The Craft of Poetry: A Bibliography of Resources in English

1. Precursors / chronological by country

A) England

Gascoigne, George.  “Certayne Notes of Instruction concerning the making of verse or ryme in English…” In The Posies of George Gascoigne. London: Richard Smith, 1575.[1]

Puttenham, George.  The Art of English Poesy: A Critical Edition. 1589.  Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2007.

Lancelot, Claude. Quatre Traitez de Pöesies Latine, Françoise, Italienne, et Espagnole. 1663.

Poole, Joshua.  The English Parnassus: Or, a Helpe to English Poesie. London: 1657; 2^nd ed. 1677.

Bysshe, Edward.  The Art of English Poetry.  Containing I. Rules for making VERSES.  II.  A Collection of the most Natural, Agreeable, and Sublime THOUGHTS, viz. Allusions, Similes, Descriptions and Characters, of Persons and Things, that are to be found in the best ENGLISH POETS.  III. A Dictionary of RHYMES. London, 1702, 1705, 1708, etc.[2]

Steele, Sir Joshua.  Prosodia Rationalis: or an Essay Towards Establishing the Melody and Measure of Speech, to be Expressed and Perpetuated by Peculiar Symbols. 1775.  London: T. Payne & Son, 1779.[3]

Hood, Tom.  A Practical Guide to English Versification.  London, 1869.  New Edition, titled Rules for Making English Verses, London: John Hogg, 1877.

Brewer, R. F.  Orthometry: A Manual of English Prosody: Being an Introduction to the Study of Poetry. 1869.  Many later editions and reprints up to 1950.[4]

Gayley, Charles Mills, and Clement C. Young.  English Poetry: Its Principles and Progress. 1904.  London, England: Macmillan and Co., Ltd, 1910.

Saintsbury, George. Historical Manual of English Prosody. 1910.  New York, NY: Shocken Books, 1966.

Grew, Sydney.  A Book of English Prosody.  London: Grant Richards, 1924.[5]

Felkin, F. W.  The Poet’s Craft: An Outline of English Verse Composition for Schools.  London: George Allen & Unwin, 1919.  New York, NY: Henry Holt, 1926.

Smith, Egerton.  The Principles of English Metre.  Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1923.

B) America

Gummere, Francis B.  A Handbook of Poetics, for Students of English Verse. Boston, MA: Ginn & Company, 1885.  2^nd ed. 1886; 3^rd ed. 1890; 1902.[6]

Johnson, Charles Frederick.  Forms of English Poetry.  New York: American Book Co., 1904.

Lewis, Charlton Miner.  The Principles of English Verse. 1906.  New Haven: Yale University Press, 1929.

Matthews, Brander.  A Study of Versification. Cambridge, MA: The Riverside Press, 1911.

Untermeyer, Louis.  The Forms of Poetry : A Pocket Dictionary of Verse.  New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1926.

Pyre, J. F. A.  A Short Introduction to English Versification.  New York, NY: F. S. Crofts & Co., 1929.

Stewart, George R., Jr.  The Technique of English Verse.  New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1930.

Hamilton, Anne.  How to Revise Your Own Poems: A Primer for Poets.  Los Angeles, CA:  Abbey San Encino Press, 1936.

Untermeyer, Louis.  Doorways to Poetry.  New York, NY: Harcourt, Brace and Company, Inc., 1938.

Wood, Clement. Poets’ Handbook.  New York: Greenberg, 1940.

Hillyer, Robert.  First Principles of Verse. 1950.  Revised Edition.  Boston, MA: The Writer, Inc, 1962.

2. Handbooks and Reference Guides that Foreground Meter and Verse Forms

Adams, Stephen.  Poetic Designs: An Introduction to Meters, Verse Forms and Figures of Speech. Peterborough, Ontario, CA: Broadview Press Ltd., 1997.

Baer, William.* Writing Metrical Poetry: Contemporary Lessons for Mastering Traditional Forms. Cincinnati, OH: Writer’s Digest books, 2006.

Beum, Robert, and Karl Shapiro.  The Prosody Handbook: A Guide to Poetic Form. 1965.  Expanded Edition.  New York, NY: Dover Publications, Inc., 2006. [Brogan’s favorite…]

Bishop, Wendy.  Thirteen Ways of Looking for a Poem: A Guide to Writing Poetry.  New York, NY: Longman, 1999.

Boland, Eavan, and Mark Strand, eds.  The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms. New York, NY: W.W. Norton and Company, Inc., 2000.

Bugeja, Michael J. The Art and Craft of Poetry. Cincinnati: Writer’s Digest Books, 1994.

Caplan, David.^* Poetic Form: An Introduction.  New York, NY: Longman, 2006.

Corn, Alfred.^* The Poem’s Heartbeat: A Manual of Prosody.  Brownsville, OR: Story Line Press, 1997.

Dessner, Lawrence Jay.  How to Write a Poem. New York, NY: New York University Press, 1979.

Deutsche, Babette.  Poetry Handbook: A Dictionary of Terms. 1957.  Fourth Edition.  New York, NY: Harper and Row, Publishers, Inc., 1974.

Drury, John.  The Poetry Dictionary.  2^nd Edition.  Cincinnati, OH: Readers Digest Books, 2005.

Eldridge, William Terry.  The Anatomy of Poetry: A Handbook on the Mechanics and Craft of Poetry.  NP: Exeter Press, 1961.

Fry, Stephen.  The Ode Less Travelled: Unlocking the Poet Within. New York, NY: Gotham Books, 2006.

Fussell, Paul.  Poetic Meter and Poetic Form. 1965.  Revised Edition.  New York:  McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1979.

Hollander, John.  Rhyme’s Reason: A Guide to English Verse.  1981.  New, Enlarged Edition.  New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1989.

Jerome, Judson. The Poet’s Handbook.  Cincinnati, Ohio: Writer’s Digest Books, 1980.

Johnson, Burges.  New Rhyming Dictionary and Poets’ Handbook. New York, NY: Harper & Row, 1957.

Lennard, John.  The Poetry Handbook.  Second Edition.  New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2006.

Lyon, Travis.  Forms of Poetry. Pittsburgh, PA: TeaLemon Books, 2003.

McAuley, James.  Versification: A Short Introduction. Detroit, MI: The Michigan State University Press, 1966.

Malcovati, Leonardo.  Prosody in England and Elsewhere: A Comparative Approach.  Arlington, Virginia: Givald Press, 2005.

Malof, Joseph.  A Manual of English Meters.  Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1970.

Myers, Jack Elliott and Michael Simms.  Longman Dictionary and Handbook of Poetry.  New York: Longman, 1985.  Updated edition published as Dictionary of Poetic Terms, by Jack Myers and Don C. Wukasch.  Denton, TX: University of North Texas Press, 2003.

Oliver, Mary.  Rules for the Dance: A Handbook for Writing and Reading Metrical Verse. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998.

Packard, William.  The Poet’s Dictionary: A Handbook of Prosody and Poetic Devices. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 1994.

Parrott, E.O., ed.  How To Be Well-Versed in Poetry. London, England: Penguin Books Ltd, 1991.

Powell, Joseph and Mark Halperin.  Accent on Meter: A Handbook for Readers of Poetry. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 2004.

Preminger, Otto, T. V. F. Brogan,^* et al.  The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics.  1974.  Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1993.  [NB: This volume has spawned several abridged volumes, including The New Princeton Handbook of Poetic Term and The Princeton Handbook of Multicultural Poetries.]

Skelton, Robin.  The Shapes of Our Singing: A Guide to the Metres and Set Forms of Verse from Around the World. Spokane, WA: Eastern Washington University Press, 2002.

Turco, Lewis.^* The Book of Forms.  1968.  Third Edition.  Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 2000.

Untermeyer, Louis. The Pursuit of Poetry: A Guide to its Understanding and Appreciation with an Explanation of its Forms and a Dictionary of Poetic Terms. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1969.

Williams, Miller.  Patterns of Poetry: An Encyclopedia of Forms. Baton Rouge : Louisiana State University Press, 1986.

Whitworth, John.  Writing Poetry.  London: A & C Black, 2001.

3. Discursive Introductions that Foreground Meter and/or Verse Forms

Attridge, Derek.^* Poetic Rhythm: An Introduction. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1995.

Carper, Thomas^* and Derek Attridge.^* Meter and Meaning: Introduction to Rhythm in Poetry. New York, NY: Routledge, 2003.

DeFord, Sara and Clarinda Harriss Lott.  Forms of Verse: British and American.  New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1971.

Finch, Annie^* and Kathrine Varnes.^* An Exaltation of Forms.   Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2002.

Hobsbaum, Philip.  Metre, Rhythm and Verse Form. New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group, 1996.

Kinzie, Mary.  A Poet’s Guide to Poetry. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1999.

Pinsky, Robert.  The Sounds of Poetry: A Brief Guide. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1999.

Steele, Tim.^* All the Fun’s in How You Say a Thing: An Explanation of Meter and Versification.  Athens, OH: Ohio University Press, 1999.

4. Handbooks in which Discussions of Meter and Verse Forms Are Secondary

A) Handbooks that include substantial sections on Meter and/or Verse Forms

Altenbernd, Lynn and Leslie L. Lewis.  1963.  A Handbook for the Study of Poetry.  New York: Macmillan, 1966.  A revised and expanded version of Part One of Introduction to Literature: Poems.

Bogen, Nancy.  How to Write Poetry. 1991.  Third Edition.  New York, NY: Macmillan, 1998.

Eliopulos, Tina D. and Todd Scott Moffett.  The Everything Writing Poetry Book: A Practical Guide to Style, Structure, Form, and Expression.  Avon, MA: Adams Media, 2005.

Fenton, James.  An Introduction to English Poetry. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2002.

Lennard, John. The Poetry Handbook: A Guide to Reading Poetry for Pleasure and Practical Criticism. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1996.

Livingstone, Dinah.  Poetry Handbook for Readers and Writers.  Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Macmillan, 1993.

McDowell, Robert.^* Poetry as Spiritual Practice: Reading, Writing, and Using Poetry in Your Daily Rituals, Aspirations, and Intentions. New York: Free Press, 2008.

Moustaki, Nikki.  The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Writing Poetry.  New York, NY: Penguin, 2001.

Oliver, Mary.  A Poetry Handbook: A Prose Guide to Understanding and Writing Poetry. New York, NY: Harcourt Brace and Company, 1994.

Thiel, Diane.^* Open Roads: Exercises in Writing Poetry.  New York, NY: Pearson Longman, 2005.

B) Handbooks with less emphasis on Meter and/or Verse Forms

Addonizio, Kim.^* Ordinary Genius: A Guide for the Poet Within.  New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Co., 2009.

Addonizio, Kim,^* and Dorianne Laux.  The Poet’s Companion: A Guide to the Pleasures of Writing Poetry. New York, NY: W. W. Norton and Company, 1997.

Alderson, Daniel.  Talking Back to Poems: A Working Guide for the Aspiring Poet.  Berkeley, CA: Celestial Arts, 1996.

Blehert, Dean.  Please, Lord, Make Me a Famous Poet or at Least Less Fat.  Reston, VA: Words & Pictures East Coast LLC, 1999.

Clark, Kevin.  The Mind’s Eye: A Guide to Writing Poetry. New York, NY: Pearson Education, 2008.

Cohen, Sage.  Writing the Life Poetic: An Initiation to Read and Write Poetry.  Cincinnati, OH: Writer’s Digest Books, 2009.

Drury, John.  Creating Poetry. Cincinnati, OH: Reader’s Digest Books, 1991.

Fiske, Robert Hartwell, and Laura Cherry, eds.  Poem, Revised: 54 Poems, Revisions, Discussions.  Portland, OR: Marion Street Press, 2008.

Fowler, Gene.  Waking the Poet: Acquiring the Deep Seated Crafts Usually Called ‘Talents’ Berkeley, CA: The Re-Geniusing Project, 1981.

Grimm, Susan, ed.  Ordering the Storm: How to Put Together a Book of Poems. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland State University Press, 2006.

Holmes, John.  Writing Poetry.  Boston, MA: Writer, Inc., 1960.

Jason, Philip K. and Allan B. Lefcowitz.  1994.  Creative Writer’s Handbook.  Fifth Edition.  Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 2009.

Kirby, David.  Writing Poetry: Where Poems Come From and How to Write Them. The Writer, Inc., 1989.

Koch, Kenneth.  Making Your Own Days: The Pleasures of Reading and Writing Poetry. 1998.  New York, NY: Simon & Schuster (Touchstone), 1999.

Kooser, Ted.  The Poetry Home Repair Manual: Practical Advice for Beginning Poets. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 2005.

Kowit, Steve.  In the Palm of Your Hand: The Poet’s Portable Workshop. Gardiner, Maine: Tilbury House, Publishers, 1995.

Longenbach, James.  The Art of the Poetic Line.  St. Paul, MN: Graywolf Press, 2008.

Lyne, Sandford.  Writing Poetry from the Inside Out.  Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks, Inc., 2007.

Marra, Reggie.  Living Poems, Writing Lives: Spirit, Self, and the Art of Poetry.  New Milford, CT: Xlibris, 2004.

Mayes, Frances.  The Discovery of Poetry: A Field Guide to Reading and Writing Poems. Orlando, FL: Harcourt, Inc., 2001.

Mock, Jeff.  You Can Write Poetry.  Cincinnati, OH: Writer’s Digest Books, 1998.

Morrison, Carol.  How to Build a Long-Lasting Fire: Writing Poems from Your Life.   Lincolnwood, IL: NTC/Contemporary Publishing Company, 1997.

Myers, Jack.  The Portable Poetry Workshop.  Florence, KY: Wadsworth Publishing, 2004.

Polonsky, Marc.  The Poetry Reader’s Toolkit: A Guide to Reading and Understanding Poetry. Chicago, IL: NTC Publishing Group, 1998.

Sansom, Peter.  Writing Poems. 1994.  Tarset, Northumberland: Bloodaxe Books, 2007.

Scott, Wilbur.  Skills of the Poet.  New York, NY: Harper and Row, 1977.

Smith, Michael C.  Writing Dangerous Poetry. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1998.

Snodgrass, W. D. De/Compositions : 101 good poems gone wrong.  St. Paul, MN: Graywolf Press, 2001.

Statman, Mark.  Listener in the Snow: The Practice and Teaching of Poetry. New York, NY: Teachers & Writers Collaborative, 2000.

Sweeney Matthew.  Teach Yourself Writing Poetry.  1995.  New Edition.  With John Hartley Williams.  New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2009.

Thiel, Diane.^* Writing Your Rhythm.  Ashland, OR: Story Line Press, 2001.

Timpane, John and Maureen Watts.  Poetry for Dummies.  San Francisco, CA: San Francisco State University Poetry Center, 2001.

Wooldridge, Susan Goldsmith.  Poemcrazy: Freeing Your Life with Words.  New York, NY: Three Rivers Press, 1996.

5. Textbooks, Workbooks and Teacher Guides

A) K-12

Agostino, Paul.  Created Writing: Poetry from New Angles.  Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1996.

Ambrosini, Michelle and Teresa M. Morretta.  Poetry Workshop for Middle School: Activities That Inspire Meaningful Language Learning.  Newark, DE: International Reading Association, Inc., 2003.

Baldwin, Neil.  The Poetry Writing Handbook.  New York, NY: Scholastic Book Services, 1981.

Collom, Jack.  Moving Windows: Evaluating the Poetry Children Write. New York, NY: Teachers & Writers Collaborative, 1985.

Collom, Jack, and Sheryl Noethe.  Poetry Everywhere: Teaching Poetry Writing in School and in the Community.  New York, NY: Teachers & Writers Collaborative, 1994.

Dunning, Stephen and William Stafford.  Getting the Knack: 20 Poetry Writing Exercises.  Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 1992.

Finn, Louise.  Your Turn: 33 Lessons in Poetry.  Portland, ME: Walch Education, 1998.

Fletcher, Ralph.  Poetry Matters: Writing a Poem from the Inside Out. New York, NY: Harper Collins, 2002.

Gedalof, Allen J.  Teaching Poetry: A Handbook of Exercises for Large and Small Classes. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, 2004.

Goldberg, Shari.  Poetry and Prose Handbook. Grades 9 – 12.  Portland, ME: Walch Publishing, 2003.

Green, Benjamin and Anita Punla.  Beyond Roses Are Red Violets Are Blue: A Practical Guide for Helping Students Write Free Verse.  Fort Collins, CO: Cottonwood Press, Inc., 1996.

Heard, Georgia.   Awakening the Heart: Exploring Poetry in Elementary and Middle School. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1998.

Janeczko, Paul.  Teaching 10 Fabulous Forms of Poetry.  Grades 4-8.  New York, NY: Scholastic Publishers, 2000.

—–.  How To Write Poetry.  New York, NY: Scholastic Reference, 2001.

—–. A Kick in the Head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms. Grades 3 – 6.  Illustrated by Chris Raschka.  Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 2009.

Koch, Kenneth.  Rose, Where Did You Get That Red?: Teaching Great Poetry to Children.  1970.  New York, NY: Vintage, 1990.

—– and Ron Padgett.  Wishes, Lies, and Dreams: Teaching Children to Write Poetry.  1970.  New York, NY: Harper, 1999.

Lies, Betty Bonham.  The Poet’s Pen: Writing Poetry with Middle and High School Students.  Portsmouth, NH: Teacher Ideas Press, 1993. 

Lipson, Greta Barclay.  Poetry Writing Handbook: Definitions, Examples, Lessons. Grades 4 – 6.  Dayton, OH: Teaching & Learning Company, 1998.

Livingstone, Dinah.  Poetry Handbook for Readers and Writers.  Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Macmillan, 1993.

Lown, Fredric and Judith W. Steinbergh.  Reading and Writing Poetry with Teenagers.  Portland, ME: Walch Education, 1996.

Michaels, Judith Rowe.  Risking Intensity: Reading and Writing Poetry with High School Students. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 1999.

Moon, Brian.  Studying Poetry: Activities, Resources and Texts. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 2001.

Moore, Jo Ellen.  Writing Poetry With Children.  Monterey, CA: Evan-Moor Corp., 1999.

Morice, Dave.  The Adventures of Dr. Alphabet: 104 Unusual Ways to Write Poetry in the Classroom and the Community. New York, NY: Teachers & Writers Collaborative, 1995.

O’Connor, John S.  Wordplaygrounds. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 2004.

Orndorf, Eleanor.  Poetry Patterns and Themes. Monterey, CA: Evan-Moor Educational Publishers, 1999.

Perfect, Kathy A.  Poetry Lessons- Everything You Need : A Mentor Teacher’s Lessons and Select Poems That Help You Meet the Standards Across the Curriculum and Teach Poetry with Confidence and Joy. New York, NY: Scholastic Publishers, 2005.

Prelutzky, Jack.  Pizza, Pigs, and Poetry: How to Write a Poem.  Grades 3 – 7.  New York, NY: HarperCollins (Greenwillow Books), 2008.

Ruurs, Margriet.  The Power of Poems: Teaching the Joy of Writing Poetry.  Gainesville, FL: Maupin House, 2000.

Sloan, Glenna Davis.  Give Them Poetry!  A Guide for Sharing Poetry, K-8.  New York, NY: Teachers College Press, 2003.

Somers, Albert B.  Teaching Poetry in High School. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 1999.

Statman, Mark.  Listener in the Snow: The Practice and Teaching of Poetry. New York, NY: Teachers & Writers Collaborative, 2000.

Tucker, Shelley.  Kindle The Fire: Writing Poetry with Middle School Students.  Tucson, AZ: Good Year Books, 2001.

—–. Painting the Sky: Writing Poetry with Children.  Tucson, AZ: Good Year Books, 2004.

—–. Writing Poetry.  Tucson, AZ: Good Year Books, 1992.

—–. Word Weavings: Writing Poetry with Young Children.  Tucson, AZ: Good Year Books, 1997.

Walter, Nina Willis.  Let Them Write Poetry. New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1962.

B) Advanced High School / College and Other Classroom Settings

Behn, Robin and Chase Twichell, eds. The Practice of Poetry: Writing Exercises from Poets Who Teach. New York, NY: Harper-Collins Publishers, Inc., 1992.

Drake, Barbara.  Writing Poetry.  1983.  Second Edition.  New York, NY: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1994.

Kennedy,  X. J.^* and Dana Gioia.^* An Introduction to Poetry. Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Company, 1966.  Twelfth Edition.  New York, NY, Longman, 2006.

Koch, Kenneth.  I Never Told Anybody: Teaching Poetry Writing to Old People.  1977.  New York, NY: Teachers & Writers Collaborative, 2007.

Minot, Stephen.  Three Genres: The Writing of Fiction, Poetry and Drama. 1965.  Eighth Edition.  Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 2006.

Nims, John Frederick and David Mason.^* Western Wind: An Introduction to Poetry. 1974.  Fifth Edition.  New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005.

Padgett, Ron, ed.  The Teacher’s and Writer’s Handbook of Poetic Forms. 1987.  Second Edition.  New York, NY: Thomson-Shore, Inc., 2000.

Perrine, Laurence.  Sound and Sense: An Introduction to Poetry. New York, NY: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1956.  Twelfth Edition, as Perrine’s Sound and Sense, by Thomas P. Arp and Greg Johnson.  Florence, KY: Thomas & Wadsworth (Cengage), 2007.

Wallace Robert.  Writing Poems.  1982.  Seventh Edition, with Michelle Boisseau and Randall Mann.  New York, NY: Longman, 2007.

Wormser, Baron and David Cappella.  Teaching the Art of Poetry: The Moves.  Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1999.

—–.  A Surge of Language: Teaching Poetry Day by Day.  Portsmouth, NJ: Heinemann, 2004.

6. Poetry Therapy Guides

Fox, John.  Finding What You Didn’t Lose. New York, NY:  Jeremy P. Tarcher / Putnam, 1995.

—–.  Poetic Medicine: The Healing Art of Poem-Making.  New York, NY:  Jeremy P. Tarcher / Putnam, 1997.

Harrower, M.  The Therapy of Poetry. Springfield, IL: Thomas, 1972.

Hynes, Arleen McCarty and Mary Hunes-Berry.  1986.  Biblio/Poetry Therapy – The Interactive Process: A Handbook. St. Cloud, MN: North Star Press of St. Cloud, 1994.

Mazza, Nicholas.  Poetry Therapy: Theory and Practice. New York, NY: Routledge, 2003.

Welch, J. G. Topics for Getting In Touch: A Poetry Therapy Sourcebook. Columbus, OH: Pudding Magazine, 1982.

Weisberger, Chavis.  The Healing Fountain: Poetry Therapy for Life’s Journey. St. Cloud, MN: North Star Press of St. Cloud, Inc., 2003.