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How to Write Poetry
An award-winning poet shares advice and instructions for writing poetry--from keeping a journal to developing an actual poem--in an essential handbook for every aspiring poet which includes a bibliography of great poetry books.
128 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 1999
10 people are currently reading
124 people want to read
About the author
Paul B. Janeczko
62 books48 followersPaul B. Janeczko is a poet and teacher and has edited more than twenty award-winning poetry anthologies for young people, including STONE BENCH IN AN EMPTY PARK, LOOKING FOR YOUR NAME, SEEING THE BLUE BETWEEN, and A POKE IN THE I, which was an American Library Association Notable Book.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
March 22, 2022
I feel so inspired to write some poetry now after reading this book! The author offers many practical and fun ideas to get started on a poetry journey today, including poetry how-to and tips, poetry writing exercises, writing tips from other poets, and poetry resources. Very user-friendly, easy to understand, and inspiring. I love this book.
January 6, 2018
A very straightforward, easy to follow book on how to write poetry. A useful guide for any teacher in juniour and intermediate grades or anyone who is interested in expression through poetry but doesn’t know where to start.
Janeczko provides small sections called “Poetcraft” that look at specific poetic techniques such as figurative language, line breaks, etc., as well as many opportunities for you to implement what you’ve learned through small activities in sections called “Try This...”.
There are many example poems to inspire, as well as writing tips from other poets beside the author.
A great resource to own!
Janeczko provides small sections called “Poetcraft” that look at specific poetic techniques such as figurative language, line breaks, etc., as well as many opportunities for you to implement what you’ve learned through small activities in sections called “Try This...”.
There are many example poems to inspire, as well as writing tips from other poets beside the author.
A great resource to own!
April 7, 2010
How To Write Poetry by Paul B. Janeczko
I bought this book through Scholastic book orders using my bonus points. It came with a pack of other books geared toward teachers attempting to teach their students the tricks of what can be a tricky genre for kids: poetry. I have been pleasantly surprised by the comprehensive nature of Janeczko’s poetry books, as this is not my first book by him. His writing has a conversational tone to it, and he takes his readers on a step-by-step approach through a wide variety of poetry.
The book begins with what should be the staple of any writer: the writer’s journal. Careful to dilineate the difference between a journal and a diary, Janeczko encourages the reader to carry one at all times. Lined or unlined, fancy or simple, he asserts (as most teachers do, too), that a writer should have a safe place to stash ideas. How To Write Poetry then shares wonderful examples of many different kinds of poetry complete with sample poems and easy to follow examples of how a teacher can immediately and explicitly teach a certain kind of poem: acrostic, synonym/antonym poems, clerihews, list poems, history and how-to poems, and finally narrative poetry. My favorites were the list poems the included history and how-to poetry.
“A History of the Faulty Shoes” by Amanda Granum
Tiny white lacy slippers
that I kicked off when I was a baby
Sweet little pink jellies
that I wore on the swing set and broke the strap
Soft leather moccasins
that had beads that fell off
Bright pink sneakers
that were hard to lace up
Little purple velcro tennis shoes
that had a hole in the heel
Shiny black party shoes
that got scratched on the sidewalk
White leather sandals
that got wet in the sprinkler and shrank
Green All-Stars
that rubbed at the toes
Black Mary-Janes
that I still wear today
But who knows? (pgs. 48-49)
“How To Get Out of Homework” by Jared Conrad-Bradshaw
I’m feeling sick
Look at what the dog’s doing
Five more minutes
That’s a beautiful necklace
Oh, just a little longer
But, I just reached dark castle and I can’t stop now
There’s a bomb in my bedroom
There’s a killer outside
The baby’s sick
But this book is stretching my mind in ways homework can’t
I’m feeling sleepy
I might wake the baby
I just heard a gunshot
Was that the phone?
After dinner?
The cat’s outside
So is the dog
I’m hungry
I don’t feel like it. (pgs. 49-50)
*Need some ideas for your students to springboard list poems into? Here is a rather long list of poem subjects:
Things that never die, things that annoy me, achievements, things that stink, things that are gross, siblings, my grandmother’s house, bad cooks, irritating sounds, what money can do, things I can’t do and why, what cats do, lucky things, what to do it…, things that come in handy, things that are quiet, things I like about my friends, memories I’d forgotten, make-believe places, the perfect friend, what to do in study hall, nighttime, lies I’ve told, embarrassing moments, my mistakes, what my teachers do at home, attic, when I’m alone I…
Not only does Paul Janeczko write in a clear and teacher friendly manner about how to teach a specific type of poetry, he also shares how poetry is made brilliant through the art of word play, strong use of verbs and adjectives, the importance of metaphors, line breaks, collecting “interesting” words, and why young readers and writers should listen to audio versions of poetry by published authors. These poetic devices were peppered throughout the book with ready to try ideas for busy teachers, and I plan on borrowing some of them myself next week. Placed throughout the book are also quotes from poets that I am envisioning putting in a PowerPoint and have looping on my computer and television screens as I teach. I especially liked the comprehensive list of poetry books at the end of the book, the glossary of poetic terminology useful for novice writers (or teachers), and the biographical notes.
How To Write Poetry by Paul B. Janeczko is a wonderful resource for busy teachers hungry to place poetry in front of their students in a meaningful and explicit manner. Don’t miss this one!
I bought this book through Scholastic book orders using my bonus points. It came with a pack of other books geared toward teachers attempting to teach their students the tricks of what can be a tricky genre for kids: poetry. I have been pleasantly surprised by the comprehensive nature of Janeczko’s poetry books, as this is not my first book by him. His writing has a conversational tone to it, and he takes his readers on a step-by-step approach through a wide variety of poetry.
The book begins with what should be the staple of any writer: the writer’s journal. Careful to dilineate the difference between a journal and a diary, Janeczko encourages the reader to carry one at all times. Lined or unlined, fancy or simple, he asserts (as most teachers do, too), that a writer should have a safe place to stash ideas. How To Write Poetry then shares wonderful examples of many different kinds of poetry complete with sample poems and easy to follow examples of how a teacher can immediately and explicitly teach a certain kind of poem: acrostic, synonym/antonym poems, clerihews, list poems, history and how-to poems, and finally narrative poetry. My favorites were the list poems the included history and how-to poetry.
“A History of the Faulty Shoes” by Amanda Granum
Tiny white lacy slippers
that I kicked off when I was a baby
Sweet little pink jellies
that I wore on the swing set and broke the strap
Soft leather moccasins
that had beads that fell off
Bright pink sneakers
that were hard to lace up
Little purple velcro tennis shoes
that had a hole in the heel
Shiny black party shoes
that got scratched on the sidewalk
White leather sandals
that got wet in the sprinkler and shrank
Green All-Stars
that rubbed at the toes
Black Mary-Janes
that I still wear today
But who knows? (pgs. 48-49)
“How To Get Out of Homework” by Jared Conrad-Bradshaw
I’m feeling sick
Look at what the dog’s doing
Five more minutes
That’s a beautiful necklace
Oh, just a little longer
But, I just reached dark castle and I can’t stop now
There’s a bomb in my bedroom
There’s a killer outside
The baby’s sick
But this book is stretching my mind in ways homework can’t
I’m feeling sleepy
I might wake the baby
I just heard a gunshot
Was that the phone?
After dinner?
The cat’s outside
So is the dog
I’m hungry
I don’t feel like it. (pgs. 49-50)
*Need some ideas for your students to springboard list poems into? Here is a rather long list of poem subjects:
Things that never die, things that annoy me, achievements, things that stink, things that are gross, siblings, my grandmother’s house, bad cooks, irritating sounds, what money can do, things I can’t do and why, what cats do, lucky things, what to do it…, things that come in handy, things that are quiet, things I like about my friends, memories I’d forgotten, make-believe places, the perfect friend, what to do in study hall, nighttime, lies I’ve told, embarrassing moments, my mistakes, what my teachers do at home, attic, when I’m alone I…
Not only does Paul Janeczko write in a clear and teacher friendly manner about how to teach a specific type of poetry, he also shares how poetry is made brilliant through the art of word play, strong use of verbs and adjectives, the importance of metaphors, line breaks, collecting “interesting” words, and why young readers and writers should listen to audio versions of poetry by published authors. These poetic devices were peppered throughout the book with ready to try ideas for busy teachers, and I plan on borrowing some of them myself next week. Placed throughout the book are also quotes from poets that I am envisioning putting in a PowerPoint and have looping on my computer and television screens as I teach. I especially liked the comprehensive list of poetry books at the end of the book, the glossary of poetic terminology useful for novice writers (or teachers), and the biographical notes.
How To Write Poetry by Paul B. Janeczko is a wonderful resource for busy teachers hungry to place poetry in front of their students in a meaningful and explicit manner. Don’t miss this one!
March 13, 2020
4.0 out of 5
Quick Review
- How to Write Poetry has good solid advice for beginner poetry writers. The text is focused on idea generation and form, and less about technical stucture.
- This book covers all of the basics of getting started and continuing to write poetry, including tools, place, time, pitfalls to avoid and plenty of exercises.
- There are many exercises included in each chapter for you to explore different types of poetry. These sections are preceded by explanations, examples, and tips and tricks to write each type of poetry, ending with the exercise.
- Janeczko gives great advice about starting a writing journal (or any journal), including ideas to get you started and keep you going.
If I had to describe this book in two words: accessible and helpful.
In Depth Review
How to Write Poetry is a very easy to understand poetry book that clearly outlines different types of poetry, literary techniques, and gives straightforward exercises for you to practice writing yourself.
The book is split into five chapters: Getting Ready, Starting To Write, Writing Poems That Rhyme, Writing Free Verse Poems and When Your Poem Is Finished. As you can see the book covers writing a poem from start to finish, including choosing your supplies to getting your poem published, and everything in between. It really is a great overview about basic poetry writing.
Overall I would say this is a solid, helpful little starter guide if you’ve ever wanted to write poetry. I would highly recommend it.
Book Look
- The book is small, about the size of a splayed hand, and very thin at only 128 pages.
- The cover is a basic old school stock art photo of a green toned lake with trees and grass (the book was published in 1999, so it fit the times).
- The pages are a very nice, heavy, semi-gloss paper that is easy to grip and very sturdy.
- The font is a standard, medium sized serif that is very easy to read.
- How to Write Poetry has five chapters, with nice broken out and easy to follow sections. The exercises are easy to find and follow with break out “Try This” headings. Teaching sections called “Poetcraft” that are broken out with subheadings and a green background. Last there are grey block sections called “Writing Tip from a Poet” with helpful tips from other writers.
- There are no illustrations or drawings.
NOTE: I read a softcover copy of the book that I checked out at my local library.
Favorite Quotes
“Writing poetry gives you the chance to fall in love with language again and again.”
“Poetry is a secret kingdom. If you engage all your senses - seeing, touching, listening, smelling, and tasting, the gates open. Seemingly unimportant things begin to speak…Details are the beginnings of poetry and the doors to your kingdom.”
Musical Suggestions
I enjoyed this book while listening to the playlist springtime stroll by Reilly on Spotify.
View all my reviews
Quick Review
- How to Write Poetry has good solid advice for beginner poetry writers. The text is focused on idea generation and form, and less about technical stucture.
- This book covers all of the basics of getting started and continuing to write poetry, including tools, place, time, pitfalls to avoid and plenty of exercises.
- There are many exercises included in each chapter for you to explore different types of poetry. These sections are preceded by explanations, examples, and tips and tricks to write each type of poetry, ending with the exercise.
- Janeczko gives great advice about starting a writing journal (or any journal), including ideas to get you started and keep you going.
If I had to describe this book in two words: accessible and helpful.
In Depth Review
How to Write Poetry is a very easy to understand poetry book that clearly outlines different types of poetry, literary techniques, and gives straightforward exercises for you to practice writing yourself.
The book is split into five chapters: Getting Ready, Starting To Write, Writing Poems That Rhyme, Writing Free Verse Poems and When Your Poem Is Finished. As you can see the book covers writing a poem from start to finish, including choosing your supplies to getting your poem published, and everything in between. It really is a great overview about basic poetry writing.
Overall I would say this is a solid, helpful little starter guide if you’ve ever wanted to write poetry. I would highly recommend it.
Book Look
- The book is small, about the size of a splayed hand, and very thin at only 128 pages.
- The cover is a basic old school stock art photo of a green toned lake with trees and grass (the book was published in 1999, so it fit the times).
- The pages are a very nice, heavy, semi-gloss paper that is easy to grip and very sturdy.
- The font is a standard, medium sized serif that is very easy to read.
- How to Write Poetry has five chapters, with nice broken out and easy to follow sections. The exercises are easy to find and follow with break out “Try This” headings. Teaching sections called “Poetcraft” that are broken out with subheadings and a green background. Last there are grey block sections called “Writing Tip from a Poet” with helpful tips from other writers.
- There are no illustrations or drawings.
NOTE: I read a softcover copy of the book that I checked out at my local library.
Favorite Quotes
“Writing poetry gives you the chance to fall in love with language again and again.”
“Poetry is a secret kingdom. If you engage all your senses - seeing, touching, listening, smelling, and tasting, the gates open. Seemingly unimportant things begin to speak…Details are the beginnings of poetry and the doors to your kingdom.”
Musical Suggestions
I enjoyed this book while listening to the playlist springtime stroll by Reilly on Spotify.
View all my reviews
February 25, 2022
I have thoroughly enjoyed working my way through this textbook, a few pages at a time. This Scholastic guide to writing poetry (first published in 1999) is primarily aimed at a High School students, but has been a perfect refresher for an adult (me!) wanting to get back into writing poetry again. Janeczko presents the information clearly, in bite-size sections and with humour. I especially liked his “Try This…” suggested exercises included in each section. It was also fun to look up (on the internet) the poems he suggests as examples for further reading. There is also a huge “checklist of good poetry books” at the back of the book along with a useful glossary of poetical terms.
February 27, 2020
Nice short book with clear exercises and intro into writing poetry. It's a Scholastic book and I think geared toward school age kids or educators, but a good place to get started and learn about a few different types of poems and how to write them.
June 2, 2018
A good basics guide to writing poetry. Well suited for kids or people new to writing poetry.
August 12, 2018
Read this in High school, a good simple intro to writing poetry.
There was also something calming about the image on the cover and the page font.
There was also something calming about the image on the cover and the page font.
April 17, 2019
Perfect for a middle school poet, but also excellent inspiration for an adult. Lovely poems and quotes from poets are dear.
August 24, 2020
Excellent introduction to the different types of poetry and how to begin writing your own.
June 16, 2022
Even this may be a book more for high school or middle school kids, this 40 something year old sure learned a lot about writing poetry with this book. Reading this was fun for me.
September 18, 2022
Enjoyed the characters.
March 24, 2024
This is a high school textbook, but it still had enough to give you the basic info on types and the writing of poetry.
March 29, 2024
Excellent guide for students
April 28, 2011
It may be called How To Write Poetry, but it doesn't really tell you how to write poetry. The only way to be able to write poetry or just write better, is to do it. But this book does explain the differences between free verse poems, narrative poems and more. It tells you ways that you can write better. The book even has writing exercises for you to use to help and improve your poetry writing.
So while the book doesn't exactly tell you how to write poetry, it is useful and has very good advice.
I had written some poetry after reading the book and I found that my poems are better than before so I took something from reading this book. I am thankful to the author, Paul B. Janeczko, for writing this book. It has helped me into improve my poetry writing.
So while the book doesn't exactly tell you how to write poetry, it is useful and has very good advice.
I had written some poetry after reading the book and I found that my poems are better than before so I took something from reading this book. I am thankful to the author, Paul B. Janeczko, for writing this book. It has helped me into improve my poetry writing.
April 20, 2015
I don't write poems, but I have been asked to translate some poems from Japanese into English and I had a tough time then. One day, I found this book at a book store by chance and I thought it might help me to translate poetry next time. (I don't know if I'll have a chance to do it again, though.)
To be honest, it didn't tell me what I expected, but it gave me many tips to improve my writing skill.
I started to keep a journal that it recommended in the first chapter. English is not my mother language, so keeping journal should be a good training to increase my vocabulary.
To be honest, it didn't tell me what I expected, but it gave me many tips to improve my writing skill.
I started to keep a journal that it recommended in the first chapter. English is not my mother language, so keeping journal should be a good training to increase my vocabulary.
December 19, 2008
This is one of those "how-to" type books yet it's written in a style that gets your interest and you can't wait to try everything that's being discussed. :) While it was a bit elementary for me, I did pick up some poetry writing tips/styles/practice.
June 19, 2010
I read this a while ago but must admit I didn't learn what I had hoped to, but I'm not sure that is the author's fault. I just never could get into and I really did want to learn more about how to write poetry.
April 21, 2013
This is a great book for poets who are young and young-at-heart. I learned something new from this book. For example, a two-line rhyming poem that is similiar is a synonym poem. A two-line rhyming poem that is different is called an antonym poem. Pretty neat.
July 9, 2009
Great ideas--this is a great book to have. Wanted to get out my journal and start writing poetry. Maybe I'll have time to soon.
November 22, 2010
I don't really write poetry(or read it), but I read this book to improve my free writing skills :)
December 2, 2010
An excellent book for young poets. Good advice, some nice examples, and plenty of ideas for writing.
September 26, 2012
This book can be quite useful to those who are just trying to write their first poems, i.e. students.
April 24, 2013
A really useful book for kids on how to write poetry, with some fun hands-on exercises. Would be great for teachers, too.
Read
April 12, 2013this book taught me a lot. it taught me how to better my poetry in everything i do
August 12, 2013
I am teaching my children a little about writing poetry this summer and I'm using this book as my guide.
October 29, 2013
Picked this book up at a used book store in order to use it in my English classes. I enjoyed the book and have found the information in it to be sound and help my students with writing.
Read
December 30, 2013Great little book on writing poetry.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews