A Poetry Handbook 1st (first) edition Text Only

Nothing terribly deep, but some useful information with good examples of meter and other poetic devices. Worth a perusal, especially if you are just starting to make poetry a significant part of your literary life.

It is not a handbook, but rather an introduction for higher school students. You could not refer to it if you write poems, although the author does say interesting things for the novice.

2 stars, normally,
but another for
the lovely
cover.

ps hey, it worked !

Mary Oliver proves that writers are indeed warmer on page than in life. At least, that's how this tome on poetry plays out. Boring, pedantic and very "unOliver" like in my opinion. Given the chance to purchase again I'd definitely pass but will always adore her poetry!

This book was a huge disappointment. It offers little more than you would find in a dictionary. It can boast large font, larger margins and long footnotes. The spaces between paragraphs are also large. This book is full of fluff and a big waste of time. This is the only thing I have ever read that was written by Mary Oliver and judging from this book, I will never read anything from her again if I have a choice about it. Avoid this one.

It is not a handbook, but rather an introduction for higher school students. You could not refer to it if you write poems, although the author does say interesting things for the novice.

2 stars, normally,
but another for
the lovely
cover.

ps hey, it worked !

Mary Oliver proves that writers are indeed warmer on page than in life. At least, that's how this tome on poetry plays out. Boring, pedantic and very "unOliver" like in my opinion. Given the chance to purchase again I'd definitely pass but will always adore her poetry!

This book was a huge disappointment. It offers little more than you would find in a dictionary. It can boast large font, larger margins and long footnotes. The spaces between paragraphs are also large. This book is full of fluff and a big waste of time. This is the only thing I have ever read that was written by Mary Oliver and judging from this book, I will never read anything from her again if I have a choice about it. Avoid this one.

And say that I really disliked this book. Unless you are a rank beginner, there is little to be gleaned from this pathetic survey of poetic terminology. If you want to know what iambic pentameter is, you can look it up online for free. She adds nothing to the discussion of poetry or iambic pentameter for that matter, that is in the least bit new or refreshing. Very disappointing. Yes, I know she's a great poet and all that, but I still dislike her book. And you'd think a great poet would be willing to share a lot more of herself and her poetic process with her fans. THAT would constitute a HANDBOOK. The use of the work HANDBOOK is a very misleading term. If they'd simply said it was a poetry survey or something of that nature, fine, but I was certainly expecting a lot more. But Mary isn't giving up the keys to the kingdom, that's for sure.

Review by Stephen Page

As I am browsing around a bookstore, I pick up Mary Oliver’s A Poetry Handbook, because another writer recommended the book to me. It is simplistically written. It is geared for high-school or freshmen-college students (but, I am sure that is Oliver’s intent). The first couple of chapters are short and low-attention spanning, but by chapter 7 they expand and deepen. There are some important points made in the book, even in the first six chapters:

Everyone knows that poets are born and not made in school. This is also true of painters, sculptors, musicians., something that is essential can’t be taught; it can only be given, or earned, or formulated in a manner too mysterious . . . still, painters, sculptors (poets) and musicians require a lively acquaintance with the history of their particular field and with past as well as current theories and techniques. Whatever can’t be taught, and there is a great deal that can, and must, be learned . . . This book is about the things that can be learned. It is about matters of craft . . . this book is written in an effort to give the student a variety of technical skills.

The book is written with the idea of teaching basic poetic skills, philosophies, and exercises, so it’s a great book for novice writers, or for teachers of novice writers.

This book by Mary Oliver is an excellent resource for any poet seeking to improve their understanding of the craft. She acknowledges the need for creativity and experimentalism, yet does so by confirming time-honored techniques and explanations of formal structures. I tend toward the free verse form of poetry, but do dabble in iambic rhyme. I have always felt that structure is the enemy of good poetry, but have also felt the inexplicable contradiction of appreciating Robert Frost and Shakespeare. This book explains what I could not put my finger one and has convinced me that structured poetry is just one of many forms and free verse, for all of its worth and value in the modern pool of poetry, is not the only valid form.

I highly recommend this book to anyone seeking to understand poetry better, both the reading of it as well as the writing of it. Excellent job, Mary!

Reading Mary Oliver's A Poetry Handbook feels a bit like settling down with the magazine Cook's Illustrated. The magazine is published by people who love growing, preparing and eating food and who love the traditions and history of cooking. An issue might contain articles explaining how the combination of baking soda and baking powder work in pancakes, or the chemical effects of salting eggs before or after scrambling them. Then there are recipes for dishes one might actually imagine cooking -pot roast, or blueberry pie. After reading Cook's Illustrated, I think, "I can do this," and I value more deeply the daily beauty of putting ingredients together in new and old ways.

Mary Oliver loves words like the Cook's Illustrated people love food. She loves the sounds of words, the rhythm of words, the combinations of words in poems. She loves the history of poetry, its forms and patterns. She shares this love with the reader, so that poets and readers of poetry walk away from her book thinking, "I can do this, maybe. Maybe if I work very hard, if I read poets, if I practice and imitate, as she suggests." Whether one writes or not, the reader leaves with a deeper appreciation of the ingredients and structure of poems. In this short volume Oliver explains how various meters work, how the sounds of words contribute to a poem, and how free verse is deeply connected to traditional forms. She lays out a feast, with well-chosen poems to illustrate her lessons and leaves us hungry for more. She could have included a more international menu, perhaps, but this slim volume stimulates the appetite and encourages the reader to put on an apron, choose ingredients with care, and begin to cook.

Mary Oliver remains beyond doubt one of the richest souls of poetry in contemporary Western culture, a strongly needed antidote to the rapaciousness and heartlessness of our society. I came to this book curious as to how someone so deeply enmeshed in the poetry of life would discuss the art of poetry-writing. (I hate to say "techniques" or "mechanics," words that so demean what fine poets do--although I grant that "art" itself derives from the same root as "artifice.") The prose is as clear and honed as her poetry, but as prose it does not shine like the verse. You could only expect crisp simplicity and limpidity from Oliver. The selections of poems she provides as examples fit clearly with her descriptions of the relevant angles of art she is discussing. My disappointment--and this was not a profound disappointment--was that little, if any, new was revealed about the art of poetry which you cannot find elsewhere. In fact, what was offered was less than can be found elsewhere.

The chapters each feel slight, as if she is distilling too much, but they come off as summaries rather than depth and digging. I feel she is almost holding back, as if she does not want us to know more about appreciating and writing poetry. I realize one aim here is to fulfill some needs of writing workshops, and so the absolute basics are in order. But the book could fulfill those needs for basics while also going into more detail about the greater subtleties of poetry-creation. I do not mean to say the author is deliberately restraining and holding back her secrets. Only that the original aim was perhaps too rudimentary.

Maybe I am expecting too much, and even the greatest poets really have no place to attempt digging into their intuitions and hearts for whatever makes their blood and poetry organs turn out their beauty. Keats gave a few prosaic hints of his own poetic outlook in a single essay. Eliot as a critic certainly offered a lot of material from which can be inferred his own poetics. I am no poet, so I am not begging for secrets to make my own poetry organ go. At worst, I so joy in being in Oliver's spirit that I, like any of her followers, could only wish for more such prose work, along, of course, with the verse she has generously provided.

In this short book, Mary Oliver teaches a master class in the mechanics and process of poetry. Of course, it is difficult to write about the task as it will be different for every writer. She does an excellent job. She uses some beautiful poems for illustration purposes. The book can be useful for both writers and readers of poetry at any level.

This is an awesome book. Oliver has great tips on crafting poetry. She has such insightful responses to the poets across the span of time. Oliver can take a poem apart, understand it, and appreciate it for its creative genius. She is an amazing poet whose ability crosses beyond the threshold of poetry and transcends to the ordinary, everyday person.

As a young and relatively inexperienced writer (and reader) of poetry, I found this Handbook to be incredibly valuable. It is easy to understand and even a pleasure to read, which is rare for a book that covers the technical aspects of anything, let alone poetry. Oliver's love for poetry shines through, and if you finished the book and did not immediately begin to read or write more poetry, then perhaps poetry is not for you. Highly recommended for all would-be or veteran lovers of poetry.

Say what you will about her poetry, Mary Oliver clearly understands the technical aspects of the craft and in this small tome she conveys them brilliantly. With a clear voice and plenty of examples drawn from the masters of poetry, Oliver is able to bring great insights to the beginner or amateur poetry writer.

It may be going just a bit far to say that Oliver's book is to poetry what Strunk & White's is to prose, but for the non-expert it feels awful close.

Mary Oliver, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, is a lover of language, its sounds and syntax. In her book, "A Poetry Handbook," Oliver shares with the reader her deep feeling for the mechanics of prosody and why they're important, believing that a familiarity with technical skills offers options the poet may choose to use. Sections devoted to sound, line, form, tone, and imagery are presented along with poems Oliver offers as examples. The warm, lighthearted approach makes the information very accessible and a delight to read.

I've heard Mary Oliver at poetry readings. Her poetry is spare, elegant, and incisive -- as is this book. Of all the poetry books that I read again and again, this is the one I consult most often, and I never fail to learn something new each time I read it. I especially like Oliver's chapter on "The Line" and line and stanza breaks. You can't go wrong reading this book: it's not only astute and informative, it's downright enjoyable!

I'm facilitating a writing circle and plan to use poetry in one of the weekly sessions. I know little about the construct of poetry and Mary Oliver's book has helped me piece together some useful information to pass on to my group. It is basic, and yet full of excellent information, especially if you want to write poetry: read, read, read good poetry.

Whether a seasoned poet or yet to discover the poet within, Mary Oliver's A Poetry Handbook is a must for the library of any poet enthusiast. The short volume encompasses a broad overview of the craft--capturing the Pulitzer Prize winner's impressions of the history, style, and purposes of poetry. Oliver artfully twists the essential elements of the trade inserting her wit and peppering other poet's poetry excerpts within the text--namely to capture the reader's attention and provide illustrations of her teaching.

Besides identifying traditional tools and building blocks of poetry, the book examines the interior landscape of the writer, acknowledging the relationship between the mind and heart and the written page. Freely acknowledging, "that poets are born and not made in school," Oliver predicates her work on the understanding that, "Whatever can't be taught, there is a great deal that can, and must, be learned." As a starting point or an opportunity for review, A Poetry Handbook will improve your writing and open your eyes to poetry in the world and within.

"A Poetry Handbook," by Mary Oliver, is a nonfiction prose text about the art of writing poetry. In the book Oliver, herself an excellent poet, gives a clear and painless introduction to some structural aspects of poetry. She defines many technical terms: alliteration, onomatopoeia, alexandrine, caesura, quatrain, persona, etc. She also discusses various poetic forms: sonnet, free verse, etc. Other topics addressed include imagery and diction. Throughout the book, Oliver illustrates her points with poetry by some of the greatest practitioners of the craft: Robert Frost, Walt Whitman, William Carlos Williams, Elizabeth Bishop, etc.
The book is aimed at both readers and writers of poetry. For the latter, Oliver reflects on such practical issues as revision and participation in poetry workshops. The book reflects Oliver's own philosophy of poetry. She stresses that poetry is a craft that requires work and discipline, and encourages the reader to think of poets as constituting a "tribe" that transcends all geographic and cultural boundaries.
The book is not without flaws. I found it quite Eurocentric; she never discusses the haiku, a Japanese verse form that has been embraced by many in the English-speaking world. Other non-Western forms are similarly neglected.
Some of her opinionated pronouncements also seem open to debate. She notes that a poem "gives pleasure through the authority and sweetness of the language," but I think some poems are effective conduits of rage or outrage and make use of unpleasant language to shake up the reader. Regarding the revision process, she notes that sometimes "it is simply best to throw a poem away" -- but, I ask, who is to make that decision? Something a poet might want to discard may in fact be a great poem in another's eyes.
Also, although she gives many good examples of good poems, it might have been interesting if she had included some bad ones to illustrate her points further.
Despite its flaws, however, I think that "A Poetry Handbook" would be a solid text for both individual reading and classroom use. And I think that some of Oliver's questionable statements could trigger productive discussion! Ultimately, I appreciate Oliver's declaration that poetry "is a life-cherishing force [...] as necessary as bread in the pockets of the hungry." Recommended as companion texts: Audre Lorde's essay "Poetry Is Not a Luxury," from her collection "Sister Outsider," and Pablo Neruda's prose collection "Passions and Impressions."

With _A Poetry Handbook_, Mary Oliver does for poetry what Strunk and White did for prose. This book is elementary, not in the sense of being remedial, but as a clear introduction to the fundimental principles of poetic criticism and craft. This is a book you will reference repeatedly, whose pages you will yellow with delight throughout your career -- however casual or professional -- in poetry.

Mary Oliver's poetry itself can do some teaching on its own, but we can be grateful she's chosen to articulate the writing process so richly in this book. The book will almost certainly will wring some writing out of you; it will also inspire you to examine your work habits and technique. Oliver's intelligence shines through, and will make you a better reader of poetry. Small note on the previous review: Mary Oliver does, indeed, teach, at Bennington College currently. If you can't enroll there, this book is your next best choice.

Mary Oliver's poetry is simply fantastic, and in this book, she offers new and experienced writers a glimpse into her mind at work. It is easy to take the advice of a poet who has proven herself again and again, and Oliver's "A Poetry Handbook" is a must have for all poets. Experienced poets can garner inspiration and fresh ideas from Oliver's suggestions, and newer poets can look to Oliver as a mentor in their journey. Anyone who buys and reads this book, however, must certainly read as many of Oliver's poems as they can- to see this genius truly at work. I suggest, "What Do We Know," and specifically her poem "Oranges." I hope you all enjoy!

A poetry handbook is a distancing from the bleak, with its positivity and playfullness right at the surface. No, you wont find 8 pages of latin references dating past Ezra Pound and cavemen, but you can see the inspiration of Whitman and even the post modernists. It all seems so smooth and well arranged, too. Mary Oliver is like a good mixed CD of poetry, and you can defiantely find a poetic form or theme within the text that seems to relate to your life at this very moment. Definately check this out.

I found the book both helpful on a technical level and deeply inspiring.
Mary Oliver's passion for poetry as an expression of spirituality was evident.

The ideas were presented in ways that were easy to understand on may levels.

I believe Oliver offers the readers a great landscape view of poetry. She inspires and speaks with such passion that you yourself want to sit down and write. I believe this is a great choice of book for anyone who appericates that in order to become a better writer you must be well read.

I bought Mary Oliver's Poetry Handbook my first year of college for a poetry workshop. Scared and shy, I sat in the back of the room to look over my new book before the professor arrived. I was so excited to begin studying and writing poetry! I was ready to devote the whole term to becoming a better writer. Grandma paid for this class before she passes away. She believed in my dream of being a poet, which is why she used her savings to pay for this poetry class. She believed in me! My fingers trembled in excitement as I opened the book read the first sentence: "Everyone knows that poets are born and not made in school" (Oliver, A Poetry Handbook 1). The book fell out of my shaking hands and onto the floor. I blinked back the bitter tears of regret and returned the book to my desk. My spirit was crushed- I'm glad my grandma wasn't here to see that I never had a chance. (love you Grammy)

This book is a veritable gem. I cannot recommend it highly enough. I read it again and again......for comfort, for inspiration, for courage. This handbook is a real gift from Ms. Oliver to anyone whose heart calls out to writing poetry. Thank you Mary Oliver....for your gorgeous poems and for your generous spirit in writing this book for the poet in the rest of us.