Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com

Average Customer Rating:

The Best Pedagogical Approach to Poetry

Customer Rating:

I've been writing poetry for almost ten years. But I really shouldn't count the years before I was taught with this book, mainly because what I wrote then was preconceived, melodramatic, first-draft garbage. The text systemically breaks down poetry into the smallest unit of sound, while also holistically analyzing it with examples and questions that really allow the student to reflect on the material. The end result is liberation, and not what someone might expect from a book that "teaches" you. No longer will you set out to write the greatest poem ever. You will simply write, and if you learned anything from the book, your writing will automatically be astounding, especially if you compare it to your previous works. I've read many introductory books on poetry. None of them measure up to this one.