The Essential Poet's Glossary

by Edward Hirsch

A Poet’s Glossary was an extraordinary achievement that continues to stand as a definitive source for poets and poetry lovers alike. Here, The Essential Poet’s Glossary gleans the very best from that extraordinary volume.

"An instant classic that belongs on the bookshelf of every serious poet and literature student."― Washington Post

Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets Edward Hirsch has compiled poetic terms spanning centuries and continents, including forms, devices, movements, aesthetics, rhetorical terms, and folklore. Knowing how a poem works is crucial to unlocking its meaning―entries will deepen readers’ relationships with their favorite poems and open greater levels of understanding in each new poem they encounter.

Shot through with the enthusiasm, authority, and sheer delight that made A Poet’s Glossary and How to Read a Poem so beloved, this Essential edition is the book that all readers, writers, teachers, and students of poetry will return to again and again.

Genres: Poetry, Writing, Reference

400 pages, Paperback

Published April 4, 2017

About the author

Edward Hirsch is a celebrated poet and peerless advocate for poetry. He was born in Chicago in 1950—his accent makes it impossible for him to hide his origins—and educated at Grinnell College and the University of Pennsylvania, where he received a Ph.D. in Folklore. His devotion to poetry is lifelong.He has received numerous awards and fellowships, including a MacArthur Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, an Ingram Merrill Foundation Award, a Pablo Neruda Presidential Medal of Honor, the Prix de Rome, and an Academy of Arts and Letters Award. In 2008, he was elected a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets.
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Edward Hirsch’s first collection of poems, For the Sleepwalkers (1981), received the Delmore Schwartz Memorial Award from New York University and the Lavan Younger Poets Award from the Academy of American Poets. His second collection, Wild Gratitude (1986), won the National Book Critics Award.
Since then, he has published six additional books of poems: The Night Parade (1989), Earthly Measures (1994),On Love (1998), Lay Back the Darkness (2003), Special Orders (2008), and The Living Fire: New and Selected Poems (2010), which brings together thirty-five years of poems.Hirsch is also the author of five prose books, including A Poet’s Glossary (2014), the result of decades of passionate study, Poet’s Choice (2006), which consists of his popular columns from the Washington Post Book World, and How to Read a Poem and Fall in Love with Poetry (1999), a national bestseller. He is the editor of Theodore Roethke’s Selected Poems (2005) and co-editor of The Making of a Sonnet: A Norton Anthology (2008). He also edits the series “The Writer’s World” (Trinity University Press).Edward Hirsch taught for six years in the English Department at Wayne State University and seventeen years in the Creative Writing Program at the University of Houston. He is now president of the
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.

Reviews

[Linda Snow · Rating 5 out of 5]

My latest poetry binge started up again with Amanda Gorman, got more fierce watching Dickinson, and now I can’t leave it alone for even one day. Just now adding this research book to my completed read shelf, but it’s purpose is consultation.

[Patrick Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an actual glossary, a book meant to be kept on the shelf and referenced as the need arises. It’s not meant to be read straight through front to back, though one could easily do so for pleasure. I did not read the whole thing. I started at the beginning and read every entry that intrigued me until I reached the end, which was probably a little over half. I absolutely loved what I read, and I plan to keep this book on my shelf until it or I fall apart. The entries are informed by Hirsch’s considerable erudition, and enlarged my understanding of several key ideas in poetics. So glad I picked this up. I’m sure I’ll revisit it many times in the future.

[L.B. Sedlacek · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re a Poet then this book is not only a must read but also one you should have on hand for reference. It contains everything you need to know _about_ poetry. It is not a how to write poetry book. It’s easy to read and well put together. An excellent must have resource for Poets!

[J & J · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have liked more examples of finished products.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always get terms confused. this was helpful.

[Justin Jannise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a handy resource with some interesting and idiosyncratic entries that don’t often appear in other poetry handbooks and glossaries.

[Taylor Franson-Thiel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book took me MONTHS to read. And not because it was boring or lacking in any way, just because it was dense and FULL of beautiful definitions and insights.

I got told by my thesis committee that I needed to expand my repertoire of poetic knowledge and this book did certainly help with that. Not only do I feel like I know more about poetry (across many different cultures) but I am reminded of my poetry matters and I am inspired to try many of the different poetic styles discussed.

A really necessary read for poets that I will revisit as I continue to pursue my masters and MFA.