English 200 SU 2015 A Term Professor Butwin
Hero and Clown: Poetry, Music, Fiction and Film

Prepare for five weeks of close reading, listening and viewing of poetry, music, fiction and film. Poets and musicians of the 20th and 21st centuries will include W. H. Auden, James Wright, Philip Levine, Louis Asekoff and Eamon Grennan; Bob Dylan, the Clash, Billy Bragg, Coldplay, The Decembrists, Arcade Fire and Beirut. We will read short fiction by Raymond Carver including his story “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” which, along with Batman with Michael Keaton(1989) is the basis for the recent Academy Award winning film Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), starring Michael Keaton (again), directed by Alexandro Inárritu. We’ll read Carver and watch Batman and Birdman. We will conclude with one exquisite novel which, like Batman and Birdman either supports or undermines the ancient ideal of the hero, a theme that fades in and out of all of our reading, listening and viewing.