Bibliography of Books on Writing Poetry

[emurer]

Annotated Bibliography of Books on Writing Poetry.

This is intended as the "master list" discussed in a previous thread . In addition to annotating the books in my own collection, I'm drawing on annotations provided, and listing members who recommended each book.

There is room for multiple annotations if anyone has input.

Esther

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Addonizio, Kim. Ordinary genius: A guide for the poet within. Norton, 2009.
Not a systematic introduction to poetic craft, but a sort of postscript to The Poet's Companion. (emurer)

Addonizio, Kim and Dorianne Laux. The Poet's Companion: A Guide to the Pleasures of Writing Poetry. Norton, 1997.
Organized into sections: Subjects for Writing; The Poet's Craft; The Writing Life. Most chapters end with "Ideas for Writing," and there is a section "Twenty-minute writing exercises" at the end of the book . (emurer; also rec by kaltica, xxbobby68)

Alderson, Daniel. Talking Back to Poems: a Working Guide for the Aspiring Poet. Celestial Arts, 1996.
Author is high school teacher; book is based on method he uses in his classes. (rec dmanister)

Attridge, Derek. Poetic Rhythm; an Introduction. Cambridge Univ. Pr., 1995.
Advanced, technical work on analyzing the rhythms of speech and poetry. Includes chapters on rhythmic analysis of free verse. (emurer)

Baer, William. Writing Metrical Poetry: Contemporary Lessons for Mastering Traditional Forms. Writer's Digest Books, 2006.
Organized chiefly by form, with older and contemporary examples. Interspersed notes on other subject are listed in the table of contents. Includes assignments (exercises). (emurer)

Bender, Sheila. Writing Personal Poetry: Creating poems from your life experiences. Writer's Digest Books, 1998.
Focuses on mining your own experience for material for poems, and how to shape it. (emurer)

Bishop, Wendy. Thirteen Ways of Looking for a Poem: A Guide to Writing Poetry. Longman, 2000.
focuses on 20th-century variations on established poetic forms. I know of no other book with this particular slant. It's expensive, but for those who are serious about formal poetry it might be worth it. (emurer)

Boisseau, Michelle and Robert Wallace Writing Poems. 5th ed. Longman, 2000. (6th ed. Longman, 2003. 7th ed. due July 2007.)
[5th ed] Divided into three main sections: Form, Subject, and Process. Each chapter has exercises ("Questions and suggestions") and about 10 pages of "poems to consider." I find this user-friendly. (emurer)

Bugeja, Michael J. The Art and Craft of Poetry. Writer’s Digest, 2001.
(dmanister)

Ciardi, John and Miller Williams. How Does a Poem Mean? 2d ed. Houghton Mifflin, 1975. Out of Print.
Many years ago it was an eye-opener for me on what to look for in poetry, and thus, what to put into it. (bobahop)

Clark, Kevin. The Mind's Eye: A Guide to Writing Poetry. Pearson Longman, 2008.
Designed for a one-semester college course on poetry writing. Examples from contemporary poets. Exercises.(emurer)

Corn, Alfred. The Poem's Heartbeat; a Manual of Prosody. Story Line Pr., 1997. Out of print.
(dmanister, G. Wilkens)

Couturier, Andy. Writing Open the Mind: Tapping the subconscious to free the writing and the writer. Ulysses, Press, 2005.
A large variety of off-the-wall techniques and experiments designed to get one off the rational plane, whether for writing poetry or prose. (emurer)

Davidson, Chad and Gregory Fraser. Writing poetry: creative and critical approaches. Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.
Advanced. Encourages students "to delve deeper itno their work by becoming accomplished critics and active readers of poetic texts." (emurer)

Deutsch, Babette. Poetry Handbook; a Dictionary of Terms. 4th ed. Collins, 1982.
published in 1957 but a great guide to forms. (dmanister)

Dobyns, Stephen. Best Words, Best Order; Essays on Poetry. 2d ed. Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.
I got this about three months ago and have almost destroyed it already. I keep coming back to it again and again. There are so many great discussions about different aspects of poetry: tone, pacing, the writer's awareness of the reader, there's a great discussion on free verse and how it evolved as well. This is less a nuts and bolts 'how to' book and provides more of an overview. Man, its all I can do not to just shove it in my mouth and eat it! (Hatrabbit)

Drake, Barbara. Writing poetry. 2d ed. Harcourt Brace, 1994.
Good all-round college poetry writing textbook. Pricey; worth looking for a used copy. (emurer)

Drury, John. Creating Poetry. Writer's Digest Books, 1991.
Includes copious (and playful) exercises– over 300. Deliberately stints on examples, but points to where the user can find them, though in an unsystematic way. I find this book rewarding. (emurer)

Drury, John. The Poetry Dictionary. 2d ed. Writer's Digest Books, 2006.
Arranged alphabetically, with examples. Related terms are sometimes grouped into major entries (e.g., rhetorical devices). Good index. (emurer; also dmanister)

Dunning, Stephen and William Stafford. Getting the Knack: 20 Poetry Writing Exercises. National Council of Teachers of English, 1992.
Designed as a sequence of exercises for beginners, progressing from easier to harder, each one illustrated step by step, and followed by "poems in response". A delightful workbook. (emurer)

Eliopulos, Tina and Todd Scott Moffatt. The Everything Writing Poetry Book; a Practical Guide to Style, Structure, Form, and Expression. Adams Media, 2005.
One of the most easily available books, chiefly for beginners. This is pretty awful, IMO. Other opinions? (emurer)

An Exaltation of Forms: Contemporary Poets Celebrate the Diversity of their Art. Edited by Annie Finch and Kathrine Varnes . U of Michigan Pr, 2002.
"The editors invited over fifty contemporary poets to select a poetic meter, stanza, or form, describe it, recount its history, and provide favorite examples. " – editorial review. (rec drumloops)

Fry, Stephen. The Ode less Travelled: Unlocking the Poet Within. Gotham, 2006; UK 2005.
This breezy, witty book focuses specifically on metrical poetry. The book is intended to be worked through in sequence, with no reading ahead. That is a tall order, because it's such a page turner. (emurer; also dmanister, archy, Libertine )

Fussell, Paul, Jr.,\ Poetic Meter and Poetic Form. rev. ed. McGraw-Hill, 1979.
Aimed at readers rather than writers of poetry. Focuses mainly on formal poetry, but 2d ed contains a chapter on free verse. (emurer; also dmanister)

Hirsch, Edward. How to Read a Poem and Fall in Love with Poetry. Harcourt, 1999.
I found this a very exciting and inspiring exploration of the "why" of poetry. Not how to write poetry, but why bother? (emurer. also dmanister, jbrianlong, MaryAnn2)

Hirshfield, Jane. Nine Gates: Entering the MInd of Poetry. Harper Collins, 1997.
This book is not for beginners, for someone unfamiliar with the fundamentals of craft. "These expansive, fearless essays are on the basics of--not poesy in any small sense--but mind, wit, stalking, silky focus, the eros of knowledge, the steely etiquette of art." Gary Snyder on jacket blurb. (indy21)

Hoagland, Tony. Real Sofistikashun: Essays on Poetry and Craft. St. Paul, MN: Greywolf Pr., 2006.
These highly readable essays are appreciative of a wide range of contemporary poetry, from different standpoints such as metaphor, tone, rhetorical and compositional strategies. (emurer)

Hollander, John. Rhyme's Reason: A Guide to English Verse. New, enlarged ed. Yale Univ. Pr, 1989.
This litttle book is a delight: all the definitions are couched in the form being defined, and so do double duty as illustrations. A tour-de-force. (emurer)

Jerome, Judson. The Poet and the Poem. much expanded and revised ed. Writer's Digest Books, 1974.
Based on the author's columns from Writer's Digest. The late 60's-early 70's perspective may be off-putting to some, but it's far-ranging, entertaining, and rich. I reread it with delight. Out of print. (emurer)

Jerome, Judson. The Poet's Handbook. Writer's Digest Books, 1980.
Guide to poetic techiques, with emphasis on metrical poetry. (emurer; also Pat Marsh)

Kinzie, Mary. A Poet's Guide to Poetry. Univ. of Chicago Pr., 1999.
I can only read a page or two a day in this book; takes a lot of brain power to digest the information. However, it's one of the best sources of poetic theory I've come across. (chrissiekl; also rogersc, hatrabbit)

Kooser, Ted. The Poetry Home Repair Manual. Univ. of Nebraska Pr, 2005. (hardcover; paperback due early 2007)
One of the two most helpful books I've read. Not very technical but pleasant to read through; marvelous examples of poems that illustrate the points the author makes about poetry. (chrissiekl; also dmanister)

Kowitt, Steve. In the Palm of your Hand: The Poet's Portable Workshop. Tilbury House, 1995.
One of the two most helpful books I've read. Not very technical but pleasant to read through; marvelous examples of poems that illustrate the points the author makes about poetry. (chrissiekl; also kaltica, G. Wilkens, emurer) Exercises.

Lennard, John. The Poetry Handbook; a Guide to Reading Poetry for Pleasure and Practical Criticism. Oxford Univ. Pr (USA), 1996.
more advanced. (Libertine)

The Making of a Poem: the Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms. Edited by Mark Strand and Eavan Boland. Norton, 2001.
Primarily an anthology, each section is prefaced by a description of the form and a bit about its history. (emurer; also larwar, Libertine, rogersc)

Mayes, Frances. The Discovery of Poetry: A Field Guide to Reading and Writing Poems. Harcourt, 2001.
Includes chapters on interpretation and revision, and a section of exercises with many others scattered throughout under heading "In your notebook". (emurer; also kaltica, dmanister)

Myers, Jack. The Portable Poetry Workshop. Wadsworth, 2005.
Advanced. Picks off where beginning texts on poetry writing leave off. Geared more to revising poems than generating them. Dense, challenging, and examples could be more clearly explained, but I found it stimulating. (emurer)

Oliver, Mary. A Poetry Handbook. Harvest Books, 1994.
(xxbobby68, kaltica)

Oliver, Mary. Rules for the Dance: A Handbook for Writing and Reading Metrical Verse. (Houghton Mifflin, 1998)
Oliver combines instruction with inspiration in a way that is uniquely her own. (emurer)

Ordering the Storm: How to Put Together a Book of Poems. Edited by Susan Grimm. Cleveland: Cleveland State University Poetry Center, 2006.
A dozen authors share their experiences of compiling books of poems. The emphasis is on how the corpus of poems functions as a whole. (emurer)

Padel, Ruth. 52 Ways of Looking at a Poem; or, How Reading Modern Poetry Can Change Your Life. (London: Chatto & Windus, 2002; New York: Vintage, 2004)
Collection of newspaper columns, each containing a detailed explication (2-3 pages) of a contemporary poem written in English. Most poems are from the British Isles. I have the British ed. The US ed appears to be out of print. (emurer)

Pinsky, Robert. The Sounds of Poetry; a Brief Guide. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1998.
I came out of this book with an absolute love of sound in poetry, it was like having fat lumps of cotton wool pulled out of my ears. It's great for beginners too, that's pretty much where I'm at and I found it very accessible and an enjoyable read. – (hatrabbit; also dmanister)

Piper, William Bowman. The Heroic Couplet. Case Western Reserve Univ., 1969. Out of print.
an entire book on rhymed couplets that appear at the end of sonnets! But one can glean a lot of useable info from it. (dmanister)

The Poet's Notebook: Excerpts from the Notebooks of Contemporary American Poets. Edited by Stephen Kuusisto, Deborah Tall, and David Weiss. (Norton, 1995)
Not a how-to book per se, but a fount of inspiration and insights on how poets work and where their poetry comes from. Great for dipping into when I feel dry. (emurer)

The Practice of Poetry: Writing Exercises from Poets who Teach. Edited by Robin Behn & Chase Twichell. (Harper Perennial, 1992)
The more I learn about writing poetry, the more I get out of this, especially the contributors' explanations of what they're trying to teach. (emurer)

Redmond, John. How to Write a Poem. (Malden, MA/Oxford UK, Blackwell, 2006).
More advanced. (emurer)

Roberts, Phil. How Poetry Works. 2d ed. (Penguin, 2000)
Focus on metrical poetry. Poems are printed with the initial stress in each line lining up, the "upbeat" syllables in the left margin. About half the book is "A Millennium Anthology: one thousand year of [English-language] poetry," chronologically arranged. (emurer)

Ryan, Margaret. Extraordinary Poetry Writing. (FranklinWatts, 2006).
Poetry basics for teens. Small book, visually presented. (emurer)

Shapiro, Karl and Robert Beum. A Prosody Handbook. (Harper & Row, 1965)
Handles form effectively. It's been my bible over the years. It's out of print by now, but used copies are available on Amazon. (rogersc; also G. Wilkens)

Shaw. Robert B. Blank Verse: A Guide to its History and Use. (Ohio Univ. Pr, 2007.)
Reading this book caused me to think in longer lines, to be more conscientious in counting syllables for the iambic pentameter I use more frequently now, and in my free verse to less frequently chop up every little clause as if each one were a precious charm of momentous import. (bobahop)

Steele, Timothy. All the Fun's in How You Say a Thing; an Explanation of Meter and Versification. (Ohio Univ. Pr, 1999)
Advanced work focusing on metrical verse, especially iambic pentameter. Extensive bibliography. (emurer)

Thiel, Diane. Open Roads: Exercises in Writing Poetry. Pearson Longman, 2005.
Elementary book for college students. (emurer)

Turco, Lewis. The Book of Forms: a Handbook of Poetics. 3d ed. Univ. Press of New England, 2000.
(G. Wilkens)

Williams, Miller. Patterns of Poetry: An Encyclopedia of Forms. (Louisiana State Univ. Pr, 1986)
Forms grouped by classification, with examples. Index includes forms, terms, authors and titles cited. A useful handy reference. (emurer)

Wooldridge, Susan Goldsmith. Poemcrazy: Freeing your Life with Words. (Three Rivers Pr, 1996)
Focus on wordplay, getting beyond the rational. Sixty short chapters; most end with a section called "Practice." (emurer)

Zukovsky, Louis. A Test of Poetry. Wesleyan Univ. Pr, 2000.
(sbunch)

[emurer]

The bibliography is up. I don't know why it didn't register.

Esther

[Larwar]

Excellent, Esther! Thank you!
_________________
Never wait for the muse. She's probably waiting for you.

[chrissiekl]

Esther, you are awesome! Thank you for this incredibly detailed list.
_________________
—Christine—

"We must not let misery take away our happiness." —Jack Gilbert

[indy21]

Thank you for creating this list. Some of the books I've already read, others I look forward to investigating. In addition, I've forwarded the link to several people who I thought might be interested.
_________________
"Walker, there is no road, only wind-trails in the sea." Antonio Machado, translated by Robert Bly

[emurer]

indy21,

You're welcome. Glad it was helpful.

Esther

[indy21]

Hirshfield, Jane. Nine Gates: Entering the MInd of Poetry. Harper Collins, 1997.

This book is not for beginners, for someone unfamiliar with the fundamentals of craft. "These expansive, fearless essays are on the basics of--not poesy in any small sense--but mind, wit, stalking, silky focus, the eros of knowledge, the steely etiquette of art." Gary Snyder on jacket blurb
_________________
"Walker, there is no road, only wind-trails in the sea." Antonio Machado, translated by Robert Bly

[emurer]

Thanks, Indy. I added it to the list.

Esther

[rogersc]

Esther,

This is a wonderful resource. Just curious--how did the Kooser and Kowitt books come to have the same blurb?

Catherine
_________________
"Poetry is a dignified way of screaming."--Vivian Shipley

[emurer]

Cat,

Oops. I'll have to chase down the thread I copied that from and see which it applied to. Thanks for pointing it out.

Esther