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What Is Poetry?: The Essential Guide to Reading and Writing Poems by Jill Calder, Michael Rosen
amotisse's review against another edition
4.0
What a wonderful introduction to poetry for young and old alike!
Fun to read with plenty of examples and practical activities.
Fun to read with plenty of examples and practical activities.
bigbeardedbookseller's review against another edition
4.0
Let’s just get it out of the way at the start - I love Michael Rosen. There I said it.
‘What is Poetry’ is one of the funnest books on poetry I’ve ever read, it seems to be aimed at a young audience, probably middle-grade readers. This doesn’t stop me from saying that this book is one of the best books on writing poetry for all ages, especially for those that are frightened by the idea of poetry.
Broken down into digestible chunks, the encouraging advice is so clear and not patronising that I wanted to start writing poetry.
The images peppered through the book are also a nice touch.
Examples of poetry throughout the book don’t pull any punches either; from modern poetry by Rosen himself to work by Thomas Hardy, the excerpts and complete poems are used well to explain different facets of the craft of a poet.
I would say that this is probably one of the essential books for any budding writers, not just of poetry, as it explains things clearly and will help writers gain confidence in their art and skill.
‘What is Poetry’ is one of the funnest books on poetry I’ve ever read, it seems to be aimed at a young audience, probably middle-grade readers. This doesn’t stop me from saying that this book is one of the best books on writing poetry for all ages, especially for those that are frightened by the idea of poetry.
Broken down into digestible chunks, the encouraging advice is so clear and not patronising that I wanted to start writing poetry.
The images peppered through the book are also a nice touch.
Examples of poetry throughout the book don’t pull any punches either; from modern poetry by Rosen himself to work by Thomas Hardy, the excerpts and complete poems are used well to explain different facets of the craft of a poet.
I would say that this is probably one of the essential books for any budding writers, not just of poetry, as it explains things clearly and will help writers gain confidence in their art and skill.
margeryb's review against another edition
5.0
I was a creative writing major. I've read a lot of books and articles about poetry (although I'm more of the fiction writer), and this is definitely the best one out of the lot. While it's target audience is probably upper elementary through middle school kids, I think it can definitely scale into high school, and even be useful and inspiring to adults like me. Reading Michael Rosen's guide to poetry makes me realize how many of the previous poetry resources were definitely written by academics and not poets themselves. Rosen works through this guide to poetry differently, from the first chapter where he be explores what is poetry by exploring what poetry can do, complete with examples... and it puts all the technical terminology of poetry (metaphor, rhythm, etc.) in the last chapter, an afterthought to the bigger scope of poetry as a thing that places with words and emotions and images.
This is definitely welcoming guide to poetry I've ever read, and it should become a standard in classrooms.
This is definitely welcoming guide to poetry I've ever read, and it should become a standard in classrooms.
itonyhowlett's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
4.0
brinastewart's review against another edition
4.0
I have always found poetry intimidating so I decided to pick this up to see what I could glean from it. I think this was really well done and easy to follow along. Rosen gave many examples of poetry and talking about it. It makes me want to get into reading poetry more so I believe this is a great book to start with for younger people who want to understand poetry for school or personal interest.
mconant's review against another edition
5.0
This book is a great introduction and overview to poetry for kids, teens, and even adults. Michael Rosen engages readers with many different forms of poetry. Thankfully Rosen is not snobbish about poetry. He encourages readers to find poetry and inspiration in the things that are important to them. This book would be great to work through with a small group of tweens or teens to begin writing poetry.
I recommend this book.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I recommend this book.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
mbayne's review against another edition
5.0
I was a creative writing major. I've read a lot of books and articles about poetry (although I'm more of the fiction writer), and this is definitely the best one out of the lot. While it's target audience is probably upper elementary through middle school kids, I think it can definitely scale into high school, and even be useful and inspiring to adults like me. Reading Michael Rosen's guide to poetry makes me realize how many of the previous poetry resources were definitely written by academics and not poets themselves. Rosen works through this guide to poetry differently, from the first chapter where he be explores what is poetry by exploring what poetry can do, complete with examples... and it puts all the technical terminology of poetry (metaphor, rhythm, etc.) in the last chapter, an afterthought to the bigger scope of poetry as a thing that places with words and emotions and images.
This is definitely welcoming guide to poetry I've ever read, and it should become a standard in classrooms.
This is definitely welcoming guide to poetry I've ever read, and it should become a standard in classrooms.
debnanceatreaderbuzz's review
4.0
Who better to write a book about poetry for children than the brilliant children's author and poet, Michael Rosen? What is Poetry is just that, a clear and clever book for children about how to read and write poems. A teacher couldn't do better than to lead her class through this book during a unit on poetry.