Writing Poetry

Handbooks, advice, and inspiration for writing and loving poetry.

Updated March 5, 2026
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The art of voice : poetic principles and practice
Hoagland, Tony
Paper Book
In this accessible and distilled craft guide, acclaimed poet Tony Hoagland approaches poetry through the frame of poetic voice, that mysterious connective element that binds the speaker and reader together. A poem strong in the dimension of voice is an animate thing of shifting balances, tones,...
The craft of poetry : a primer in verse
Newlyn, Lucy
Paper Book
A wonderfully accessible handbook to the art of writing and reading poetry--itself written entirely in verse "Reading this book, you get to know poetry from the inside, without the alienating or distracting effect of abstract definition. Knowledge of how...
Fear less : poetry in perilous times
Smith, Tracy K.
Paper Book
A Pulitzer Prize-winning poet reveals how poetry is a powerful tool of connection and understanding in a fractured world. Drawing on deep passion and personal experience, former US Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith demystifies the art form that has too often been mischaracterized as...
A primer for poets & readers of poetry
Orr, Gregory
Paper Book
A Primer for Poets and Readers of Poetry guides the young poet toward a deeper understanding of how poetry can function in his or her life, while also introducing the art in an exciting new way. Using such poems as Theodore Roethke's "My Papa's Waltz" and Robert Hayden's "Those Winter Sundays,"...
Next line, please : prompts to inspire poets and writers
Lehman, David
Paper Book
In this book, David Lehman, the longtime series editor of the Best American Poetry, offers a masterclass in writing in form and collaborative composition. An inspired compilation of his weekly column on the American Scholar website, Next Line, Please...
Singing school : learning to write (and read) poetry by studying with the masters
Pinsky, Robert.
Paper Book
Quick, joyful, and playfully astringent, with surprising comparisons and examples, this collection takes an unconventional approach to the art of poetry. Instead of rules, theories, or recipes, Singing School emphasizes ways to learn from great work: studying magnificent, monumentally enduring...
Rules for the dance : a handbook for writing and reading metrical verse
Oliver, Mary
Paper Book
Pulitzer-prize winning poet and National Book Award winner, Mary Oliver, provides a graceful manual on the mechanics of poetical composition. "True ease in writing comes from art, not chance, / As those move easiest who have learned to dance," wrote Alexander Pope. "The dance," in the...
Poetry notebook : reflections on the intensity of language
James, Clive
Paper Book
Clive James is one of our finest critics and best-beloved cultural voices. He is also a prize-winning poet. Since he was first enthralled by the mysterious power of poetry, he has been a dedicated student. In fact, for him, poetry has been nothing less than the occupation of his lifetime, and in...
Ten windows : how great poems transform the world
Hirshfield, Jane
Paper Book
A dazzling collection of essays on how the best poems work, from the master poet and essayist  "Poetry," Jane Hirshfield has said, "is language that foments revolutions of being." In ten eloquent and highly original explorations, she unfolds and explores some of the ways...

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