University of Arizona Poetry Center Publishes Citizen Teaching Guide

Suzi F. Garcia's essay about teaching Claudia Rankine's Citizen to non-poetry students highlights the need for complex discussion about race in academia, as well as students's and teachers's responses.

I often joke in teaching panels that the only thing students are more scared of than science or math is poetry. D.A. Powell once told me that poetry isn’t a riddle, but years of lectures on symbolism have taught students otherwise. Bringing poetry into an unexpected space can be daunting, but it is well worth the risk.

Poetry doesn’t have to be about just wheelbarrows, rivers, or gardens, and I’ve found that when students realize this, it pushes open poetic possibilities for them. Unpacking contemporary writing with students who aren’t writers is an incredibly refreshing experience. Each time we read a text or have poets speak in a non-creative writing classroom, I hear students say I didn’t know poetry could be like this.

Teaching Citizen by Claudia Rankine is a perfect text for such spaces. As a woman of color, I am always concerned about bringing a raced text into a classroom, especially at universities that are less diverse. But as an instructor, I want that responsibility: to be a part of what bell hooks has called “the most radical space for possibility in academia” (Teaching to Transgress). These are texts and conversations that may not make it into other classrooms, and it is my job to bring them to the forefront, especially for students of color who may not have this type of conversation in any other space.

There are many ways to introduce Citizen to non-poetry students: as an autothnography, to practice close reading, or as book club reading. But it really doesn’t matter how you get this text into students’ hands, as long as you do.

Continue learning via the University of Arizona's Poetry Center.