How to Write a Poem: Based on the Billy Collins Poem "Introduction to Poetry": Field Guide Series

by Tania Runyan

Is it possible to teach someone how to write a poem? Or does poetry simply “come from the heart” or from a special talent only some can ever hope to have?

Of course there’s no formula for writing an amazing poem. If poems came with instructions like IKEA® coffee tables, we'd all be missing the point. But this book will give you some strategies—some tools, if you will—to assemble your personal, imaginative raw materials into poems that will surprise and intrigue. These strategies are focused primarily on free verse, yet many of the concepts can also be applied to form poetry, at both the inception and revision stages.

How to Write a Poem uses images like the buzz, the switch, the wave—from the Billy Collins poem “Introduction to Poetry”—to guide writers into new ways of writing poems. Excellent teaching tool. Anthology and prompts included.

Genres: Poetry, Writing, Nonfiction

150 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2015

About the author

Tania Runyan is the author of several poetry collections, including What Will Soon Take Place, Second Sky, and A Thousand Vessels. Her first book-length creative nonfiction title, Making Peace With Paradise: An Autobiography of a California Girl, was released in 2022. Tania’s instructional guides, How to Read a Poem, How to Write a Poem, and How to Write a Form Poem, are used in classrooms across the country, and her poems have appeared in publications such as Poetry, Image, Harvard Divinity Bulletin, and The Christian Century. Tania was awarded an NEA Literature Fellowship in 2011. She lives with her family in Illinois, where she teaches sixth grade language arts.

Reviews

[Dona's Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely basic text

Sometimes you read an instructional text and you learn some new things. And sometimes you read an instructional text and learn a bunch of new ways to say the things you'd already learned elsewhere. This one is somewhere right in the middle, with many excellent poems from Runyan herself under discussion. Recommend for beginner poets!

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, of course! Any English teacher worth her salt would follow up a brilliant book on how to read a poem with an equally wonderful book about how to write a poem. Runyan's book is, once again, a kind, unassuming invitation to give poetry a try. This very, very gentle introduction would work well for anyone--I'd say seventh or eighth grade or over. I'm well into middle age, and I turned out a couple as a result of this nifty little guide.

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this for the second time as the first craft book for my senior thesis. It's been a couple years since I read it for my intro to creative writing class, and it was really fun to see how I've incorporated Runyan's techniques into my writing process. Although this book is geared towards beginners, it's good to return to it and be reminded of the basics, and I would definitely recommend it for poets just starting out!

[Katie Karnehm-Esh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, user-friendly journey through writing a poem. Tania also includes a terrific anthology in this and How to Read a Poem.

[Susan Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A conversation the author had with a workshop attendee about writing free verse poetry:

“What are the rules?” he asked.
“There are none,” I said. “It’s free.”
“So it’s just random, then?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Then how do you do it?”
“I don’t know. But it takes a long, long time.”

If you've ever felt like this when trying to learn how to write poetry, do not despair. Since then Runyan has clearly figured out how to help beginners become better writers of poetry. This is one of the best “how to” book for free verse poetry I’ve read, not at all academic and packed with practical advice.

[Antonia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read lots of books of this type — pretty much all I can get my hands on. I'm rating it 4 stars, taking into consideration its aims and audience. It's not reallly for the experienced poet — but it's full of good tips, reminders, examples, and prompts and includes a review of Peter Murphy's revision suggestions (Murphy's Revision Style Sheet). It gave me a lot of ideas for new poems of my own and I'll use some of the prompts in teaching and online workshopping.

[papasteve · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a collection of poetry, edited by poet Billy Collins, after a year of reading poetry for inclusion in the book, wrote in the introduction that he realized a lot of things, and one of those things is there is a lot of bad poetry out there. After reading this book I decided I like reading poetry more than writing it, and I for sure do not want to continue to clutter up the world with my bad poetry, making people like Billy Collins cringe.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I used this book to help teach my high school students how to write a poem. The author has an easy-to-follow process for the reader to use to compose and revise a poem. The anthology of poems included in the book is diverse. I love that the author includes prompts with each poem to get the student to interact with the poem.

[Joshua Gage · Rating 4 out of 5]

Geared towards the absolute beginner, this book offers a lot of quality lessons for new poets. Not a lot of depth or advanced lessons for poets who have a book or two under their belt, I could see using this in a high school workshop.

[Amitha · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun and delightful quick read. Also makes for a nice gift. :)

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Light, clear, and enjoyable; touching on the importance of being "free, open, and fluid" when beginning and working on a poem - a wonderful and un-intimidating introduction to poetry-writing.

[Grace RS · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful little book on the writing life. This was my introductory book into poetry writing, and I still use her various steps.