.

Provide certificate for completing this course.

STRONG START, love all participants, love Al and the whole team, very nice, chapters 1-7 are the strongest, but I think the final chapters over emphasize minor poets of limited influence, unknowns, people of dubious prestige and status, academics, departmental favorites while major poets are ignored. Nothing is done with the major new poetic translations, for example, of the classics, thinking of Homer, little is done with famous foreign poets writing in English, nothing is done with Irish, British, Australian poets while two chapters are devoted to found poetry and dadaist experimental work of dubious worth. Robert Lowell is never mentioned nor other important post-war poets such as Frederick Seidel. Not a word on Derek Wolcott. Women poets such as Plath are not mentioned. Obscure poets, all teachers are treated as major figures when their work has had any real impact and has no popular popularity. Elizabeth Bishop is never mentioned. The playwright poets get no attention. I think there are 2-3 weeks that would be better reduced to a single week. The Southern poets require time, maybe the anti-war poets deserve something, maybe Bob Dylan...? I don't know, but I felt very disappointed in the end with the preference for obscure academics who are really one-pony minor figures with few poetic skills.

A well-organized and somewhat enjoyable class. However, at my advanced age, I would rather spend time with Eliot, Stevens, Ransom, Lowell, Berryman, Bishop, Kumin, Kenyon, Nemerov, et al. than with many of the contemporary poets featured in the syllabus, whose work seems more about wordplay & cryptology than a transformative blending of sound & sense.

Tedious! Lots of busy work and no certificate.

This is an exceptional course. I feel like I know all the TAs and Al, the main instructor, who taught me how to do a close, but not too close, reading of a poem. I got a well-rounded exposure to innovators who came after Emily Dickenson and Walt Whitman. I had never heard of most of the poets, excluding Robert Frost, William Carlos William, Jack Kerouac, and Allen Ginsberg. Have you ever heard of Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhovenson? Neither had I. But the performance artists was so important to the Dada movement, an inspiration to others in the arts. Each of these artists, like Hanif Abdurraqib, Frank O'Hara, and Rosmarie Waldrop, have a direct line to Emily and Walt. And they went so far in their own right. Take this class. If you're someone who appreciates small things with great meaning, then you will delight in all the poetic lines that you will carry with you throughout your waking days and sleeping nights.

This course has taken me on an adventurous, conceptualist, flarfist journey where I have learned the meaning of "Make It New," the underpinning of the entire course. Al, the staff, and the phenom TA's are brilliant, engaging, motivating pilots lighting the way along the path to a deeper, broader understanding of Modern & Contemporary Poetry. At first, I was astounded that people continue to repeat this course over and over, however, here at the end of ten weeks all I can think about is continuing to be involved with ModPo Plus, Slo-Po, and any other offerings that will keep me connected to this vast, and continually expanding poetry community! Of course, I will sign up again next Fall! How could I miss the new videos shot in Scotland this year? Al, thank you from the heart for living what you teach & always making it new!

ModPo was the first course I took on Coursera, and after this I feel every course can only be easier but less fun! That's not to say ModPo was difficult; sure, it demands some deep and contemplative thought on the pieces presented (but without that requirement, writing would be nothing) but ultimately the only cause for even an ounce of any struggle I ever had was entirely a case of me biting off more than I could chew!

Al does a beautiful job of balancing entertaining and relatable discussion to deeply thought-provoking themes in the poetry introduced in this course. All materials are very clearly presented, and assistance, if required, is so beautifully accessible!

Overall, my time spent taking ModPo in the spring was the highlight of quarantine for sure, and the lessons its taught me have stuck with me months later.

I really, really enjoyed this course. It is not something you can complete in a day or two. You have to do the work and you learn a lot! I found it really inspirational to listen to these smart people analysing poems and now, I feel more confident in expressing my own thoughts about them. This course introduced me to Emily Dickinson (such a shame that I had not read her work before) and she is now one of my favourite writers. I also really liked that the poems, read in the course, came from a diverse group of poets, which gives me the feeling of having gotten a true overview of Modern American Poetry. Even though, of course, there are still so many poems that are worth reading, that weren´t covered. The course really sparked my interest and now, I´m going to continue reading, please, excuse me...

This was an exceptional experience in numerous ways, and I could not recommend it more. Not only did I broaden my knowledge of poetry, but I was able to watch the type of discussions and analyses that I strive to facilitate in my own classroom as a high school English teacher—and also received extensive feedback from course mentors and the professor himself! This course will invest in much as you are willing to invest in it, and it truly is a life-changing experience for me in seeing how language can work. I'm a better teacher for having taken this as well as a reader/student, and I cannot give a higher recommendation for others to dive in!

This is a fantastic course! I can totally understand why people stay with the course year after year. I am doing it for the second time, this year concentrating on some of the work in ModPo plus -- I can already imagine (due to personal time constraints) how each year I will concentrate on another aspect of the course (the essays, conversation strings, livestreams, office hours, etc). And also get back to the videos of the main syllabus! There is so much this course has to offer, and constantly it maintains its newness, its freshness. Absolutely wonderful! I am glad I found this course and so happy to be part of this international community.

ModPo is a brilliantly-designed course with a deep bag of resources and a welcoming community of instructors and students. It makes modern poetry accessible without sacrificing the rigor of academic discourse. ModPo not only delivers high-level analyses of complex poetry to its students, it makes the tools for that kind of analysis available to them, too. Many of my fellow students in this course were returning students who re-take this class every year! And who wouldn’t want to spend 10 weeks re-encountering dozens of attractive, engaging poems that demand your consideration? This course is a real experience.

ModPo is/was a wonderful course that I plan to complete. Unfortunately, my mother’s health rapidly deteriorated and she passed away as the course was in the final weeks

Al Fieres and faculty are excellent and coursework is without parallel - in fact superior to coursework taken in a traditional university setting

Cannot speak highly enough about ModPo in all aspects : coursework, faculty, feedback, interaction with other learners ..... A fast paced and profoundly intensely personal experience . In my opinion ModPo sets a gold standard for all that online learning can be!

Sincerely

Dr Pearl Ketover Prilik

ModPo imparts a vision both wide and deep. It has unfurled before me an inexhaustible and a quintessential world of the human imagination, of surprises and subtleties. The teaching method of ModPo, so pragmatic and dynamic that it transforms the participant completely, in terms of re-imagining the world of literature and the fine arts. So privileged to be a part of this marvelous program. I am indebted to Prof. Al Filreis and his entire team of the TA's. ModPo has become my second home and I shall keep coming back as often as I can. Thank you so much!

As an English Literature major in college studying well before these poets were creating, I found this course very exciting to learn new trends in poetry. I also took the Coursera course on modern art, which also presented many new challenging ideas. There are many parallel concepts between the two studies. I feel the course might have had more depth if there was some thought to drawing trends from both areas. Also, a brief mention of the cultural, social and historical background on which these art forms have evolved.

This has been the most educational and well-run course possible. I've played with MOOC's before, but no-one could possibly run a better course than Al Filreis, with his remarkable knowledge, academic bent, passion for the material and passion for teaching and his students. He is remarkable and the energy is palpable and contagious.

Coursera is a 5-Star platform. My hats off to them. I've never seen such a good course platform, and I can't imagine any better. Truly modular, mobile and bug-free.

5 Stars all the way!!

This is the 5th year that I have been involved in ModPo. Why do I keep coming back? Because the discussions, the poetry, and the class participation are so refreshing that I learn something new everytime. It is like getting together with old friends. If you have never been involved in a poetry class or you know nothing about modern poetry, this class is for you. If you are a veteran to Modern poetry, this class is for you. ModPo is one big family, and I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone interested in modern poetry.

In this course, I see the future of education. It is light years ahead of any other course I've taken on Cousera or EdX, as the instructor has developed a web pedagogy that gives the course the feel of seminar -based instruction at a top-tier brick and mortar institution of higher education. In this course, students become members of a lively learning community that is always on.

(Please attribute any typos herein to the fact that I'm typing on a smartphone while riding in a subway car.)