This course examines the complexities of Jewish American poetry in its delineation as a distinct, ethnic poetic tradition. While this tradition dates back two centuries, scholars are only beginning to understand its unique thematic and formal features. In tandem with theoretical writings in the fields of Jewish American poetry and literature, we will read works by Jewish American poets including Emma Lazarus, Charles Reznikoff, Muriel Rukeyser, Karl Shapiro, Allen Ginsberg, Adrienne Rich, Jerome Rothenberg, Robert Pinsky, Alicia Ostriker, Jacqueline Osherow, and Marge Piercy, among others. Throughout the course we will keep in mind at least one deceivingly simple question: what is Jewish American poetry?