Creating Poetry

by John Drury

Book Overview

Poets can't impose their will on the muse. That's why it's so important that you write regularly, keep reworking your drafts, and experiment in your writing. This book will help you by offering... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0898794439
• ISBN13: 9780898794434
• Release Date: January 1991
• Publisher: Writer's Digest Books
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.5" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

just what I needed!!

This book explained exactly what I neded to know without boring me to tears or using snobby language or dull examples. Simple concise explanations that inspired me to try creating my own poetry!

The Music of Words

"The first line of any poem is a kind of door, an entrance into the rooms of the stanzas, an opening. There are many kinds of doors, some plain, some ornate..." ~John Drury Creating Poetry is not a book, it is a muse disguised as pages of paper within a cover! I cannot express my appreciation enough for this beautiful gift. John Drury's wisdom and attention to detail is inspiring and the warmth with which he writes inspires you to write poem after poem. You can literally read this book and compose poems instantly as the inspiration flows through you. I was amazed at how Creating Poetry invoked the muse so effectively! Most of my poems appear as a singular thought or moment and then the first sentence will keep repeating itself until I start writing, then a poem flows through the pen. Reading this book, you need to keep paper and pen nearby because poems will appear as if called from a never-ending well of creativity. "Some poets do depend on a flash of inspiration, maybe a good first line, before they sit down to work...waiting is their discipline. Like all poets, they are constantly preparing for the poems they will write." ~ John Drury John Drury explores a wide variety of poetic forms and teaches poets how to develop style and feeling that will be conveyed to the reader and enhance the experience. For a long time I wrote poems without knowing what I was doing. In fact, my first book of poems appeared so spontaneously, I had no idea I could even write poems. One of the suggestions he gives in this book is to read lots of poems and to indulge in the experience of reading them frequently. I cannot agree more! He also talks about playing music while you write. These suggestions are all very helpful. Some of the brilliant ideas include thoughts on myths. You can put yourself into the story and write about yourself as a mythical creature or you could write a poem about a painting or sculpture. The main sections introduce you to: Developing your poetic sensitivity Learning the fundamental tools of poetry Refining sight - image, metaphor, symbols, vision Sensitizing yourself to the music of words - alliteration, assonance, rhyme, sound effects Developing the rhythmic qualities that make poems sing Understanding the basic units of which poems are made - visual shape, stanzas, lines Taking advantage of poetic forms - Ballad, Haiku, Ode, Villanelle, Song, Pantoum Becoming aware of fine nuances - tone, understatement, dramatic monologue Opening to potential sources - love, dreams, chance, thinking, memory, journals Things to write about - stories, people, occasions, modern life, objects, subjects Appreciation for Life - history, science, music, myths, painting, photographs Bringing each poem to completion - revision, omissions, endings Reviewing poetry stirred my interest as I noticed similarities within the uniqueness of style. What was it that so captured me in some poems and drew me in deeper into a poet's world? How do poets create a conne

An excellent comprehensive guide to poetry writing!

There are a few books in my personal library which I have acquired without really knowing the exact reasons for my ultimate decisions at the point of purchase. It could be the spur of the moment. Or something just grabs me. I really don't know. This is one particular book (in fact, the only one of its genre, which I had bought) that fell under those impulses. But there is something I am very sure of & that is, I am often fascinated by people who write literature, plays & poems, as well as the aesthetics of their creative work. I once heard this story from a government minister: "Math & Science give you the capability to build a gun. Literature & Poetry help you make the decision when to use it." Neverthless, I took the trouble to read - & reread - this book on how to begin a poem. Through the hundreds of practical exercises to get going, I even invoked my muse & wrote a few short poems along the way. Not the best, but not bad for a beginner after all! Personally, I really appreciate the author's constant encouragement: explore, practise, open yourself to all the potential sources of poetry - all around you & within you. I also like his beautiful presentation through twelve thematic chapters (each a self-contained unit), to name a few as follows: - Preparing: developing your poetic sensitivity; - Language: learning the fundamental tools of poetry & using them effectively; - Sight: refining sight & insight to make your poetry come alive within themind's eye... & the heart's eye, too; - Sound: sensitizing yourself to the music of words - both singly & in combination; - Movement: developing the rhythmic qualities that make poems sing... & shout, match, croon & whisper; - Voice: becoming aware of the fine nuances of how the words are said & connected, revealing each poem's implied speaker & "stance"; - Finishing: bringing each poem to successful completion; As far as I am concerned, the author has also done a terrific job in addressing the imagery, metaphor & different methods of constructing & experimenting with new poetic forms. On the whole, even though I cannot compare this book with others (this is the only one of its genre in my library & the only one I have perused), I would like to rank it with the highest marks.

A Wonderful Resource

Beginners and veteran poets alike are sure to find inspiration in this complete guide to writing poetry. There is inspiration here in the form of exercises to invoke your muse, as well as practical advice on the "nuts and bolts" of writing and submitting your work. Just about every aspect of writing poetry is covered, making this a wonderful resource for any poet.

This is how to begin.

Many of us feel an inexplicable upwelling of emotions that long to become a poem but have no knowledge of how to use words to convey either an essence or a slam-up description of the experience. How can we begin to put pen to paper, let alone belly up to the mic at a poetry slam, without this knowledge? This book is how. It covers everything from meter to free verse and how it is used. It explains rhythms, movement, creating a pattern and a point of view and much more. This book includes practices and comparisons, and reading suggestions for seminal anthologies, magazines, and dictionaries. This is information I have not found in my local library...no matter where I've lived.If you've got a poet in there trying to get out...set him or her free with this book. My own bad poetry has already improved in voice and rhythm. My poet is shaking, but finally free.