Poetry: A Writers' Guide and Anthology

Poetry: A Writer's Guide and Anthology #1st edition

by Amorak Huey, W. Todd Kaneko, Joe Wilkins (Series Editor)

Poetry: A Writers' Guide and Anthology is a complete introduction to the art and craft of writing poetry. The authors map out more than 25 key elements of poetry including image, lyric, point of view, metaphor, and movement and use these elements as starting points for discussion questions and writing prompts. The book guides the reader through a range of poetic modes including:

- Elegy
- Found poems
- Nocturne
- Ode
- Protest poems
- Ars Poetica
- Lyric
- Narrative

Poetry also offers inspiring examples of contemporary poetry covering all the modes and elements discussed by the book, including poems by: Billy Collins, Sherman Alexie, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Natalie Diaz, Traci Brimhall, Terrance Hayes, Richard Blanco, Danez Smith, Natasha Trethewey, Mark Halliday, Eileen Myles, Mary Jo Bang, Tracy K. Smith, Ocean Vuong, and many others.

Genres: Poetry, Writing, Nonfiction, Teaching

296 pages, Paperback

First published January 11, 2018

Reviews

[Amorak Huey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m teaching with this book, which means I have to come up with new things to say in class.

[Ashlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I use this book to teach HS senior creative writing. The short one-ish page chapters on the “elements” of poetry take the mysticism out of poetry and instead turn it into a craft to be honed.

[Shelby Anne Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have been returning to this since I first had to use it in a college class years ago, so I figured it was worth reviewing given how often I've been referencing it post-graduation

[Keith Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I admit that I have retired now and I don't spend a lot of time anymore thinking about creative writing pedagogy, but before I did I read this fairly recent textbook and blurbed it. Struck me then as one of the very good ones, and still does. Here's the blurb I wrote:


For a while now, many of us have seen the need to redefine – and hopefully to reinvigorate – the teaching of poetry writing. Amorak Huey and W. Todd Kaneko, by stressing “practice rather than interpretation,” have made a poetry writing textbook that dances in the mind, even as it takes all of us back to the pleasure and hard work of our art. They are generous with the “elements” of poetry that animate their own teaching. Their illustrative anthology at the end may be the best collection of “contemporary classic” poems currently available. This is a book we – all of us, from beginners to wizened masters – could use in the classroom or simply sit down and read.

[Audrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great introduction to poetry for someone who wants to learn the basic techniques. What's special about this book is the combination of techniques and anthologies to demonstrate different types of poems. There's also a list of poetry prompts, which I especially appreciated. This textbook is a perfect pairing with a poetry class ;) or an excellent tool for studying poetry on your own.

[Ananya Grace Haldar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Practical advice and clear explanations regarding all elements of poetry including imagery, lyrics, metaphors, movement, punctuation, rhythm and much much more. As a beginner poet with no formal comprehensive writing skills, this book is a tremendous writing tool I return to time and time again. It's not a dry textbook, it's a fun, easy to understand, useful guide that helps through every stage of the art of poetry writing. This textbook is a complete joy to study.

[Amorak Huey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heck, yeah, I'm giving my own book 5 stars!

[Law of Literature PH · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the best book I've read on how to write (and read) poetry. I've tried reading other books before like Edward Hirsch's How to Read Poetry or Steve Kowit's In the Palm of Your Hand or Mary Oliver's Poetry Handbook, but nothing really helped me crack that mystery around poems. At best, maybe Ted Kooser's The Poetry Home Repair Manual.

Maybe it's how Huey and Kaneko broke down the elements of poetry and included an anthology of poems as examples. Whenever they discussed a particular element, they'd cite a poem that uses this particular element and the reader can check the poem out to see the element in action.

Other books on poetry tend to be very vague or refuse to define poetry for fear of being prescriptive. Or it's the author's poetics on poetry. These kinds of books are not helpful for beginning writers (and readers) of poetry.

Some might say that Huey and Kaneko are oversimplifying poetry, but that's exactly what a book for beginners should do. Once they've gotten past the "basic" elements of poetry, then they can move on to the more mystical parts of poetry and learn for themselves what poems mean.

After reading this book, I became more comfortable reading poems. I didn't understand their full meaning, but I was satisfied just listening to the sounds or seeing the images that the poem wants me to see. And this allowed me to understand maybe 80% of the poem. Even if i don't understand anything, I'd just move on to the next poem.

If you, like me, have been struggling to understand poems for the longest time, I suggest reading this book as a starting point.

[Joyy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have worked through this book in sections a couple times over the last 7-8 years, but this is the first time I’ve read it in entirety in one (months-long) reading. I bought it as a class requirement, but it is genuinely so helpful and chock-full of ideas, information, examples, encouragement - I could go on. I expect I will continue to return to this in the future.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible resource. As someone who hasn't had a formal writing class in years this book had helped me immensely.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Literary Life Reading Challenge 2021 - A Poetry Anthology

[Michelle Robert]

Read for class

[Gabriella · Rating 3 out of 5]

i read (parts of) this book for my poetry 1 class. i thought the breakdown of poetry as if it was elements on the periodic table was clever; an overt connection between science and writing is not something i had ever seen in a craft book before. that being said, like most craft books, there wet parts that i thought were insightful and useful and others i completely disagreed with. and the anthology in the back had many great poems and many not-great poems. i would recommend this book to people who want to learn poetry, but not as the first step.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an enjoyable book to read and teach as a poet! I especially love their more holistic exploration of certain elements of poetry, which resists voiding poetry of its magic with over-explanatory and/or didactic definitions. A nice mixture of practical advice / information and inspirational perspective for better approaching, understanding, and writing poetry.

[Morgan Rae · Rating 5 out of 5]

perfect perfect perfect perfect perfect !! if you want to write contemporary poetry, this is seriously what you need. highly recommend.