At first I was a little afraid of starting this course since

1. English isn't my first language

2. I hadn't read much of poetry in any language before this

So I worried if I would be able to complite it and understand the poems and the terms used in describing them. But this was really fun and I learned so much. About poetry, poets and English. Everything was easy to understand (with a little help of a dictionary) and after the course I actually started reading poems from the different poets that we had learned on the course and that I had liked and then I moved on to complitely new poets. This course helped me get a better understanding on how to read poems and it proved that there isn't just one way of interpreting them. Thank you!

best coursera class of them all. The instructor and teaching assistants are closely in the class + there is a lot more interaction with them and the rest of the students than any other MOOC.

Enriching, wide reaching in scope. The Prof. Al Filreis lets ideas, not necessarily his own, in for debate and comment. The TAs are simply brilliant both in form and content. Bravo!

Great Course. Great Experience. Everyone Should at least One Course from Coursera. I highly recommend it to all my students, friends, colleagues living anywhere on this earth.

Wonderful course and community! The openness and variety of perspectives and discussions contributes to the richness of each poem and all the possible ways to read poetry.

Oh, where to start??? The community!!! Thank you just for being there.

If you wander far enough

you will come to it

Quite simply, the best MOOC out there, and I've completed many, many courses. Al Filreis and his TAs are exceptional teachers and learners. Mentors work their socks off to create a real global community of learners. The discussion forums are used with generosity and enthusiasm by teachers, learners and mentors.

Thank you so much.

An incredibly dynamic, exciting and informative course that invites active participation. It also allows for students to take their time and return to assignments and videos throughout the year. An invaluable and multi-faceted resource for teachers and poets and readers alike.

This is one of the most powerful courses on the learning planet if anyone on this planet is eager to learn about the Modern and Contemporary American Poetry. I would love to strongly recommend all the Teachers and Students through the globe to do it at least once in the lifetime. I have found it always inspiring, exhilarating and rewarding experience as far as Poetry Understanding and Appreciation is concerned. This Course will never be outdated as long as Poetry is living. Of all literature genres, poetry was the first to be born (since the Vedas Times), and it will outlast humans on this Earth. From the deepest cores of my heart, I wish the "ModPo" Team, the stalwarts at the "UPenn" and the Coursera App"ALL THE BEST"! LONG LIVE THE COURSE!

More than a course. More than poetry. More than it's international community. More than edifying. More than inspiring.

Having very little to do with poetry since my schoolyears, I enjoyed this seminar-like MOOC, where Al and his enthusiastic assistents in their peer-like joint close reading sessions inspired me to open up to new poetry and try to close read myself poems and collaborate on the interpretation. This concept may inspire millions of "potential" readers to give poetry a significant place in our cultural and spiritual life. Thanks and reach out to the world.

I LOVED THIS COURSE AND IN MY OPINION IT IS A COMPLETE COURSE ABOUT LITERATURE

This is the best community in the world and deserving of all praise. More people should get involved and we could make this world a better place.

Beautiful course, I'm just going trough week 1 and it's amazing feel so engaged, with the content and the videos, I really appreciate the words and toughs of Al Filreis, and all the Team that is working with him, thank you so much to everybody, I'm not a native English speaker, but here I'm loving this course.

Thank you,

Esteban

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.

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.

My third year immersed in ModPo experience, and it has been transformative for my poetry and my life. I love the videos, enthusiasm and poetic knowledge of Al (even when I disagree), and the TAs amaze me with their inquisitiveness, poetic understanding, and basic decent humanity.

Es el mejor curso en que he participado. El trabajo constante de Al y su equipo, la interacción constante, a través de los foros, los hangouts, las asesorías semanales, es impresionante y demuestra la pasión y empeño que ponen en este curso. A tener en cuenta que el curso es bastante exigente y demanda mucha dedicación, muchas horas semanales para poder seguir el ritmo, más vale la pena el esfuerzo, se aprende muchísimo, genial, the best mood course.

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.

If there were more stars, I would have selected them. Highly recommend this course!

Wonderful course.

This is an exceptional course. The range of material, the depth of discussion and the support from staff and other students far exceeds many university courses on literature. This course will change your life for the better.

Exceptional course content. Very creative way to make students learn.

This course was an eye opener for me. As a person more immediately drawn to quantitative disciplines, i had always felt sort of guilty about poetry. This course ends that sort of thinking! There is a lot of work if one wishes to complete all the assignments, but then, one need not, actually. Although the course is active only briefly, the materials are available all year. It's so great to know that I can visit all year long. Many thanks to Al, the team and the many participants.

ModPo is the most vibrant MOOC that I have discovered in several years of online learning. This is due to the ongoing passionate, hands on participation of Prof Al Fireis and his team. In my experience, many repeat MOOCS can have a stale, dead atmosphere. Not so here. Always refreshed.

If you have any interest in poetry, new or experienced, you will not be disappointed.