Reviews (4)

Very Pleased
Having just enjoyed listening to Mr. Fry read his novel "The Hippopotamus" on my long commutes, I was immediately attracted when I heard of "The Ode Less Traveled."I have often wondered why I don't understand many poems, (and not just modern ones), and can't tell good from bad.I have tried a number of other books on poetry with no success.Beginning "The Ode..." however, I immediately recognized Mr. Fry's cadence of speech and humour and the first twenty pages have been very easy to follow.Now I am doing his suggested exercises with iambic pentameter, and I am looking forward to the rest and finally knowing something about poetry. In my opinion, Stephen Fry is one of a kind, and what fun it would have been if he had been my high school English teacher!

Standard Stuff
An earnest enough effort but terribly dull. Fry wishes us to revisit schooldays and jot our way through Chaucer, Milton, Shakespeare, i.e. learn the basics, pay our dues. And while it may be true that much poetry, eg Bukowski, is mere chopped-up prose, notes and shopping lists, Fry is unwilling or unable to grapple with grandmaster Pound. There should be more on modernist poetry: TSE and Pound. The Waste Land receives scant coverage. Fry is a fuddy-duddy, amusing from a distance and a bore at close quarters. I wish he would let his hair down and give us some edge and spike.

A volume wise and wry, from Mr. Stephen Fry.
One of my favorite quotes about poetry is from Dame Edith Sitwell. "Poetry is like horticulture," she said. "Each poem should be allowed to grow according to its natural form." In his new book, "The Ode Less Travelled: Unlocking the Poet Within," Stephen Fry creates a veritable topiary garden of poetry, providing not only an encyclopedic overview of poetic meters and forms in English but a cogent, bracing and witty demonstration of their value. As its subtitle suggests, "The Ode Less Travelled" is written as a primer to both beginning and experienced poets who need, shall we say, a jump start to their creativity. Each chapter offers a discussion, with examples, of a particular meter, rhyme scheme or form, and suggests exercises at the end for readers to create their own examples. Fry quotes English poets from William Shakespeare to William McGonagall to illustrate his points, as well as a gratifyingly large array of American poets. Sometimes, when an example from the canon is not readily available, Fry will write his own, such as when he illustrates a dactyl (one stressed syllable, two non-stressed) followed by a molossus (three sharply stressed syllables in a row) in an imagined argument between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader:
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Subjects:  1. Anthologies (multiple authors)    2. Authorship    3. Language    4. Language Arts & Disciplines    5. Poetry    6. Writing Skills    7. Poetry / Anthologies (multiple authors)   

Reviews (14)

Indispensable
I discovered this book during my MA program a few years back.At the time, I'd not seen anything quite like it, aside from Lew Turco's Book of Forms, a book that I enjoyed.But since I'm not a primarily formalist poet, I found Turco's book somewhat wanting.
For Classroom use...perfect
I teach an 8th grade Language Arts Class in rural Washington State.I found our textbook to be bland and typical.I was looking for some work for my students to actually learn how to write poetry correctly. This book does this.

Useful resource for poets of all levels (and teachers!)
This is a wide ranging collection of poetry exercises written by poets who also teach. With over 90 exercises (most no more than two pages long), you'll find they are various in "approach, style, and content, and cover a great deal of territory"(excerpted from the intro.).For that reason, some of the exercises can come across irrelevant, as another reviewer mentioned, or juvenile (ie: "auctioning" off your line to another student in class).However, keep in mind that these exercises can be re-drafted or custom-built to the needs of the class.Additionally, the narratives that follow each exercise are a fantastic way to learn about the exercise from the teacher's perspective: what works, what doesn't, what kind of students have difficulty with the exercise, etc.Unlike most exercise books that just spit out what to do, the teacher expands on why this particular exercise is a useful one for the student and what the exercise may help the student create.
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Subjects:  1. Authorship    2. Composition & Creative Writing - Poetry    3. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    4. Poetry    5. Reference    6. Study Guides    7. Technique   

Editorial Review

Steve Kowit believes, and rightly so, that poetry should show, not tell. Thesame could be said for good teaching, which is what makes this volume so remarkable. InRead more

Reviews (23)

Vaguely pedestrian
I chose this book because of the glowing reviews. I was disappointed. I expected a discussion of the nature of poetry and how it is constructed. What I got was "A process for recovering memories" (Recall a pleasant time in the past., Recall a building in which you once lived., etc.)
it's this poet's companion
Since 1996, I have kept this book handy on my nightstand and carried it with me on every vacation I take, just to make sure it is accessible when I am ready to learn more about reading poetry, to improve my writing of poetry, to give myself assignments for writing, or just to read and re-read some of the beautiful samples included inside. I have and have utilized a number of "poetry handbooks," but find this one the best. It is just a great book for anyone interested in poetry from any angle. It is also helpful for discovering new poets, too, as the samples included are drawn from a wide body of authors.

Need a Portable Poet Workshop? Here it is!!!!
Don't have the funds for a Poetry Workshop but want to improve your writing? Here it is! This is a wonderful book. It contains tons of exercises, practices and methods of improving your work!I highly recommend it! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. American - General    2. Authorship    3. Composition & Creative Writing - Poetry    4. General    5. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    6. Poetics    7. Poetry    8. Creative writing guides    9. Poetry & poets    10. Works by individual poets: from c 1900 -    11. Poetry Handbooks   

Reviews (9)

Another Book on Kunitz's Crown
Stanley Kunitz is one hundred years old this year and, if that it's not enough reason to rejoice, he's also published a book, thoughtfuy aided by Genine Lentine, in which he shares his two loves, gardening and writing poetry. And if I name these two passions of Kunitz's in such order is because the garden is at the center of his thought here.
gardening and poetry a potent combination
This book by Stanley Kunitz and his collaborator is a powerful testament to the power of the garden. In short antedotes and blazing poetry this book kept me riveted. In a quiet voice it proclaims the life of one man and his love of gardening.

WHAT A TRULY MARVELOUS EXPERIENCE WITH ONE OF AMERICA'S GREATEST POET
I WAS SO ENTRANCED BY THE POETRY AND REVERIES IN A GARDEN BY THE ONE AND ONLY STANLEY KUNITZ. THIS BOOK IS NOT ONLY FOR LOVERS OF POETRY BUT ALSO FOR LOVERS OF TRANQUILITY AND BEAUTY. I URGE YOU TO STEP INTO THIS NATURAL WORLD OF DAYDREAMS PUNCTUATED BY FLOWERS. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1905-    2. 20th century    3. American - General    4. Authorship    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Gardeners    7. General    8. Interviews    9. Kunitz, Stanley,    10. Literary    11. Poetry    12. Poets, American    13. United States    14. Poetry / General    15. Works by individual poets: from c 1900 -   

Reviews (2)

What A Great Find!
A GREAT RESOURCE!!!!I love using this in my gifted 7th and 8th grade language arts classes.They have become excited about poetry after only a week of working this in to my daily routine.It's amazing how many "state standards" I can just happen to cover while discussing these poems with my students.What a fun way (for students and teachers) to cover critical reading strategies and writing style/voice!
Use Your Discretion
This anthology is a valuable companion for any teacher who wants to incorporate poetry into their classroom. I love many of the selections, reading each poem either quietly to myself or out loud to my students; however, several poems are inappropriate for middle students.
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Subjects:  1. American - General    2. American poetry    3. Composition & Creative Writing - General    4. English poetry    5. Literature - Classics / Criticism    6. Poetry    7. Study And Teaching Of Specific Subjects    8. Teaching Methods & Materials - General    9. English    10. English language    11. Teaching of a specific subject   

Reviews (7)

Happy with my purchase.
The book I ordered was used but in very good condition.
A text that gets results
A text that has been around since the late 1960's through seven editions certainly has more durability than most.I've been using Three Genres in beginning creative writing classes, both on-campus and online, since the fourth edition, and I have yet to see a better text for the course.Minot's balance of traditional and newer approaches together with his lists of pitfalls for beginning writers may not appeal to all instructors, especially those with a less eclectic agenda than his, but a great many students over the years have appreciated his approach.
Parts Worth Using, particularly for poetry
I find that this text provides a better discussion of poetry than Janet Burroway's recent creative writing book, though her text is stronger in its discussion of fiction. While I don't agree with everything Minot says about writing (he can be too simplistic and authoritative in ways that could limit writers' expression and experimentation), and I don't like his selection of poems or stories very much, I use his book as simply one more resource for students. He offers another voice besides my own, and the class can dispute or agree with his comments if we so desire. The poetry chapters I've found most helpful are "Images," "The Sound of Words," and "Traditional Rhythms." I've also used parts of his fiction discussion. I supplement the book with many handouts (mostly poems) and some excerpts from Steve Kowit's In the Palm of Your Hand and Dorianne Laux/Kim Addonizio's The Poet's Companion. I use Burroway's text primarily for the fiction unit, and I also use parts of Jerome Stern's Making Shapely Fiction. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Authorship    2. Composition & Creative Writing - General    3. Creative writing    4. Drama    5. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    6. Literary Criticism    7. Poetry    8. Creative writing guides    9. Literary Criticism & Collections / General   

Reviews (3)

Helpful for beginners!
It's good for getting acquainted with some famous poets and some poetic forms. I'd recommend it for high school students. For those with basic knowledge of poetry and meters and scheme, I'd recommend "How to Read a Poem: and fall in love with poetry" by Edward Hirsch, which helps with the art of interpreting. But it's not as easy reading as this book (which I applaud for it simplicity).

Never Expected it to Be This Good.....
Poetry for Dummies was another of those books I was really hoping I didn't like.The whole "For Dummies" series gets on my nerves to begin with, so it is double trouble when I picked this title up and found it valuable on so many counts. Simplifying the Obscure in Poetry
Poetry For Dummies is the first book of its kind to be readable, sensible and understandable.For the novice or the more proficient, it is a great source book.Lots of innovative ideas and suggestions as well as rock solid poetic info! The college course I took in Creative Poetry (an upper division course!) didn't give me the easy access and insight that this book did.Read more

Subjects:  1. Creative writing    2. General    3. Poetics    4. Poetry    5. Technique    6. Literary Criticism / Poetry    7. Poetry & poets   

Reviews (6)

Powerful Creative Writing Text for Poets
WRITING POEMS by Michelle Boisseau and Robert Wallace, 6th ed., offers clear advice, appropriate examples, and stimulating suggestions for creating poems. I recommend this text to advanced poetry students who have had at least one semester of creative writing. R. S. Gwynn's Poetry: A Harper Collins Pocket Anthology would complement this text in a junior-level college poetry writing course.

Ifyou want to read a text on writing poetry, this is it
I took an advanced poetry course from Michelle Boiseeau who taught from this text.She was enlightening, helpful, and inspiring.The book was more so. Seek an earlier edition
I have a previous edition of this book which I've really enjoyed, but something seems to have washed out of this current offering.The book is dedicated to Robert Wallace, who died during the compilation of edition #4, and I'm wondering if the book didn't go to press in a daze.This edition seems slicker, perkier, and less succinct than it's siblings.Still useful and nutritious but in that low-salt, high-fiber way that I don't want my poems or books about poems to have.My suggestion is to try an earlier edition.Read more

Subjects:  1. Authorship    2. Composition & Creative Writing - General    3. Language    4. Language Arts & Disciplines    5. Literature - Classics / Criticism    6. Poetry    7. Reference    8. Language Arts & Disciplines / Composition & Creative Writing    9. Rhetoric    10. Writing & editing guides   

Reviews (2)

Don't waste your money
Just received this book and am returning it pronto. It starts out picturing a kid in a classroom feeling he has nothing to write about because he's not rich like the other kids. It actually suggests giving kids ideas for writing through such life experiences as their parents fighting and them having holes in their socks, to such imaginary experiences as a tree falling on their house and killing their mother in her sleep!! Give me a break! There are MUCH better books out there -- I plan to keep the other 6 writing books for kids that I ordered from Amazon.

A must have for classrooms
I used this book in a 3rd grade classroom where I am student teaching. The students hate to write, but they loved this book. They realized that they really do have a lot to write about. We brainstormed a list of possible writing ideas for the days when they are stuck. They love to get out their list and pick something to write about. This book is a must have for any classroom!!!!!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Authorship    2. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Nonfiction    3. Children's poetry, American    4. Children: Grades 4-6    5. Creative writing    6. Humor - General    7. Juvenile Nonfiction    8. Juvenile poetry    9. Language Arts - Composition & Creative Writing    10. Poetry    11. School & Education    12. Juvenile Fiction / Concepts / Words   

Reviews (9)

This book helped me to become a published poet.
I simply cannot recommend this book highly enough.I ordered it in February of 2005, and it has been a wonderful tool ever since.But to start at the beginning: I had written poetry from a very early age, but had mostly written in common modern ballad form, and had never considered trying out the classical forms of the great poets of the past.I joined an online poetic community, and discovered that there are wonderful forms out there to use.I've often been frustrated by the proliferation of pulp "free verse," not the beautiful, thought-provoking stuff of say, Whitman, but very un-poetic ramblings displaying little or no talent.Well-written "free verse" is a treasure -- but the mediocre sort is nothing more than a trial for the reader.However -- badly written rhyme is even worse! Here, in the pages of Turco's Book of Forms, are exact instructions and excellent blue-prints for such flowing forms as the French ballade and ballade supreme, the rondeau, rondeau redoubled, the Welsh clogyrnach (a traditional bardic form), and many more which I have worked with myself with great success.So, whether you are an amateur poet just beginning to touch the waters of the literary world, whether you are beginning to see some success and want more resources, or even if you just want to read some good poety (there are wonderful examples of many of the forms within the pages), this book will make a fine edition to your library -- and I've no doubt that you will use it often, as I have.

Indispensable
If you are an English teacher in high school or college, or if you have any interest in writing poetry, you should not be without this book or one of its earlier editions.There is simply nowhere else on earth to find the wealth of information that is here.No other book on poetic form even tries to cover as much information as Turco does.
A book I---unfortunately--turn to often
Turco is clearly a man in lust of poetic forms and methods.How long he spent learning the art, compiling information on various meters, stanzas, rhyme schems, and the like, I can't say, but he's done a very thorough job.That he doesn't cover free verse is perfectly understandable as this is, indeed, a book of forms (but to dismiss it outright as poetry at all is part of Turco's trademark pretention).Unfortunately, for somebody writing a book subtitled "A Handbook of Poetics," Turco not only doesn't attempt to make this handbook easy to use, at times he seems to bend over backwards to cause as much frustration as possible.Read more

Subjects:  1. Composition & Creative Writing - Poetry    2. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    3. Literary Criticism    4. Poetics    5. Poetry    6. Regional, Ethnic, Genre, Specific Subject    7. Versification    8. Literary Criticism & Collections / General    9. Poetry & poets   

Reviews (9)

Excellent introduction to poetry
This book has made poetry accessible to me for the first time in my life. The descriptions and explanations are easy to understand and are, on many occasions, lyrical. The author has helped to unravel some of the mystery of poetry for me. Indeed, I am now beginning, from the varied pieces of poetry in the book, to identify particular poets whose work I will explore further. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has always felt daunted and intimidated by poetry.

Poetry is a personal art form - I loved this one
Poetry is a very personal art form, and there will always be divergent reactions to the same work.I have read several textbooks and anthologies.This may not be the strongest text or the broadest anthology, yet taken as a whole it is the most inspiring book about poetry I have ever read.This is a text that stirs the readers emotions to someting other than boredom.It was refreshing to find a text that admits that the scansion of a poem is not set in concrete but can be open to interpretation.The selection of poems is broad and avoids the flood of dated political "poems" that have dominated college texts in years past.Any professor would do well to include this in their book list.I am amazed that any teacher would think a course in poetry or literature could be taught from only one text.

Little Value as an Anthology, Less as a Guide to Poetry
I used this book as a last minute replacement in teaching a collegiate, first year poetry class -- the anthology I intended to use had it's publication date pushed back. As such, I used it essentially sight unseen, figuring the low price would cover my not having seen it first hand. But even with the price I was terribly embarrassed for using it.
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Subjects:  1. American poetry    2. Appreciation    3. Composition & Creative Writing - General    4. English poetry    5. History and criticism    6. Literary Criticism    7. Poetics    8. Poetry    9. Reference    10. Language Arts & Disciplines / Composition & Creative Writing   

Reviews (4)

Great for older kids and adults
I really enjoyed the details in this book about from where poetry stems.I loved the idea of just watching the wolrd around you and seeing if a poem somes to you. It does!My only concern is the book uses language that would be too difficult for the average 5th-6th grader to understand.I like that poems from kids are included, but this book seems more appropriate for a teacher to reach and intergrate into his/her curriculum.

A book for beginners
Here's what I didn't like: the personal approach to poetry writting, using as examples personal anecdotes at the beginning of some chapters; the use of bad poems written by students instead of poems written by great poets; the superficial approach to poetry writting.
This is a Great Book for learning how to write poetry!
Hi, I really enjoyed reading Ralph Fletcher's book "Poetry Matters: Writing a Poem from the inside out." He gives lots of good examples. He has interviews with two other poets in the book for ideas on poetry. He makes poetry interesting and fun to learn! I also enjoyed his poetry! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Authorship    2. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Nonfiction    3. Children: Grades 3-4    4. Creative writing    5. Juvenile Nonfiction    6. Juvenile literature    7. Language Arts - Composition & Creative Writing    8. Poetry    9. Poetry - General    10. Juvenile Nonfiction / Poetry / General   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (36)

I Write to Free Myself from My Self
I once wrote the above title in the conclusion of a poem and I think this wonderful little book by Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge radiates that sentiment.
Inspiring
I aman artist who facilitates creative process groups so I've read or browsed dozens of books on writing and creativity.This is one of the best.Written by someone who is clearly a talented artist herself, this book stimulated my own creativity.Unlike other books that have a couple of good ideas and exercises and a lot of filler, this one is rich and inspiring from cover to cover.

An amazing, positive book for all poets!
To me, anyone writing poetry should have three books in their library... "If You Want To Write" by Brenda Ueland, "Break Blow Burn" by Camille Paglia, and this one... "Poemcrazy" by Susan G. Wooldridge... Poemcrazy is a rare find, I've decided, among books on writing and reading poetry - it is a book that offers a positive outlook on writing poems... the ingredients for poems are everywhere, all around us, in the simplest things of our lives, histories and daily experiences... and Poemcrazy is a great book to inspire you to find these things and learn from them and grow as a writer... it's a very simple book to read, the chapters are short but have a good impact... I really am glad to have stumbled across this book by chance! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Authorship    2. Composition & Creative Writing - Poetry    3. General    4. Journalism    5. Language Arts & Disciplines    6. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    7. Poetics    8. Poetry    9. Poetry / General    10. Poetry texts & anthologies   

Editorial Review

"We wanted to create a book," say poets Kim Addonizio and Dorianne Laux in their introduction to Read more

Reviews (22)

My companion
I love poetry, writing it and reading it, but I took a mysterious hiatus from the poetical life for about twenty years and have just come back into the fold. I bought this book, hoping it would stir my inner seas to write again.And it most assuredly has. The chapters focus on subjects for writing poetry and conventions of the craft itself.Each chapter has extensive examples of poems on that topic and gives many exercises to try, or not try, whatever pleases you at the moment.There are also "twenty minute" exercises in the back, but I've spent hours or days creating poems from that resource. For poets interested in publishing, there are a few chapters on this enterprise, but sadly, some of the web links are out of date, since the book was written in 1997. So much has changed on the Web since then. Although I've read the book from beginning to end, now I randomly open to any chapter, select an exercise to try and write away.There is so much material here that I can see myself using their exercises for years.So the price of the book is well worth it.I often experience "writer's block," hence the twenty year layoff, but because I am generally an agile writer, all I usually need is a gentle nudge in a certain direction.Some might argue that a "true" poet doesn't need some book to spur them into writing.Well that's possibly true or possibly not, but when my muse has flown, I need some tangible evidence that she still exists.Perhaps this book helps me with that issue, maybe it will help you too.
Inspirational
I have written more than ever since I started reading this, and it makes me think about writing which helps so much!

Great Poetry Resource
As an instructor, I ordered this book to teach in creative writing classes at two area colleges. The book is easy to follow and does a marvelous job explaining the conventions of contemporary poetry. In addition, both students and instructor like the exercises. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Authorship    2. Composition & Creative Writing - Poetry    3. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    4. Poetry    5. Works by individual poets: from c 1900 -   

Reviews (2)

Simply Splendid
This is some of the best poetry and prose I have ever read by any young person or adult. As a poet I am not easily impressed, but this was some of the best poetry I have ever read. I was equally impressed by the photographs as well. I like the fact that the photographer intentionally did not try to fit the photos with the writings. The rawness of the book was what made it so fascinating. I picked the pick up intending to teach some of the young girls I work with in my afterschool program, but these girls were certainly on another level with their writing. I am now looking forward to reading the male companion. Great Work!!!

Things I Have To Tell You Comments
The book Things I Have To Tell You was an exciting book for me. Its about a girls lives today and how they deal with them. They expressed themselves and showed there view points and life with the world by writing poetry. The poems were different than any other poetry book. They had live stories and told truth, they did not hold back on any information. These girls i think have wrote outstanding poems and i hope they keep doing so and making more books like this one. Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's Books/Young Adult Misc. Nonfiction    2. Children's writings    3. Children: Grades 1-2    4. Juvenile Nonfiction    5. Literary Criticism & Collections    6. Literary collections    7. Poetry - General    8. Secrets    9. Teenage girls    10. Youths' writings    11. Juvenile Nonfiction / Poetry / General   

Reviews (8)

A profound retrospective in which one man speaks for all
Written over forty years, MOUNTAINS AND RIVERS WITHOUT END is poet Gary Snyder's highest achievment. Here he has presented a perception of the world that has taken four decades of experience to put into words. The collection moves chronologically from Snyder's glimpse in the 50's of a Japanese scroll that gave the book its name, though his wanderings in the American West, and into senescene. And Rivers End Without Mountains
I have some ambivalence about giving Snyder 5 stars for this work.I cometo this collection of poems after reading "Turtle Island", whichI liked better overall.It had a bit more of the wide-eyed innocence thatmakes the poetry more heart-felt to me, even with that whole section at theend dedicated to prose on how to make the world a better place. Golden nugget
Golden nugget from Sierra streams.Gold never rusts. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. General    2. Poetry    3. American English    4. Travel writing    5. Works by individual poets: from c 1900 -   

Editorial Review

Just as dancing is "the art of moving in accord with a pattern," says Mary Oliver, so is writing metrical verse. "One sorts out the pattern, one relies on it, and relaxes from effort to pleasure." The rules (concerning rhyme, line length, and pattern) are made if not to be deliberately flouted, then at least to be toyed with. Oliver claims to have written this book for both writers and readers of metrical verse, but it is an odd sort of fit for either. A writer might wish for a little more detail; a reader might find too much. The book works best as a kind of refresher course, for those who have forgotten the difference between metaphysical and Petrarchan conceits, between masculine and feminine rhymes, and would like to brush up a bit. Oliver does a wonderful job of explaining why the most common forms of metrical verse came to prevail (for instance, the five-foot line is "the line which is the closest to the breathing capacity of our lungs"), and of nudging us into reading more metrical poetry (nearly half this volume is devoted to works by John Donne, William Blake, Emily Dickinson, Elizabeth Bishop, and others). Blessedly, Oliver reminds us that, though one could get carried away trying new meters and forms, one shouldn't expect to be writing a lot of double ionics anytime soon."Expect to use one hypersyllabic foot in ten years, perhaps," she says."Anacrusis, rarely. Catalexis: often. The double ionic: when the next comet flies over." Read more

Reviews (7)

Mary Oliver shines
Mary Oliver shines in this prose manual on the writing and issues of poetic composition. Her economy of words combines with an easy style to help an utter novice (like me) gain an understanding of the metric and rhyming tools involved. Clarity and suppleness of expression mark this book and I would recommend it to anyone who reads poetry or has an interest in trying their hand at writing.
So Much More Than I Expected.....
I read this book expecting to learn about metrical poetry: kind of the basics of how they work, how they are constructed. A simple surprise
This book is really well written and inspirational. It helped me to understand better the purpose of metrical poetry. For a lay person such as myself it's easy to fall into thinking that "rules" can only constrict the emotional possibilities of poems. But, Mary Oliver explains, in practical terms, how meter is a tool to evoke an even greater impact from our words. Read more

Subjects:  1. Authorship    2. Composition & Creative Writing - Poetry    3. English language    4. English poetry    5. General    6. History and criticism    7. Literary Criticism    8. Oliver, Mary - Poems & Criticism    9. Poetry    10. Reference    11. Theory, etc    12. Versification    13. English    14. Literary Criticism / Poetry    15. Poetry & poets    16. Poetry texts & anthologies    17. Writing & editing guides   

Reviews (24)

Great book
This provides a lot of important information for people who want to get published in the poetry market!

who knew he was right?
i was introduced to this book by Mangrove editor Neil de la Flor, who at the time was my instructor in a poetry class. he told me if i want to get published or become familiar with the community of poets i should look into this book. i did not buy the book. then Maureen Seaton, a published poet and my advisor, told me about Poet's Market. alright, still did not buy it. this semester i was buying textbooks and had some money leftover, i was going to spend it on junk i did not need but then saw Poet's Market on display at my university bookstore. wow, what a great book. it's basically the yellowpages for publishing houses. this is a definitive guide/resource/phonebook/whatever for getting into the realm of becoming a poet. it is alphabetized for simplicity and then there is an index that allows you locate publishing houses by category and topic.
My Bible to getting published---
I could not go a year without this useful tool. I am new to writing poetry, but I have been published now with the help of Poet`s Market, with their advice and numerous submission listings. I`ve never had a writing class or attended a workshop about poetry, but if I had to recommmend one book to get you started without any formal training, this would be the one. Well, worth the investment. Stop throwing your money away on dozens of magazine subscriptions just to get some publishing leads. Poet`s Market will help to direct you to the ones geared to your style of writing:) ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Composition & Creative Writing - Poetry    2. General    3. Language    4. Language Arts & Disciplines    5. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    6. Publishing    7. Reference    8. English    9. Literary & Linguistic Reference Works    10. Publishing industry    11. Reference works   

Reviews (9)

ahhhhh, a simple classic.
hmmm.. months ago, the "used" copies of this little book were going for fifteen, eighteen dollars a slice. now, i see the same book, the same brilliance, being exchanged for only a few marginal dollars. anyone that is even remotely interested in literature and in poetry, especially, should take advantage of the cheap availability of "poetic meter & poetic form."
And for the poet!
Fussell's foreword says that his book is for aspiring readers, not aspiring writers.But if you are an aspiring poet, I think Fussell has something to offer that is absent in most "handbooks".
Not for the neophyte, but a tremendous study
When I was 21 and in my first year of graduate school, Paul Fussell's "Poetic Meter and Poetic Form" was one of the first text books assigned to me. When I bought the book and saw how slim it was, I snickered, "Grad school's gonna be a walk in the park!"
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Subjects:  1. Composition & Creative Writing - General    2. English language    3. General    4. Literature - Classics / Criticism    5. Poetry    6. Versification    7. Poetry & poets    8. Poetry / General    9. Rhetoric   

Subjects:  1. College readers    2. Composition & Creative Writing - Academic    3. English language    4. General    5. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    6. Literary Criticism    7. Literature: Classics    8. Problems, exercises, etc    9. Readers    10. Report writing    11. Rhetoric    12. Poetry texts & anthologies