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Reviews
The Poet's Companion: A Guide to the Pleasures of Writing Poetry by Kim Addonizio, Dorianne Laux
mgouker's review against another edition
4.0
I had this text for a poetry class. Addonizio is a good poet with several excellent books published, which are better sources for her writing. This book shares the joy of poetry (the experience of reading and writing it), but I don't think you can learn how to write poetry this way. My advice is to read poetry until something hooks you and then begin your personal exploration.
I recommend you begin with Every Day You Play by Neruda.
I recommend you begin with Every Day You Play by Neruda.
lgmaxwell722's review against another edition
4.0
A wonderful book for aspiring and veteran poets. Each section focuses on a specific aspect of poetry and provides examples and exercises. I particularly like the prompts at the back of the book to get writing flowing.
nicomarlyse's review against another edition
4.0
This was required reading for class and ya know what! I actually had a great time reading this. It’s a compassionate, very-not-pretentious guide and it’s really, really, really accessible. Because it was written in the 90s, a few bits are a little outdated but overall this was really a good read. I have had a ton of fun with their writing prompts (although, I am sad to say I did not send that one erotica poem to my lover even though the authors dared me to. It would have been much too weird at this point in our…whatever we have going on and I would have for sure scared them away. Maybe one day I will send it, but for now I am going to have fun with other prompts).
charityjohnson's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent handbook. I read a lot of these, own many but this has proven to be the best one (for me).
raloveridge's review against another edition
4.0
I've assigned this as the text for the Intro to Poetry Writing class I'm teaching this spring, and I have to say, I really, really like it. The tone is approachable but serious, and ask students to take themselves seriously. The chapter on the role of technology is laughably outdated, though--would love to see an updated edition!
jolee97's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
3.0
It’s an ok book. It gets the job done but it can be boring to read at times. Very textbook-y. You don’t get a whole lot of interaction with the book but it does help.