This course is a space for writing and discussing poems in the nation’s capitol. The course title takes as inspiration the name of the renowned independent bookstore (Politics and Prose) in Washington, D.C. Accordingly, the texts we will focus on as our models will be by poets for whom politics and social engagement are a crucial strand of their poetics. Most of them live in the DC area. Some will be guests in our class to discuss this aspect of their work. This course is as much about reading poems as writing (and revising) them. Students will attend at least one live literary event to experience poetry as live performance, as well as visit a museum or gallery to use the visual or plastic arts as a springboard for some of their poems, as well. Finally, students will practice and hone vocabulary in order to offer constructive feedback on one another’s work.