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cbendixe's review against another edition
4.0
I'm reading this as part of a poetry reading group, and it has been a very helpful guide...especially for someone like me who hasn't put any effort into reading poetry since college.
jacsu's review against another edition
3.0
A good guidebook for understanding how to write poetry, and for understanding what makes poetry.
teenytinylibrary's review against another edition
This would be a stellar book for an intro to poetry class, for the novice who doesn't know much about poetry but wants to learn. There are definitely parts of this book that shine: her discussion of language and the use of words to texturize, or surprise, her advice about interpretation, and the exercises that are scattered throughout the book and gathered together at the end for writing poetry. I found much of the poetry included to be old and overused. As an English major and someone who just likes poetry, I wanted more concrete and contemporary pieces. I was familiar with many of the classic poems from other courses and wasn't super engaged with much of the abstract, philosophical poems. I did take stuff away from this though and think that even an experienced teacher or writer could get something out of it.
jrt5166's review against another edition
4.0
My favorite aspect of this field guide was that Mayes did not shy away from including lengthy poems to illustrate her explanations.
cloudslikethis's review against another edition
3.0
We definitely have different styles and preferences of what's good poetry but super informative in terms of language and craft.
andizor's review
This would be a stellar book for an intro to poetry class, for the novice who doesn't know much about poetry but wants to learn. There are definitely parts of this book that shine: her discussion of language and the use of words to texturize, or surprise, her advice about interpretation, and the exercises that are scattered throughout the book and gathered together at the end for writing poetry. I found much of the poetry included to be old and overused. As an English major and someone who just likes poetry, I wanted more concrete and contemporary pieces. I was familiar with many of the classic poems from other courses and wasn't super engaged with much of the abstract, philosophical poems. I did take stuff away from this though and think that even an experienced teacher or writer could get something out of it.
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