The Strategic Poet Just Published

I'm thrilled to tell you that The Strategic Poet: Honing the Craft is now available.

Available at:

Amazon

B&N
Bookshop

114 fabulous poets have work in this book, poets as George Bilgere, Jan Beatty, Traci Brimhall, Annie Finch, Camille Dungy, Danusha Lameris, Ada Limon, Matthew Olzmann, Diane Seuss, and Dean Young (see back cover below for the complete list).


 


The book is organized into 13 sections, each devoted to a specific poetic strategy:

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

In addition to the section strategies listed above, many other techniques are covered along the way.

Each section begins with a Craft Talk devoted to the section strategy, then is followed by 3 model poems. Each model poem is accompanied by analysis of its craft elements. Each model poem's analysis is followed by a prompt which asks the reader/writer/poet to do what the model poem does.

One model poem in each section is followed by a Commentary from the poet who wrote the poem. I solicited these commentaries and invited the poets to comment on a specific element of their poem.

Each model poem's prompt is followed by 2 sample poems to illustrate what might be done with the prompts and to illustrate that outstanding poems can result from prompts. These 78 poems were submitted by an additional 72 poets.

Each section ends with an additional 3 prompts. These 39 prompts were solicited from a variety of fabulous poets who also teach.

This book can be used by poets working independently, by poets in writing groups, and by poets in workshops. It should also make an ideal text for the poetry classroom.

Thanks for your support throughout the writing/editing of this book. You are an important part of it even if your work isn't in it. And thanks to all of you who pre-ordered the book and made it the #1 New Release at Amazon in the Poetry Writing Reference category!

Available at:

Amazon


B&N

Bookshop

Available at:

Amazon


B&N

Bookshop

The Strategic Poet: Book Update

The new craft book is moving right along. I now have all the content gathered: Thirteen Craft Talks, 36 Model Poems with 36 Prompts, 13 Commentaries, 39 Bonus Prompts, and 72 Sample Poems (written to the prompts). Permissions are done and bios are almost done. Contents is underway.

Still to be done is the Introduction. Then the dreaded Index. Then the editing and proofreading. Then the monumentally huge formatting job. Then more proofreading. Etc!

In case you're curious, here are the section headings:

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

In my last blog post, I listed all the poets who contributed Craft Talks, Model Poems, Commentaries, and Bonus Prompts. Since then I put out a Call for Submissions for the Sample Poems. The poems poured in, and I'm happy to say that all 72 spots filled quickly. Here's the list of poets whose sample poems will appear in the book:

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 Whitacre
Scott Wiggerman
Shannon K. Winston
Elizabeth Wolf

Michael T. Young

Yvonne Zipter

The Crafty Poet II Just Published

Click Cover for Amazon

At last, after three years of gathering material from my monthly Poetry Newsletter and many months of putting all that material into some kind of sensible order and more months of doing countless revisions and proofreading, The Crafty Poet II: A Portable Workshop has entered the world. This is the companion volume to the original The Crafty Poet. It can be used as a companion that picks up where the first book leaves off or it can be used as a stand-alone volume.

This craft book is divided into ten sections. Each section includes three Craft Tips, three model poems, three prompts, six sample poems written to the prompts, one Q&A with a poet about the craft elements in one of the poet's poems, and a Bonus Prompt. There's lots of good craft information on such topics as using humor, creating good titles, writing poems from photos, using sound devices such as anaphora, revision strategies, and so much more. The book also provides a rich anthology of contemporary poetry and enough prompts to keep you writing new poems for a long time.

Sixty-five poets contributed the Craft Tips, model poems, and Q&A poems. Among these poets are sixteen former and current state Poets Laureate. An additional forty-seven poets contributed the sixty sample poems. This group includes two former state Poets Laureate. I am enormously proud of the lineup of poets and the material they contributed to the book. Look for work by such poets as Tony Hoagland, Robert Wrigley, Ada Limon, Ellen Bass—way too many to name here. Find the complete list of poets HERE.

I hope that The Crafty Poet II, like its predecessor, will find its way into college and university classrooms. I hope that it will also prove useful in workshop groups. And I hope that individuals using it alone at home will profit from it. This is a versatile poetry tutorial that can be used in a classroom or group setting or by an individual learning on his or her own at home.

The Crafty Poet II is available at Amazon and B&N. It can also be ordered through your favorite bookstore. Bookstores and libraries may order through Ingram.

Goodreads Giveaway for The Crafty Poet

There's a Goodreads Giveaway for The Crafty Poet in progress right now. It runs until September 4. Just click the "Enter to win" button below and you'll be eligible to win one free copy. Limited to US residents.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Crafty Poet

by Diane Lockward

Giveaway ends September 04, 2013.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Revision in The Poetry Gymnasium

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I am not quite finished with this book, but I want to mention it now in case some of you might be interested in getting it as a holiday gift. This craft book would be a perfect gift for any poets you know who are looking for instruction and stimulation. Perhaps you yourself are just such a poet? Then treat yourself.

The book seems a bit pricey at $35, but it's a textbook so is priced as such. That doesn't mean, however, that you can't use it outside of the classroom. If you're a teacher looking for a good poetry textbook, this could be the very one. If you're a poet working on your own but hoping to expand your knowledge, this book really does contain the classroom.

If you keep in mind that Hunley offers 94 exercises, then the price does not seem so high. But there's more, much more. Each exercise is preceded by a rationale and some background (tons of information here) and then followed by model poems.

I found Hunley's revision strategies particularly interesting and exciting. I recalled and looked up Kim Addonizio's words about revision in Ordinary Genius: "If you don't think your work needs revision, here's a tip: Don't try to be a poet. You will never—and I mean never—be any good." Firm, but true. She goes on to say: "If you take your art seriously, you will write the poem again and again until you get it right, or as close to right as you can make it. Revision separates the professionals from the amateurs and the wannabes."

Sometimes, of course, that's easier said than done. You have the poem in front of you, ten drafts in. You know you've got something worth working on, but you're not sure what to do at this point. On page 52, Hunley provides a list of four suggestions. I immediately embraced the first and put it to use on two poems I'd been wrestling. Here's the suggestion for revision:

Reread some of your text. Along the way, collect five words or phrases from your text and freewrite on each word. Let the word or phrase take you anywhere. See if any of this new material helps you open up the draft; can you insert the new material at the point you find the original word or phrase? Somewhere else?I found this strategy very helpful in opening up the poem and forcing me into new thinking and material. I then incorporated some of the new stuff into the draft. To the poem's advantage, I think. Then, of course, some cutting was necessary. (I confess to not doing this with all five words or phrases. I revised the suggestion a bit.)

I think you'll also find much in this book to stimulate your own work.