One of the goals I intend to work towards this year is increasing my understanding of poetic form and creating more poems with set form and meter. I don't think I will ever be a die-hard formalist, but in order to progress I do believe there is something to be said for studying where you've been.
I asked for recommendations on twitter for books specifically written for writers looking to work on their craft, and I had quite a few interesting suggestions, many of which I bought myself and intend to work through over the course of the next 6 months. I thought this list might be beneficial to others, so here it is, a by-n0-mean-exhaustive list of books that can help you write better poetry (plus what people had to say about it!)
Eaven Boland's "The Making of a Poem"
Kate Clanchy's "How to grow your own Poem"
Kim Addonizio's "Poet's Companion" and "Ordinary Genius" (both books make you work hard alongside your reading)
Falley & Gibson's "How Poetry can change your heart"
Susan Grimm's "Ordering the Storms" (about putting a collection together more than indivdual poetry craft)
Ted Kooser's "Poetry Home Repair Manual"
Davidson & Fraser's "Writing Poetry" (Critical approach to writing)
Carol Rumens' "Smart Devices"
Beum & Shapiro's "Prosody Handbook" (Best read in small doses!)
Glyn Maxwell's "On Poetry"
Diane Lockward's "The Strategic Poet"
William Baer's "Writing Metrical Poetry" (form! meter! rhyme!)
James Longenbach's "The Art of the Poetic Line"
Denis Donoghue's "Metaphor" (not strictly about poetry, more metaphor in general)
Lucy Newlyn's "The Craft of Poetry" (What a cover!)
Tom Chivers' (ed.) "Adventure in form"
Steve Kowit's "In the Palm of your Hand"
I plan on beginning with Lucy Newlyn's "Craft of Poetry" mid february, once I've written the bare bones of one of my novels (one of my January goals!) Then hopefully, in a few months, have some brand new, carefully-crafted poems to send out into the world!
Do you use any handbooks or resources on craft? How do you work on improving your creative skills?
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