The Roar on the Other Side: A Guide for Student Poets

by Suzanne Underwood Rhodes

For all its storied past and lofty reputation, poetry is really just the art of noticing, naming, and comparing the stuff of this world. Unlike the eye of modern science (which sees the world as a giant specimen for us to dissect), poetry fosters and nurtures life by finding wonder in the nooks and crannies of ordinary life. Suzanne Rhodes, a longtime poet and teacher, offers The Roar on the Other Side as an introductory guide for students (junior high and up). Clear and imaginative, this book makes poetry approachable. Focusing on the importance of sight and the necessity of practice, Rhodes easily communicates the joy of words to her readers and helps them see how good poetry binds all seemingly-contradictory things together. Students will emerge from this book with a good handle on the basics of writing poetry and a new appreciation for the awesome world in which we live.

Genres: Poetry, Writing, School, Nonfiction, Education, Christian, Self Help

192 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2000

About the author

Suzanne Underwood Rhodes is the author of two previous volumes of poetry, What a Light Thing, This Stone and Weather of the House, and has published two collections of creative prose, A Welcome Shore and Sketches of Home. Her work is often praised for the power of its lyricism and spiritual depth. A native of New York, she lives and writes in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Besides writing poetry, she is an editor, speaker and adjunct college in-structor, and works fulltime as the director of public affairs for the charity Mercy Medical Airlift. She and her husband, Wayne Rhodes, a photographer, enjoy hiking and riding bikes along the shore. Together they have five children and four grandchildren.

Reviews

[jess h. · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who didn’t write poetry before reading this book/taking this course I highly recommend it

The author was a Christian and I loved her perspective on things. This opened up a word of literature that I do enjoy and I now love writing poetry. 🤍

[Christine Norvell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A helpful guide for students that is not overwhelming. Teachers can easily pull creative assignments from it too. It reminded me very much of Mary Oliver's Rules for the Dance.

[Riley G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did review this, but that was when I was about halfway in.

My halfway in review:
I used to get so confused as to writing poetry, and give up after writing a line or two. This book has helped me to develop a love for poetry, and I can understand how to write it so much better now!

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That was halfway in. So you can probably tell that reading it all the way through was even more helpful! I loved all the example poems in this book, and Mrs. Rhodes's explanations were just so prosey and easy to grasp. I think I've read each chapter three times. And I'll read each of them again.

If you're having trouble with poetry, or you're already good at poetry, but you want to get better: READ THIS BOOK!

[Caleb M. Powers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent introduction to the task and art of being a poet.

[Winnie Thornton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this. And I still write lousy poetry. But that's just me.

[Lydia Redwine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book for school for my poetry seminar, and though I think it would be fun and useful to those who want to learn to write poetry, I found it rather tedious. I did, however, liked that I learned a lot more stylistic terms and their definitions. Some of the exercises were fun, and I learned more about writing and structure in terms of poetry. I am glad that I read this book and that I am now writing poetry, even if it is for school.

I would recommend this to those who are just starting to write poetry. Plus, the title is pretty cool.

[Tabi · Rating 4 out of 5]

School book but it was pretty good

[Emma R. Pilcher]

Jolly Joffre was the perfect narrator for this book.

[Matthew Huff · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent guide with many helpful reminders.

[Davis Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really appreciate this simple and relatively basic introduction to poetry. Great for students as well as those who are poetically undiscovered and want to understand what it's all about.

[Josiah Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poetry is nowhere near as popular today as it was in the past. There are panoply of reasons for this, but it might be as simple as that most men think that only men who are “light in the loafers” write poetry and most women just don’t have the time or desire for it anymore. Rhodes shows how this shouldn’t be the case, especially for Christians who have multiple poetry books in Holy Writ.

So where does one start? You need to know your terminology first. What even is poetry? What type of poetry rhymes? What type does not? How to string words along? Which words should you avoid? What are typical mistakes of novice poets? Should you try to get your poetry published? How? These and many more questions are answered in this work. If nothing else, you will appreciate poetry more after finishing this book and will no longer relegate it to a sort of frivolous or fantastical activity. This is written for a high school level class on poetry, so it is deep enough to get your feet wet but you may want to look elsewhere for deep diving.

[Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

this seems to be a decent book so far, and I've made some pretty alright poetry as a result of working through it for school. I've only made it to chapter 7 but I can confidently say it has improved my writing skills and changed the way I see the world a little bit. I do have a couple problems with it though... first i wish it taught the "theory" behind poetry (meter, rhyme schemes, syllabic patterns etc.) a closer to the beginning, and second, it's very long winded and doesn't give clear direction on how to actually make a poem... I actualy wrote a poem about that, called how to be a poet:

Susanne seems to think, i should wallow in word soup,
Until for sharp or shining one, i find myself astoop.

Susanne seems to imply, my phrases i should shrink.
"conciseity is poetry", "it's 'sposed to be succinct"

But non the less you ramble, on with endless words,
And torture me with pale phrases, 'til my heart should sink.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

An informative guide on how to write poetry! It tackles a rather abstract subject that could lead to many disagreements over its methodology, but all the little examples were delightful to read and it gave me a more concrete path to playing with words in a format than I would've been able to do on my own. The prompts/exercises didn't always fit, and my classmates and I often deviated from them but they served as satisfactory starting points for pondering and attempts to communicate the humorous or the sublime via the tricky yet malleable interface of language.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a homeschool parent and teacher of homeschooled high schoolers, this has been an immensely helpful resource. I especially like the “stepping stones,” which invite students to begin writing poetry in a very non-threatening manner. Many students and their parents have shared that poetry was “a lot more fun “ than they had expected it to be.

[John E. Norvell · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent overview to the subject of poetry. Right up there with Mary Oliver’s “Rules of the Dance”. Suzanne going through each of the sections of the components that make up poetry, and intersprinkles tips, suggestions, and advice important for the blossoming and experienced poet. I highlighted something on every page.

[Daniel Christensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before this book I really had no idea where to go with poetry or even what kind of poetry I wanted to write, but this book is so well written and laid out that by the end you are not only more aware of the kind of poetry you want to write, but also how to write it.

[Nathan Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best part about this books is that it is filled with examples of what the author is explaining. In addition to teaching you the tools and techniques of writing, it is a survey of excellent poets and poems, with good examples to emulate and bad ones to avoid.

[Nicolas Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely top-notch book on poetry! One I will be referencing in the future. Very inspiring for those who have been intimidated by poetry but are fascinated by its magical nature.

[Myersandburnsie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! I completed this alongside my 11th grader.

[Bev · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love and kept this book 💖

[Ari]

this was a great book. i had to read it for school, but it really helped me understand and organize my thoughts while writing poetry.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

AO year 8. A gem for approaching poetry-as a reader and writer.

[Asher Burns · Rating 3 out of 5]

I still prefer prose.

[Travis Daggett · Rating 1 out of 5]

Probably a great book for people who like poetry . . .

[Gabbi Lübben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid construction. It was a beautiful book; it both informed and delighted me. A helpful companion guide to get anyone started in poetry appreciation and writing.

[Heather]

This book helps guide and show students of all ages why poetry is valuable, how to read and understand poetry, as well as writing their own poetry.

[Noah Gomez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book.

[Jenni Early · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is a great guide to students wanting to learn to write and analyze poetry. It works better when you actually do the exercises inside...

[The Gatekeeper · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only books that I read when I was younger about how to write poetry were written by people who weren't poets. Sometimes they weren't even good writers. So I was very glad to find a whole book about writing poetry that was written by a poet. I could really tell the difference. The whole book reads like poetry; and it not only taught me more about how to write poems, it inspired me to write more. It also contains a lot of great poems by other authors, which, in my opinion, make it worth buying even without all the great advice and exercises. I will definitely be re-reading this book many times in the future.

[Susannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable introduction to the writing of poetry, sprinkled with delightful examples of student poetry and samples of esteemed classics alike. Even the glossary of terms was readable. The author also provides a "teacher toolbox" to help get ideas flowing, and a small poets corner at the end.

I have never aspired to be a poet and doubt my capacity for it, but am willing try my hand at it in order to provide a "life-long learner" example to the upcoming seminar for which I read this book.