Writing Poetry

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

Updated March 5, 2026
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Greater Victoria Public Library
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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...
Real toads, imaginary gardens : on reading and writing poetry forensically
Rekdal, Paisley
Paper Book
An innovative and accessible guide to writing and reading poetry by an acclaimed poet and beloved professor of poetry. What makes reading a poem unlike reading anything else? In Real Toads, Imaginary Gardens, acclaimed poet and teacher Paisley Rekdal demonstrates how to...
A poetry handbook
Oliver, Mary
Paper Book
"Mary Oliver would probably never admit to anything so grandiose as an effort to connect the conscious mind and the heart (that's what she says poetry can do), but that is exactly what she accomplishes in this stunning little handbook."--Los Angeles Times From the beloved...
Rhyme's rooms : the architecture of poetry
Leithauser, Brad
Paper Book
From the widely acclaimed poet, novelist, critic, and scholar, a lucid and edifying exploration of the building blocks of poetry and how they've been used over the centuries to assemble the most imperishable poems. We treasure our greatest poetry, Brad Leithauser reminds us in...

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