What do you think?
Rate this book
Writing Poetry To Save Your Life: How To Find The Courage To Tell Your Stories
What I hope to accomplish in this book is to give writing prompts that will help you to get past all the outside influences that keep you from believing in yourself and in your ability to write. In order to write, you need to get rid of notions about language, poetic form, and esoteric subject matter ? all the things that the poetry police have told you are essential if you are to write. I wanted to start from a different place, a place controlled by instinct rather than by intelligence. Revision, the shaping and honing of the poem, should come later, and, in revising, care always needs to be taken to retain the vitality and electricity of the poem. Anyone can learn to craft a capable poem, but it is the poems that retain that initial vitality that we remember; these are the poems that teach us how to be human.
202 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
67 people are currently reading
425 people want to read
About the author
Maria Mazziotti Gillan
43 books27 followersMaria Mazziotti Gillan is a recipient of the 2011 Barnes & Noble Writers for Writers Award from Poets & Writers, and the 2008 American Book Award for her book, All That Lies Between Us (Guernica Editions). Her latest book is What We Pass On: Collected Poems 1980-2009 (Guernica Editions, 2010).
She is the Founder and Executive Director of the Poetry Center at Passaic County Community College in Paterson, NJ, and editor of the Paterson Literary Review. She is also Director of the Creative Writing Program and Professor of Poetry at Binghamton University-SUNY.
She has published twelve books of poetry, including The Weather of Old Seasons (Cross-Cultural Communications), and Where I Come From, Things My Mother Told Me, and Italian Women in Black Dresses (Guernica Editions). With her daughter Jennifer, she is co-editor of four anthologies: Unsettling America, Identity Lessons, and Growing Up Ethnic in America (Penguin/Putnam) and Italian-American Writers on New Jersey (Rutgers).
Maria was born and raised in Paterson, New Jersey, attended Paterson public schools and is a graduate of Eastside High School. She now lives in Hawthorne, New Jersey.
She is the Founder and Executive Director of the Poetry Center at Passaic County Community College in Paterson, NJ, and editor of the Paterson Literary Review. She is also Director of the Creative Writing Program and Professor of Poetry at Binghamton University-SUNY.
She has published twelve books of poetry, including The Weather of Old Seasons (Cross-Cultural Communications), and Where I Come From, Things My Mother Told Me, and Italian Women in Black Dresses (Guernica Editions). With her daughter Jennifer, she is co-editor of four anthologies: Unsettling America, Identity Lessons, and Growing Up Ethnic in America (Penguin/Putnam) and Italian-American Writers on New Jersey (Rutgers).
Maria was born and raised in Paterson, New Jersey, attended Paterson public schools and is a graduate of Eastside High School. She now lives in Hawthorne, New Jersey.
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
May 11, 2015
I was lucky enough to attended a poetry workshop with Maria Mazziotti Gillan. At the end copies of her books were up for sale and this one sold out before I could grab my own copy. That day I ordered one for myself from Amazon and I'm so glad that I did. In this book Maria is everyone's biggest supporter. She wants you to write and write for yourself. If no one else believes in you, Maria does. Maybe if I hadn't had actually met her I would be suspicious but after her workshop I know she could never be disingenuous. This woman is a true talent not just in her own work but in encouraging the work of others. if you have problems being honest in your writing (like I do), this book is a world of help.
April 30, 2025
This is one of the best instructional guides to writing poetry out there! Maria Mazziotti Gillan provides great examples throughout the text. There are excellent prompts and templates to model after. Gillan is a highly acclaimed poet as well, so it's coming from a credible place.
January 30, 2023
The first 85 pages are fairly typical writing tips (i.e.: use a journal, read a lot, read poems - yours and others - aloud, ). These 22 chapters are quick to read and easily digested; a few are supported with examples of Gillian's poetry. If you've looked into other writing manuals, this section is fine if a bit shop-worn.
The last 100 pages are approx. four groups of five prompts per. page. The prompts are relatively short, so all five would easily fit on a PowerPoint slide. As a quick reference this is handy; as a teacher, I can go through them and use them as presented, or pick and choose. As a grab-and-go collection of prompts, this is solid.
As a HS English teacher, I love the breadth of the prompts, although I prefer collections from Two-Sylvia's Press, Everything is Writable: 240 Poetry Prompts from Two Sylvias PressThe Daily Poet: Day-By-Day Prompts For Your Writing Practice, which present slightly more involved prompts.
The last 100 pages are approx. four groups of five prompts per. page. The prompts are relatively short, so all five would easily fit on a PowerPoint slide. As a quick reference this is handy; as a teacher, I can go through them and use them as presented, or pick and choose. As a grab-and-go collection of prompts, this is solid.
As a HS English teacher, I love the breadth of the prompts, although I prefer collections from Two-Sylvia's Press, Everything is Writable: 240 Poetry Prompts from Two Sylvias PressThe Daily Poet: Day-By-Day Prompts For Your Writing Practice, which present slightly more involved prompts.
June 16, 2025
This was a pretty interesting and useful book ! Reminded me a bit of the artists way in daily writing & creative practise etc. I feel like I didn’t get heaps from it but cool to gain some new things to think about & prompts. Maybe if I had the hard copy I would find it more useful versus Libby ebook loan lol xxx
April 28, 2023
"...enter the cave where your poems abide. In the cave are all your memories, good and bad, the past, every person you've ever known and loved or hated, everything you are afraid of in the world abd in yourself. In the cave is your rage and your fury and your passion. You have to enter the cave to find all the stories you have to tell and all the poems you have to write."
Poets, read this book! In short chapters (so you can go back to writing!), Gillan encourages her readers to go for it! Be raw and vulnerable and dare to be unlikable in your poems. Because flowery poems aren't doing you any favors.
Poets, read this book! In short chapters (so you can go back to writing!), Gillan encourages her readers to go for it! Be raw and vulnerable and dare to be unlikable in your poems. Because flowery poems aren't doing you any favors.
March 13, 2015
All you need to get started. Highly recommended.
April 15, 2018
Offers lots of encouragement and many prompts for writing.
September 20, 2025
Writing advice is hard, because it's an individual creative process. What works for one person may not work for another. Some of the suggestions in this book are ones I've heard many times (write at the same time, in the same place, every day) and which have not historically borne much fruit for me personally, but others like not worrying about publication or subject matter while writing are good foundational advice.
I think the disconnect for me in this particular book may be that this author's work, of which there were many examples throughout the text, did not especially speak to me. That's fine; everyone is moved by different things. But it did make the book feel overall less in tune with my thought and writing processes. Unfortunately, I didn't find a lot of the prompts very interesting either.
I think the disconnect for me in this particular book may be that this author's work, of which there were many examples throughout the text, did not especially speak to me. That's fine; everyone is moved by different things. But it did make the book feel overall less in tune with my thought and writing processes. Unfortunately, I didn't find a lot of the prompts very interesting either.
April 24, 2020
Maria Mazziotti Gillan offers sound advice and an encouraging voice without the usual pretentiousness this genre is so used to. Gillan levels with her readers and relays what she has learnt in a way that is so human you feel like you're sitting in a workshop with her. Gillan speaks candidly about our fears as poets and overcomes them through the simple belief that you must tell your story anyway. There's nothing exceptional about Gillan's advice and what a relief! It is stark, no bullshit advice that makes sense and cuts through the noises that daunt us.
April 21, 2021
It's a nice read for someone starting with poetry as it tells you the most basic thing: be yourself. The author's poems that were provided as an example were genuine and I was especially touched by her experience with caring for a husband who has Parkinson's. It was raw and honest which is something young poets should aspire to.
In the end, she has a lot of prompts to choose from so you can start writing even if you don't what to write about.
In the end, she has a lot of prompts to choose from so you can start writing even if you don't what to write about.
July 22, 2022
I’ve always loved Maria Mazziotti Gillian’s poems. I have finished the reading part of this book and am now starting on the prompts. I am so glad I got this book. I haven’t written poems in a while. This book feels so right for getting back into it. Already, I am feeling a shift. I had gotten away from writing poems with heart. I am moving back. Thank you, Maria!
April 1, 2018
Good advice for writing in general and poetry specifically.
Half the book is prompts for writing -- good source if you are looking for that wort of thing.
Half the book is prompts for writing -- good source if you are looking for that wort of thing.
June 25, 2021
Good points and prompts I will surely look back into.
July 22, 2021
Friendly advice about doubt, style and content by a published poet. Prompts that will exercise your inspiration again and again.
March 29, 2022
An excellent read for anyone interest in exploring their poetic side. There is a section on writer's block and a chapter of writing prompts to inspire creative thinking.
August 6, 2022
Simplistic, yet to the point. Not a lot of technical guides here, but it's meant to get you writing in a general way.
April 18, 2023
Short, but very good. The samples of the writer's own poems made me cry.
Read
February 6, 2024Feels very surface-level. Maybe it works for some people, but not me.
March 13, 2021
A pleasant read about writing poetry. Includes assorted poems including some by the author. A non-intimidating introduction to someone thinking about writing poetry but not sure where to start.
October 12, 2021
A good starting point for new poets. It can be done. It can be done by you. And me.
June 17, 2015
Inspiring with excellent examples of poetry that flows; offers myriad helpful writing prompts
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews