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senid's review
3.0
This author is a poet, but the book felt more like lectures by someone who had been hired to lecture on poetry. Only one chapter talked about his process of editing a poem, which I found interesting. There were chapters on pacing, tone, rhythm, rhyme and other elements of the craft of poetry. I always say I want to be a better poet, but this book just left me frustrated. I guess that's a good lesson, because I think poetry for me is more about who I am, than how I write. Many sections looked at various elements of history of poetry. 3 stars means I won't be rereading this or remembering it fondly.
trilobiter's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting and useful essays on writing and poetry, aesthetics and craft. Sometimes the relentless standards of a professional poet, with the rigorous analysis of what makes a poem succeed or fail, can be a little exasperating when you're just an enthusiastic scribbler trying to have a good time. But if we have something like poetry in the world, as full of possibility as it is, we must eventually follow it into the labyrinth of abstraction. i only hope it made me a better poet, or at least made me think more like one.
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