Two Excellent Poetry Resources

You all know by now what a huge advocate I am for collecting writing resources. When it comes to poetry resources, there are some special books out there that will help make you both a better reader and a more well-rounded writer.

Keep in mind that reading and writing poetry require two similar but different skill sets. Some academics argue that poetry is an intellectual pursuit, but that’s only partially true. Poetry is an aesthetic art that uses emotion as a canvas and paints upon it with language. Anyone can enjoy poetry, but studying it at higher levels can help you better appreciate its nuances.

The same is true with poetry writing. Nobody can stop you from sitting down and writing a poem. It will be just as meaningful if it comes straight from your heart as if it comes from years of study. However, learning various techniques can bring your poetry to heightened levels. Such study is also helpful if your objective is to get your poetry published.

Poetry Resources

I was resistant to reading and studying poetry in school because I wrote it so frequently on my own. But once I gave in and signed up for the courses, my poetry started to blossom in ways I never could have foreseen. Classes, however, aren’t necessary (though they are definitely beneficial if you get a good instructor). A few poetry resources can whittle your skills considerably.

Here are a couple of my favorite books on poetry.

The Practice of Poetry is jam-packed with some of the best poetry writing exercises ever conceived. In fact, this book is a compilation of writing exercises that were contributed by many different writers, poets, and teachers. The subtitle reads “Writing Exercises from Poets Who Teach,” and many of the contributors are published poets who are also instructors in the craft of poetry writing. Some of these poetry writing exercises are designed to inspire your creativity; others deal with sound and rhythm; and still more focus on the revision process. This book will stretch and flex your writing muscles and open many new doors that you never knew existed. If you want to write poetry but are at a loss for where to begin, this book will set you in motion.

Perhaps my all time favorite and definitely my most referenced poetry book is Perrine’s Sound and Sense: An Introduction to Poetry. This book is a delightful and comprehensive romp through the deeper intricacies of poetry. It’s suitable for beginners but also serves as a bridge to more advanced poetry concepts. It features tons of wonderful poems by some of the best known and loved poets of all time, including Maya Angelou, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Andrew Marvell, Sylvia Plath, Edgar Allen Poe, Anne Sexton, Shakespeare, and far too many others to list here. Suffice to say, this gem of a book doubles as an anthology of poetry and is useful for both readers and writers of poetry.

Anthologies

Speaking of anthologies, I would be remiss if I didn’t close this post by mentioning that anthologies, along with literary journals, are the best way to start discovering poets and poems that you’ll love.

Anthologies give you a taste for many different styles and genres within the poetry sphere. My own favorite is Norton Anthology of Literature by Women, a textbook from my school days. It’s a bit biased in terms of gender but it has some fantastic works, excerpts, and biographies. Norton publishes a lot of fantastic poetry anthologies, which you can check out here.

Enjoy, and keep on writing!

Got any poetry resources that you’d like to recommend? Do you have any of the poetry resources listed here? If so, how have they benefitted your poetry writing and reading? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment.