Women wrote more classics than we learn about in school. Introducing my new project, which celebrates overlooked and unknown female… Read more Chick Lit THIS
Category: Poet’s Playground
Dive into the craft of poetry with articles that zoom in on the poet’s choices. How do those choices make the poem work?
Dualities, Dichotomies and Do-Overs: John Berryman’s “The Animal Trainer”
In his two poems, “The Animal Trainer (1)” and “The Animal Trainer (2),” Berryman explores the possible effect of writing… Read more Dualities, Dichotomies and Do-Overs: John Berryman’s “The Animal Trainer”
The Line Break: Making and Breaking the Poet’s Element
As readers, we have certain expectations when we read a sentence. The rules of grammar provide a stable foundation for the thoughts, emotions, and information contained within it. While we can use punctuation with a certain level of flexibility, omitting commas for pacing, throwing in a fragment for urgency, line breaks throw a wildcard into the mix.
The Second Person Pronoun in Robert Pinsky: Who is “You”?
Poems written in the second person can be complicated for the reader. The “you” to whom the poem is addressed… Read more The Second Person Pronoun in Robert Pinsky: Who is “You”?
Learning from Jack Gilbert
In his poem “Horses at midnight without a moon,” Jack Gilbert weaves an ephemeral scene for the reader, accentuated by… Read more Learning from Jack Gilbert
What is a Chapbook?
What’s so special about chapbooks, and why are they so hard to sell? They’re slender and lean, taking up less space… Read more What is a Chapbook?
The Power of the Broken Pattern in Robert Lowell’s “Father’s Bedroom”
Robert Lowell’s poem “Father’s Bedroom,” stands out in Life Studies because it separates from his usual techniques and uses the break… Read more The Power of the Broken Pattern in Robert Lowell’s “Father’s Bedroom”
Seamless Personification in a poem by Dan Chiasson
Chiasson takes a persona poem and takes personification to a new level. He makes the character fully formed, with qualities with which the reader relates. Instead of a poem that stretches the imagination to see the world from an elephant’s point of view, this poem goes a step further. He makes the elephant a participant in the world. His ability for expression is not limited to the poet’s imagination, he in fact has a poetic imagination of his own.
Make Form and Repetition Work for you – “A Progression” by Martha Rhodes
Martha Rhodes opens her book, Mother Quiet, with “A Progression,” a poem in an unofficial form based on repetition and… Read more Make Form and Repetition Work for you – “A Progression” by Martha Rhodes
What Poets Can Learn From Anne Carson: Poetry Stripped down
Tango number nineteen in Anne Carson’s The Beauty of the Husband, “A conversation between equals in which nothing is more… Read more What Poets Can Learn From Anne Carson: Poetry Stripped down
