THE STRATEGIC POET

 Named a Best Book for Writers by Poets & Writers Magazine

New Book on the Craft of Poetry

 

The Strategic Poet: Honing the Craft focuses on the craft of poetry and is
based on the belief that craft can be taught and the best teacher of craft is
a good poem. This book assumes a knowledgeable reader, that is, one
who already knows the language of poetry and already practices the craft.
This book is organized into thirteen sections, each one devoted to a specific
poetic strategy. While only thirteen strategies are used for organizational
purposes, the reader will find many additional strategies referred to and
discussed within the sections. There is a progression from one section to
the next, but each section also stands alone, so the reader or teacher can
follow the order of the Contents or move about freely among the sections.

Each section begins with a Craft Talk solicited from a well-known poet with
a clear mastery of craft. Each Craft Talk is followed by Model Poems and
Prompts. Each Model Poem is followed by an analysis of its craft elements,
especially its use of the section's strategy. One Model Poem in each section
is followed by a Commentary from the poet who wrote the poem and is
focused on a particular strategy used in the poem. 

Each of the thirty-six Prompts is followed by two Sample Poems written to
the prompts. These seventy-two poems demonstrate that the prompts are
not mere exercises and can produce terrific poems. 

Each section ends with three Bonus Prompts. There thirty-nine additional
prompts were contributed by thirteen contemporary poets. These short
prompts provide additional practice with the strategies, can be used multiple
times, and should lead to some good poems.

Contributors include 114 of our best contemporary poets.

This book is suitable for use by poets working independently, by poets in
writing groups, and by teachers in the classroom.

Table of Contents

   I. Descriptive Details

   II. Diction

   III. Imagery

   IV. Sound Devices

   V. Repetition

   VI. Figurative Language: Simile

   VII. Figurative Language: Metaphor

   VIII. Figurative Language: Personification

   IX. Figurative Language: Hyperbole

   X. Figurative Language: Apostrophe

   XI. Syntax

   XII. Sonnet

   XIII. Odd Forms

Craft Talk Poets

Ellen Bass - Todd Kaneko - Lauren Camp - Annie Finch - David Graham - Danusha Laméris - Jan Beatty - Meg Kearney - Peter E. Murphy - Dion O'Reilly - Marilyn L. Taylor - Diane Seuss - Tami Haaland 

Model Poem Poets

Melanie McCabe - Jesse Graves - Brad Aaron Modlin - Catherine Pierce - Craig van Rooyen - George Drew - Pamela Baggett - Sara Moore Wagner - Lynn McGee - Kate Gaskin - Ada Limón - Lois Marie Harrod - George Bilgere - Camille Dungy - Robert Fillman - Sean Shearer - Dean Young - Frank X Walker - Matthew Olzmann - Tina Kelley - David O'Connell - Dara Elerath - Melanie Figg - Traci Brimhall = Nicole Callihan - Adam Tavel - James Scruton - Rob Shapiro - Jared Harél - Jessica Piazza - Beth Copeland - Elise Hempel - Carolyne Wright - Matthew Yeager - J.P. Grasser

Commentary Poets

Jesse Graves - Craig van Rooyen - Sara Moore Wagner - Lois Marie Harrod - Camille Dungy - Sean Shearer - Tina Kelley - Dara Elerath - Melanie Figg - James Scruton - Jared Harél - Beth Copeland - J.P. Grasser

Bonus Prompt Poets

Lance Larsen - Caitlin Doyle - Adele Kenny - Michael T. Young - J. C. Todd - Catherine Doty - Joy Gaines-Friedler - Kerrin McCadden - BJ Ward - Patricia Clark - Jennifer Franklin - Jeffrey Bean - Allison Joseph

Sample Poem Poets

Tiel Aisha Ansari - KB Ballentine - Nina Bennett - Libby Bernardin - Nancy Susanna Breen - Ronda Piszk Broatch - Jayne Brown - Luanne Castle - Robin Rosen Chang - Robin Chapman - Kersten Christianson - Patricia Clark - Cathryn Colman - Gail Comorat - Geraldine Connolly - Jane Mary Curran - Jessica de Koninck - Maureen Doallas - Lynn Domina - Robert Fillman - Ann Fisher-Wirth - Emily Franklin - Deborah Gerrish - Holiday Goldfarb - Lucy Griffith - Penny Harter - Lisa Hase-Jackson - Shayla Hawkins - Andrea Hollander - Karen Paul Holmes - Jenny Hubbard - Christen Noel Kauffman - Tina Kelley - Adele Kenny - Jemshed Khan - Athena Kildegaard - Kim Klugh - Lynne Knight - Marcia LeBeau - Diane LeBlanc - Denise Low - Charlotte Mandel - Joan Mazza - Maren Mitchell - Erin Murphy - Dion O'Reilly - Jenna Rindo - Janet Ruth - Jennifer Saunders - Linda Simone - Kate Sontag - Betsy Thorne - Denise Utt - Lisken Van Pelt Dus - Kory Wells - Bruce E. Whitacre - Scott Wiggerman - Shannon K. Winston - Elizabeth S. Wolf - Michael T. Young - Yvonne Zipter

Reviews:

Compulsive Reader
Claire Hamner Matturro

Heavy Feather Review

Deborah Bacharach

Mom Egg Review

Lara Lillibridge

Splash Magazine
Michele Caprario