Excited to dive into this list. Am currently reading Six Memos for the Next Millennium by Italo Calvino. The book is five lectures ("memos") about the indispensable qualities of literature: lightness, quickness, exactitude, visibility, and multiplicity. It's incisive and originary...a bit above my head...
We need to give a little appreciate to the person who edited this video. The sound effects and memes, stickers is so genius and matches personality we see behind some of your notes!
Writing the Australian Crawl by William Stafford is one I return to again and again. He dedicated his life to making poetry accessible, and this book is full of his wisdom and humour.
This could have came with a note: stay to the end if you would like to have your heart filled with love ❤️ Ana reciting the poem made me feel very happy 😊 as a mom and nana, maybe especially so 💕 Thank you for sharing.
As my yellow highlights and marginalia notes can attest, I use & treasure these:
Mary Oliver’s—A Poetry Handbook:
“The poem is an attitude, and a prayer; it sings on the page and it sings itself off the page; it lives through genius and technique.”
Sandford Lyne’s—writing poetry from the inside out:
“…poems…are the fingerprints of our souls, …no two people write them in the same way, …poetry writing is about being yourself on paper to see what will show up.”
Annie Finch & Alexandra Oliver as editors: Measure for Measure) for diving into meter.
“Meter is the magic potion of poetry, the part that alters consciousness.”
Now eagerly awaiting Tracy K. Smith’s November release of:
Fear Less: Poetry in Perilous Times.
Thanks Shannon to you and Ana for the curriculum intro video —fun and inspiring. Looking forward to joining you on this journey.
I can relate to anyone learning to write poetry because it reminds me of learning to play guitar. I’ve spent hours with lessons and practice, but I’m still not the player I want to be. Fortunately, poetry comes naturally to me and rises from my core. I’ve been trusting my voice and not trying to alter it to sound poetic. Everyone has a voice; they just need to listen closely enough to hear it.
Your video was entertaining and filled with truths. (Anna is adorable) I think I've become a "beautiful loser" groupie. My favorite poets are Rumi (especially his love poems), Rainer Maria Rilke, and Mary Oliver. Looking forward to learning more!
Love the video and its authenticity! As a poet who was somehow dragged into the deep end of writing only at age 50 with no formal training in it, I really appreciate this list! Now the challenge is trying to fit even a few of these books into my busy schedule that was not designed to include a poetry course. Richard Hugo was my parents' friend and colleague and I have had his book The Triggering Town on my desk waiting to be read for more than a year now. Must get to it next!
Toward a New Poetry by Diane Wakoski is a favorite of mine—her discussions about other poets and her own relationship to the autobiographical is so interesting !!!
If a poet writes a book to explain their poetics outside of the poem, they missed the mark in their poems, imo. Approaching those books on poetry as companions to the poet's work could be worth the effort, to gain insight into their work perhaps.
Kowit's "In the Palm of Your Hand" is a great craft books for both beginning and well published poets. Also the Graywolf Press' poetry craft series are great books. Loganbach's "Art of the Poetic Line" and Carl Phillip's "Art of Daring" are just two off the top of my head.
Excited to dive into this list. Am currently reading Six Memos for the Next Millennium by Italo Calvino. The book is five lectures ("memos") about the indispensable qualities of literature: lightness, quickness, exactitude, visibility, and multiplicity. It's incisive and originary...a bit above my head...
OH MY GOD I NEED THIS
EVERYBODY NEEDS THIS
We need to give a little appreciate to the person who edited this video. The sound effects and memes, stickers is so genius and matches personality we see behind some of your notes!
Haha that person would be me! Thank you 💙
Caching the Light by Joy Harjo is the one that launched my journey. Part collection part instruction manual and full on beauty.
I haven’t come across this one! I’ll get a copy asap!
Sorry typed to fast...Catching the Light....
the video with anna <3333
🥹💙💙
❤️🔥 to all of this including the number of new people in the community after your last post 🥲🫀
Thank you my friend!!
I love this!
Thank you Ari!!
Writing the Australian Crawl by William Stafford is one I return to again and again. He dedicated his life to making poetry accessible, and this book is full of his wisdom and humour.
This could have came with a note: stay to the end if you would like to have your heart filled with love ❤️ Ana reciting the poem made me feel very happy 😊 as a mom and nana, maybe especially so 💕 Thank you for sharing.
As my yellow highlights and marginalia notes can attest, I use & treasure these:
Mary Oliver’s—A Poetry Handbook:
“The poem is an attitude, and a prayer; it sings on the page and it sings itself off the page; it lives through genius and technique.”
Sandford Lyne’s—writing poetry from the inside out:
“…poems…are the fingerprints of our souls, …no two people write them in the same way, …poetry writing is about being yourself on paper to see what will show up.”
Annie Finch & Alexandra Oliver as editors: Measure for Measure) for diving into meter.
“Meter is the magic potion of poetry, the part that alters consciousness.”
Now eagerly awaiting Tracy K. Smith’s November release of:
Fear Less: Poetry in Perilous Times.
Thanks Shannon to you and Ana for the curriculum intro video —fun and inspiring. Looking forward to joining you on this journey.
I can relate to anyone learning to write poetry because it reminds me of learning to play guitar. I’ve spent hours with lessons and practice, but I’m still not the player I want to be. Fortunately, poetry comes naturally to me and rises from my core. I’ve been trusting my voice and not trying to alter it to sound poetic. Everyone has a voice; they just need to listen closely enough to hear it.
Your video was entertaining and filled with truths. (Anna is adorable) I think I've become a "beautiful loser" groupie. My favorite poets are Rumi (especially his love poems), Rainer Maria Rilke, and Mary Oliver. Looking forward to learning more!
Love the video and its authenticity! As a poet who was somehow dragged into the deep end of writing only at age 50 with no formal training in it, I really appreciate this list! Now the challenge is trying to fit even a few of these books into my busy schedule that was not designed to include a poetry course. Richard Hugo was my parents' friend and colleague and I have had his book The Triggering Town on my desk waiting to be read for more than a year now. Must get to it next!
Toward a New Poetry by Diane Wakoski is a favorite of mine—her discussions about other poets and her own relationship to the autobiographical is so interesting !!!
If a poet writes a book to explain their poetics outside of the poem, they missed the mark in their poems, imo. Approaching those books on poetry as companions to the poet's work could be worth the effort, to gain insight into their work perhaps.
Also, if you'd like suggestions on videos you might enjoy my tongue in cheek poem on Zooming from Defenestration Eleven Ways of Participating on Zoom
I.
In bed, back propped up against
two pillows wearing your alma
mater sweatshirt.
II.
With your laptop on your thighs, tilted
at forty-five degrees, so the audience
has a clear view of your nostril’s contents.
III.
On your office desktop, professionally
dressed, with lots of impressive books
that you haven’t read behind you.
IV.
Eating dinner so everyone will know
you eat meat and don’t chew enough.
V.
After any meal with colorful food bits
protruding from between incisors
and bicuspids.
VI.
Sitting in front of a blindingly bright
window—face obscured like someone from
the anti-terrorist squad being interviewed.
VII.
With your cat walking back and forth in front
of your webcam, especially if it has
high contrast pelage such as black and white.
VIII.
With a fake background that looks like
it’s trying to absorb your body
like a predatory amoeba.
IV.
With a dog by your side that keeps whining
from lack of attention and eventually dumps
on the floor, while you yell shit, shit, shit.
X.
Just out of the shower with a canary-yellow
towel wrapped around your damp hair,
and a partially open terry cloth robe.
XI.
Exercising on your treadmill, head
continuously bobbing up and down
like a drunken chicken.
Gary D. Grossman
Defenestration April 2024
Kowit's "In the Palm of Your Hand" is a great craft books for both beginning and well published poets. Also the Graywolf Press' poetry craft series are great books. Loganbach's "Art of the Poetic Line" and Carl Phillip's "Art of Daring" are just two off the top of my head.