Looking for a road map to the major elements of reading and writing poetry, written by one of the nation’s top poets? Want a short and easy-to-read guidebook that will increase your understanding and enjoyment of the sound and sense of poetry? Look no further than Mary Oliver’s classic behind-the-scenes guide to reading poetry well, A Poetry Handbook.
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Mary Oliver is known for writing lyrical poetry about the natural world and the soft and subtle rhythms of life. She follows the Romantic tradition of such poets as Walt Whitman, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Elizabeth Bishop. She has won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.
What topics will you discover in her handbook? Mary Oliver writes about each of the following, and includes wonderful poems to illustrate each point.
- Reading poems aloud
- The sound of poetry
- Poetic devices
- The poetic line
- Formal poetry and free verse poetry
- Diction, tone, and voice
- Imagery
- Writing and revising poetry
If you’re looking for a book that explains some difficult elements of reading poetry in an accessible (not to mention beautiful) way, then Mary Oliver’s A Poetry Handbook is perfect for your poetry teatime.
"Poetry is a life-cherishing force. For poems are not words, after all, but fires for the cold, ropes let down to the lost, something as necessary as bread in the pockets of the hungry." ―Mary Oliver, A Poetry Handbook
Poetry Books by Mary Oliver
American Primitive (won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry)
House of Light
What Do We Know
Dream Work
Blue Horses
Complete list here.
