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The Poetry Home Repair Manual: Practical Advice for Beginning Poets
by
Ted Kooser
Recently appointed as the new U. S. Poet Laureate, Ted Kooser has been writing and publishing poetry for more than forty years. In the pages of The Poetry Home Repair Manual, Kooser brings those decades of experience to bear. Here are tools and insights, the instructions (and warnings against instructions) that poetss spent a lifetime learning to execute so well.
Paperback, 170 pages
Published
March 1st 2007
by UNP - Bison Books
(first published 2005)
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Ted Kooser is a nice man. I knew from the minute I saw his photo on the back cover- an avuncular figure in a cable-knit sweater smiling blithely into the camera, a mug of something in his hand- that this would not be elitist, it would not be condescending and it would not be highflown.
This is a book for the intimidated and the uncertain, for the simple and the popular. There are the sorts of people who like poetry as poetry; not because it seems like they ought to like it, or because ...more
This is a book for the intimidated and the uncertain, for the simple and the popular. There are the sorts of people who like poetry as poetry; not because it seems like they ought to like it, or because ...more
Kooser's book is so welcoming from the warm tone to the straight-forward, unassuming language, and the pragmatic advice. Kooser writes, "The Poetry Home Repair Manual advocates for poems that can be read and understood without professional interpretation. My teacher and mentor, Karl Shapiro, once pointed out that the poetry of the twentieth century was the first poetry that had to be taught. He might have said that had to be explained. I believe with all my heart that it's a virtue to show ...more
This slim little treatise offers some of the most practical, applicable advice on writing that I've come across yet. Kooser puts less emphasis on technical aspects of form and rhythm in favor of solid poetry that's written to be read, pointing out that the music is a less conscious process. It's friendly and encouraging - I found myself nodding in recognition of mistakes I make, proud to see things I already work on, and reaching for the highlighter often.
I borrowed this book from the local library, but I will likely buy it. What did CS Lewis say? "Don't waste your time on a book you wouldn't read again and again?" Or, something like that.
This book, at bottom, is an apologetic for Kooser's own philosophy of poetry. One I'll bet you'll agree with: the writer should serve the reader, love them even. He quotes Seamus Heaney to this effect - "The aim of the poet and the poetry is finally to be of service, to ply the effort of...more
This book, at bottom, is an apologetic for Kooser's own philosophy of poetry. One I'll bet you'll agree with: the writer should serve the reader, love them even. He quotes Seamus Heaney to this effect - "The aim of the poet and the poetry is finally to be of service, to ply the effort of...more
This little powerhouse of a how-to has some outdated publishing and submission information in it--written before the explosion of Internet publishing and duotrope.com, but for craft advice, it can't be beat. Accessible for beginners and good reminders for those more advanced writers, Ted Kooser has given the world of poetry a generous gift. If you've ever had questions on how to break your lines, whether to use a metaphor or simile in a particular context and how and where to sprinkle those adje...more
Loving this line, I'm paraphrasing his quote from John Fowles: You don't get the audience from preaching and philosophizing, but from the baser tricks of the trade - from wooing the reader into the palm of your hand.
A great book for writing basics, whether in prose or in poetry. Good for me to see the poetry equivalent to the prose I've been teaching my students - and his added insights on controlling metaphors and similes. In this world where we rush to crank out a novel in one mon...more
A great book for writing basics, whether in prose or in poetry. Good for me to see the poetry equivalent to the prose I've been teaching my students - and his added insights on controlling metaphors and similes. In this world where we rush to crank out a novel in one mon...more
I really loved this book, with just a few small reservations. For the most part it was fantastic: casual and funny, with useful, straightforward advice about poetry writing. I loved how he used examples of specific poems, then carefully walked you through how they did what they did, and why that worked. I got some great ideas, and even learned a new poetic meter (syllabic!) at this late date.
The parts I found less useful were where he got overly prescriptivist about writing only t...more
The parts I found less useful were where he got overly prescriptivist about writing only t...more
Since I've never had formal instruction in poetry composition, unless you count poetry units in middle and high school, this was very helpful. Mr. Kooser has a very accessible writing style. Even though he's the Poet Laureate, he writes like a colleague or maybe a professor in a small seminar where he already knows the students.
Lots of good and some new ideas. LOTS of examples, mostly from unfamiliar 20th-century poets. This was a library read but would absolutely be worth the price fo...more
Lots of good and some new ideas. LOTS of examples, mostly from unfamiliar 20th-century poets. This was a library read but would absolutely be worth the price fo...more
This book, intended for beginning poets, is part how-to and part commentary. But it's also a manifesto. Ted Kooser insists that poetry is communication, yes, even communication with other people. I suspect there are lots of poets who either hate this book or wouldn't give it the time of day. I'll let Kooser speak for himself:
"I've been reading poems for many years and should be altogether comfortable with them, but still, when I turn a page in a literary journal and come upo...more
"I've been reading poems for many years and should be altogether comfortable with them, but still, when I turn a page in a literary journal and come upo...more
Kooser's guide did not change my life, it did however encapsulate pretty much everything I tell beginning poets in a neat, understandable way supplemented by mostly excellent examples. Also, Kooser's voice is gentle and wise and the author picture has him in a big sweater with a cuppa something. Maybe the latter doesn't matter so much but if I'm giving a book five stars, I try to take everything into account.
Courtney
rated it
Recommends it for:
all writer
Recommended to Courtney by:
Mark Letcher
Shelves:
writing-resources
Kooser conducts a straightforward discussion of the role of poetry and devices beginners can employ to get started writing. Although this text is an informative, easy read, it's geared more towards the individual rather than a classroom setting. He doesn't attempt to 'teach' poetic styles; he presents poetic advice.
This is a favorite. The book is "as advertised" in the title, but is also much more in that it explains a lot about how poetry works, without taking away any of the magic. Another great book along these lines is How to Read a Poem and Start Poetry Circle by Molly Peacock.
An excellent book, all in all; one I hope to revisit for its excellent suggestions and ideas.
I was a bit concerned at first due to a small overuse of universalisms in the first couple of chapters but they disappeared. I also do not like the font face used for italics. It isn't truly an italic face but more of a wavy version of the regular face.
I was a bit concerned at first due to a small overuse of universalisms in the first couple of chapters but they disappeared. I also do not like the font face used for italics. It isn't truly an italic face but more of a wavy version of the regular face.
Really very good, and encouraging. Kooser's emphasis on considering the reader and making your poems as transparent as you can, particularly for newer poets, should be taken to heart by more of us.
N.L. Riviezzo
rated it
Of the variety of books on writing poetry that I have read, this is one of the most intriguing. It is an excellent source for beginners but has some thought-provoking information for those trying to fine-tune their poetic craft.
I use this to teach beginning creative writers. Works like a champ.
I don't agree with everything he says, and there's some stuff I really wish he'd say. But overall he does the job proud.
I don't agree with everything he says, and there's some stuff I really wish he'd say. But overall he does the job proud.
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My purpose was to find excerpt I could give to students, but I thought his advice came in packages that were too big. I guess I wanted nuggets and he only offered boulders,
This is the best book I have found on poetry writing. There is no meaningless dribble, no painfully overstated professor talk. It helped me become a much better writer.
This is a lovely book, and anyone serious about poetry ought to read it every now and again, not unlike Elements of Style for expository writers.
I just love this book. It catalyzed much thought and learning, and Ted Kooser is warm and charming as a narrator on craft. I spent much of the book wishing he was a friend.
I normally avoid "how-to write" books, but there's a chapter entitled "Rhyming, Ham Cubes, Prose Poems." I can't resist that.
Insightful and inspiring. I learned you can use adjectives and adverbs in your writings, provided that you use them judiciously.
So, if Immersed in Verse is the funny childish love of poetry and awesome inspiration bit--then this baby is the "we're all-grown up, and now have settled down to work on art . . . but we haven't quite given up our sense of humor" bit.
The advice is absolutely indispensable, and ought to be required reading for every aspiring poet. It's also a delight to read--just delicious.
Please, oh please, read.
The advice is absolutely indispensable, and ought to be required reading for every aspiring poet. It's also a delight to read--just delicious.
Please, oh please, read.
Kooser's main audience may be beginning poets, but his advice also applies to those who have practiced poetry for years.
I've got loads of poetry manuals on my shelf, but this one? It's got voice like a well-done work of fiction.
Practical and readable. Good examples. A poetry manual by my all-time favorite poet.
advice about writing poetry from a master poet. does it get better than this??
Really enjoyed this one, as I think most poets and teachers of poetry would.
An excellent discussion of poetry writing by a poet laureate of the United States.
A good book for beginning poets...clear with good examples.
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Ted Kooser lives in rural Nebraska with his wife, Kathleen, and three dogs. He is one of America's most noted poets, having served two terms as U. S. Poet Laureate and, during the second term, he won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his collection, DELIGHTS & SHADOWS. He is a retired life insurance executive who now teaches part-time at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. The school board in L...more
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“Considering the ways in which so many of us waste our time, what would be wrong with a world in which everybody were writing poems? After all, there’s a significant service to humanity in spending time doing no harm. While you’re writing your poem, there’s one less scoundrel in the world. And I’d like a world, wouldn’t you, in which people actually took time to think about what they were saying? It would be, I’m certain, a more peaceful, more reasonable place. I don’t think there could ever be too many poets. By writing poetry, even those poems that fail and fail miserably, we honor and affirm life. We say ‘We loved the earth but could not stay.”
—
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