What do you think?
Rate this book
Glitter In The Blood: A Poet's Manifesto for Better, Braver Writing
You do not want to write good poems. You want to write great poems. You want to write poems that challenge, inspire and awe. You want to write poems that forever alter your audience, that forever alter yourself. Those poems take guts.
Glitter in the A Poet's Manifesto to Better, Braver Writing will put you in constant contact with your guts. Pushcart prize nominated and highly accomplished performance poet Mindy Nettifee is not going to lead you step-by-step up a how-to staircase. With this collection of essays, prompts and exercises, Mindy is giving you the wrench you need to open up the blood and let it flow into your writing.
Glitter in the A Poet's Manifesto to Better, Braver Writing will put you in constant contact with your guts. Pushcart prize nominated and highly accomplished performance poet Mindy Nettifee is not going to lead you step-by-step up a how-to staircase. With this collection of essays, prompts and exercises, Mindy is giving you the wrench you need to open up the blood and let it flow into your writing.
222 pages, Paperback
First published September 15, 2012
27 people are currently reading
498 people want to read
About the author
Mindy Nettifee
10 books44 followersMindy Nettifee is an award winning writer and accomplished performance poet. She is the author of two full-length collections Sleepyhead Assassins (Moon Tide Press) and Rise of the Trust Fall (Write Bloody Press), and a collection of essays on writing Glitter In The Blood - A Poet's Manifesto for Better, Braver Writing (Write Bloody Press). She is a three time nominee for the Pushcart Prize, and a Powell's Books Indie Press Best Seller 2013. She is a co-editor of the anthology Courage - Daring Poems for Gutsy Girls due out Spring 2014 on Write Bloody Press.
She has performed and taught in over 500 hundreds of venues, colleges and universities across America and Europe, competed in five National Poetry Slams, opened for indie rock act the Cold War Kids, headlined national poetry tours The Last Nerve - A High Tea Poetry Brawl, The Whirlwind Company and The Poetry Revival, and was featured in the critically acclaimed poetry concert documentary The Drums Inside Your Chest.
Mindy currently serves as director of the nonprofit poetry organization Write Now Poetry Society, which she co-founded with actress and author Amber Tamblyn in 2007. Write Now's mission is simply to build the audience for great contemporary poetry. Through her work at Write Now, she has curated poetry events for The Getty Museum, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, GirlFest, the Mission Creek Festival, and others.
She has performed and taught in over 500 hundreds of venues, colleges and universities across America and Europe, competed in five National Poetry Slams, opened for indie rock act the Cold War Kids, headlined national poetry tours The Last Nerve - A High Tea Poetry Brawl, The Whirlwind Company and The Poetry Revival, and was featured in the critically acclaimed poetry concert documentary The Drums Inside Your Chest.
Mindy currently serves as director of the nonprofit poetry organization Write Now Poetry Society, which she co-founded with actress and author Amber Tamblyn in 2007. Write Now's mission is simply to build the audience for great contemporary poetry. Through her work at Write Now, she has curated poetry events for The Getty Museum, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, GirlFest, the Mission Creek Festival, and others.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
November 26, 2013
This book has been highly rated on both Goodreads and Amazon. But sorry, I just couldn't finish it. The voice and tone bugged me throughout, as well as the endless digressions (tell-all self-therapy sessions), the poetry itself. Sounds like a personal journal.
Some of the chapters ended with a summary in the form of bulleted points. These are often really good. I marked some and will return to them. But I found it tedious to read the whole chapter.
And there are just too many irritating mistakes. Most writers know the difference between its and it's. Most writers know the difference between wreck and wreak (as in wreak havoc). Most writers know that "I" does not follow a preposition (it's "for me"). And there other misplaced apostrophes and poor grammar ("less opportunities"). I'm feeling like a curmudgeon, but sheesh, this is a book on writing. I've never read a book with so many question marks. Also tedious.
Some of the chapters ended with a summary in the form of bulleted points. These are often really good. I marked some and will return to them. But I found it tedious to read the whole chapter.
And there are just too many irritating mistakes. Most writers know the difference between its and it's. Most writers know the difference between wreck and wreak (as in wreak havoc). Most writers know that "I" does not follow a preposition (it's "for me"). And there other misplaced apostrophes and poor grammar ("less opportunities"). I'm feeling like a curmudgeon, but sheesh, this is a book on writing. I've never read a book with so many question marks. Also tedious.
December 25, 2014
Holy bowl of awesome sauce, this book is incredible!
I've read countless books on poetic form and theory in various undergraduate and graduate writing workshops. I did a six-week retreat in Ireland with some of the best writers across two continents. I've picked the brains of nearly every professional writer I've ever met. The simple truth is that this is the best book on writing poetry in print. Mindy doesn't just unpack the writing process, she sets the curtain on fire and shatters the looking glass; she tears down the fourth wall.
Glitter in the Blood is not a one-dimensional manifesto of one woman's journey into the poetic. It's an unbridled and vulnerable dialogue with the reader. Mindy walks the reader through every poem, from prompt to brainstorming to first draft to revision. She invites you into the thought process and, at times, leaves an actual map of her cognitive leaps for you to follow. I came away with a better understanding of writing, but also a better understanding of myself. This is more than a book on writing - you'll learn fascinating tidbits about feminism, coming of age in a patriarchal society, the economy, and plenty more.
Not convinced? Consider this: I'm a public school teacher at one of the poorest schools in our state, and I'm already taking the steps to buy a class set with my own money just to get this book into my students' hands.
Don't just get better at poems. Get better at life. Get this book.
I've read countless books on poetic form and theory in various undergraduate and graduate writing workshops. I did a six-week retreat in Ireland with some of the best writers across two continents. I've picked the brains of nearly every professional writer I've ever met. The simple truth is that this is the best book on writing poetry in print. Mindy doesn't just unpack the writing process, she sets the curtain on fire and shatters the looking glass; she tears down the fourth wall.
Glitter in the Blood is not a one-dimensional manifesto of one woman's journey into the poetic. It's an unbridled and vulnerable dialogue with the reader. Mindy walks the reader through every poem, from prompt to brainstorming to first draft to revision. She invites you into the thought process and, at times, leaves an actual map of her cognitive leaps for you to follow. I came away with a better understanding of writing, but also a better understanding of myself. This is more than a book on writing - you'll learn fascinating tidbits about feminism, coming of age in a patriarchal society, the economy, and plenty more.
Not convinced? Consider this: I'm a public school teacher at one of the poorest schools in our state, and I'm already taking the steps to buy a class set with my own money just to get this book into my students' hands.
Don't just get better at poems. Get better at life. Get this book.
July 17, 2018
Consider this the anti-establishment poetry manual, akin to John Muir’s underground VW repair manual, How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive, that was popular back in the ‘70s. While we get the usual advice about finding ideas, metaphors, forms, and showing not telling, this is the most unusual poetry-writing advice book I have ever read. Nettifee, poet and performance artist, speaks directly to us in a casual tone that breaks through the walls to let us into the process of writing this book while she’s writing it. The sample poems she uses here are her own. She shows us why and how she wrote them as she did. The language is casual, a little crazy, laden with capital letters and italics, and occasionally not grammatically correct. She threads in references to songs, movies, and books, as well as bits of astronomy, psychology, and the meanings of Tarot cards. The chapters include assignments that seem a little nuts, but they’re designed to open up all the walls and let your true poet-self come tumbling out. It works, and for once poetry is FUN. I devoured this book in a few days. I loved it.
December 10, 2025
I think this would’ve been better for me to read when I was first writing poetry, between the ages of 16-19. This is a great book for beginners, but think a lot of the magic is lost on someone that’s been writing for a decade or more.
Still, I found value in this! Some of the prompts are creative, and I bookmarked a ton of pages to reference later in my own teaching. This is not an intimidating writing guide—the tone is light, and cheerful, and encouraging, which is why I think teens especially will respond well to it. I’ll definitely be returning to this in the future and am glad to have a copy.
My rating is knocked down to a 3 for two main reasons. One is that this needed a better proofreader. I’m surprised that a publisher that’s (now) as established as Write Bloody would let something go to print with so many noticeable errors.
The second reason is that I’ve never read a craft book where the author only uses their own poetry as examples, and I didn’t like that choice. Maybe this was a way of getting around having to get the licensing for other poets’ work, but while it was somewhat interesting getting the inside scoop on how Nettifee crafted her poems it felt a bit unprofessional. I didn’t really care for any of the poems she shared, which cast doubt on some of her teachings. I think these things can be separated, but it puts the reader in an awkward position.
Overall, I’m glad I read this! But think that unless you teach poetry yourself, this isn’t something you need to read if you’ve been writing five years or more.
Still, I found value in this! Some of the prompts are creative, and I bookmarked a ton of pages to reference later in my own teaching. This is not an intimidating writing guide—the tone is light, and cheerful, and encouraging, which is why I think teens especially will respond well to it. I’ll definitely be returning to this in the future and am glad to have a copy.
My rating is knocked down to a 3 for two main reasons. One is that this needed a better proofreader. I’m surprised that a publisher that’s (now) as established as Write Bloody would let something go to print with so many noticeable errors.
The second reason is that I’ve never read a craft book where the author only uses their own poetry as examples, and I didn’t like that choice. Maybe this was a way of getting around having to get the licensing for other poets’ work, but while it was somewhat interesting getting the inside scoop on how Nettifee crafted her poems it felt a bit unprofessional. I didn’t really care for any of the poems she shared, which cast doubt on some of her teachings. I think these things can be separated, but it puts the reader in an awkward position.
Overall, I’m glad I read this! But think that unless you teach poetry yourself, this isn’t something you need to read if you’ve been writing five years or more.
October 13, 2020
I found this work inspiring and educational though definitely not for every poet, which is why I only give it four stars. I have also taken away a star because the work is riddled with editorial errors and in a book that deals with editing, I would expect it to be better edited. The author comes across much like a professor at times, but it is pretentious. I do not count off for this though, because I find a great deal of awareness throughout the book, especially by the end, which makes me think the author knows this and has no reason to care. I am honored to read the intricacies of the mind of one of my favorite poets and find out the interworkings of their poet's brain, and in doing so, I gained much more. While I would not recommend this to everyone, the select few who are like myself that would enjoy it are certain to cherish it always.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 28, 2014
Very informative
December 27, 2017
A plethora of ideas on how to be creative when writing, but the tone and prose comes across as frenetic and scattered.
April 12, 2025
This might be the most practical and exciting reference I’ve read on creative writing. Mindy Nettifee’s voice feels like sitting across from your favorite writer-friend while she hands you tips written in glitter glue. I loved how she wove in poetry, science, politics, and personal stories to make each point land.
This book gave me paper (the practical) and glitter (permission to be braver) for better writing. I was sad when it ended—but I’m now subscribed to her Substack, so the sparkle continues.
I’ve shared poems I wrote using the writing prompts from this book on my poetry account @september.stardust on Instagram— come by if you’d like to see how this book lit a fire in me.
Thank you, Mindy. I really do feel more glitter-y in my blood. Here’s to better, braver writing.
This book gave me paper (the practical) and glitter (permission to be braver) for better writing. I was sad when it ended—but I’m now subscribed to her Substack, so the sparkle continues.
I’ve shared poems I wrote using the writing prompts from this book on my poetry account @september.stardust on Instagram— come by if you’d like to see how this book lit a fire in me.
Thank you, Mindy. I really do feel more glitter-y in my blood. Here’s to better, braver writing.
March 4, 2024
New to poetry and heard about this book in a class I took. It’s taken me a while to get through it, but I love it. I struggle a lot of with boring abstract nouns and chapter 19 gave me the first concrete ways I’ve seen to maybe break out of the boring ness of my brain and my struggle with image and metaphor and electricity in poetry. I’m excited to try some of these ideas. Bravo. Love this book and will re read parts over and over.
July 26, 2018
I so appreciate people who can turn a seemingly invisible process into something accessible and concrete (well...as concrete as poetry writing can be). I’m just bursting with ideas and feel so lucky to have read this.
Admittedly, Mindy does get a bit long winded in parts, but I found it more endearing than distracting. Like watching a good friend get swept up in telling a story.
Admittedly, Mindy does get a bit long winded in parts, but I found it more endearing than distracting. Like watching a good friend get swept up in telling a story.
January 17, 2022
Lovely craft textbook/writing memoir. Nettifee's style is intimate, conversational, and zesty. Her writing tips and advices are quite inspiring, and I look forward to using this as a teaching resource in my creative writing workshops. Thoroughly enjoyed reading this and will definitely be picking it back up over and over.
May 9, 2020
Could have used a better proofreader, but otherwise enjoyable and inspiring.
January 29, 2022
If I could give this book 10 stars, I would.
Read
February 1, 2024I'm
December 10, 2025
This was helpful. Sometimes it veered off topic a little too much for me.
March 16, 2023
freedom beauty truth and loooove
October 29, 2012
Mindy Nettifee, a wonderful poet and performer, is the sore aching earth's gift to the sore aching writer. She writes with bone-blood honesty (and plenty of glitter!). She tosses in erudite references, and adds examples from her own work. This is knowledge hard-won and generously given.
Her how-to-write-and-not-die-in-the-attempt book is eminently rewarding, encouraging and inspiring. I teach a Creative Writing class and had this been published sooner, I would have made it required reading for my students.
Her how-to-write-and-not-die-in-the-attempt book is eminently rewarding, encouraging and inspiring. I teach a Creative Writing class and had this been published sooner, I would have made it required reading for my students.
May 5, 2016
Glitter in the Blood specifically addresses poetry however the author provides insights and ideas that will impact my fiction writing as well as my thoughts on my place in the universe. Thank you Mindy!
April 11, 2014
The best book I have ever read on writing poetry.
February 10, 2013
Brilliant.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews