The Poet’s Companion: A Guide to the Pleasures of Writing Poetry

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From the nuts and bolts of craft to the sources of inspiration, this book is for anyone who wants to write poetry-and do it well.

The Poet’s Companion presents brief essays on the elements of poetry, technique, and suggested subjects for writing, each followed by distinctive writing exercises. The ups and downs of writing life―including self-doubt and writer’s block―are here, along with tips about getting published and writing in the electronic age. On your own, this book can be your “teacher,” while groups, in or out of the classroom, can profit from sharing weekly assignments.

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About the Book
Pulitzer Prize finalist Dorianne Laux returns with an insightful, compassionate, and spirited volume that celebrates the imperfect miracle of humanity. An illuminating book of concise craft essays and exercises for poets, from Pulitzer Prize finalist and THE POET’S COMPANION coauthor Dorianne Laux. Earthy and lyrical, ONLY AS THE DAY IS LONG draws from Dorianne Laux’s five expansive, award-winning volumes and includes twenty new odes that pay homage to the poet’s mother. Focusing on the grace of working people, Dorianne Laux captures the pain and beauty of women in all their variety, caught in the “lunar pull” of our time. From the nuts and bolts of craft to the sources of inspiration, this book is for anyone who wants to write poetry-and do it well.

Praise for Dorianne Laux
“With this spellbinding seventh collection, Laux…brings to life the simple pleasures and small agonies of human existence…[she] makes the quotidian feel monumental in a way that is uniquely her own.” —Publishers Weekly “Laux’s close readings of celebrated poems, most of which are reproduced in full, reveal what makes them tick, and the exercises will help get the creative juices flowing.” —Publishers Weekly “Clear, compelling and insightful.” —Washington Post “Laux writes gritty, tough, lyrical poems that depict the actual nature of life in the West today.” —Philip Levine “An intelligent, lucid conversation—between the authors and between them and us. I have been with them all—there is no better companion!” —Gerald Stern

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0393316548
Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company
Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 17, 1997
Edition ‏ : ‎ First Edition
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 284 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780393316544
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0393316544
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.9 x 8.3 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #31,225 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #13 in Poetry Literary Criticism (Books) #42 in Literary Criticism & Theory #50 in Fiction Writing Reference (Books)
Customer Reviews: 4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 797 ratings var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });