It makes me feel better to hear that you only finish your syllabi 1-2 days ahead as well. Like you, I've been thinking about these things for a long time, but I only ever actually write them at the last minute as well. I don't think it makes the slightest bit of difference - I spend the same amount of time on them that I would at any time of the year, and I think they're good, overall - but I still feel guilty for doing them at the last minute!
Good luck with the grad class.
I like to have ample "gestation" time to problem solve, ruminate, and consider before I actually knock off the syllabus. I love your poem analogy . . . and yes, I think that it *is* a similar type of creative problem solving and architecting.
Last minute syllabus writer checking in! It is hard to do this stuff in advance, and it does magically fall into place when the time pressure is there.
Plus, I usually walk around thinking about it for a few weeks before committing anything to paper. It is, indeed, a very creative process.
Gestation time isn't procrastination - I think your ideas formulate and percolate over that time so when you finally sit down, a lot of the work is done and you're ready to bang out the syllabus. (At least this is what I tell myself!).
I agree that designing a course is a creative process. Thinking about what major themes and issues to cover - what's too much, and how to help students discover the story of given field and, find their own interest in it, definately entails creative thinking!
syllabus? we don't need no stinking syllabus!
Yeah, right. I just realized that I need to add a ton of stuff to my normal syllabus for the online course I'm supposed to have done Wednesday a.m. Spousal unit can't understand why I'm on the computer so much. Of course, y'all having such good blogs doesn't help 
Oh -- and I have a loose 25 pounds. It jiggles behind me wherever I go.
I'm sure that feeling that the content of this course just didn't lend itself to your usual course structure was a source of frustration. I'm glad that you found a solution to the problem that you are satisfied with. I never did find a good solution to the organization of my seminar last semester, where the needs of the seminar paper suggested one sort of organization but the content of the course suggested a different organization completely.
Now do you want to help finish up mine? 
jwb
ADM, I hear you!
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