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Ordering the Storm: How to Put Together a Book of Poems
by
Susan Grimm
Literary Nonfiction. Poetics. "ORDERING THE STORM empowers readers to see the poetry collection as an artistic medium in itself, and offers diverse perspectives on the subject. Experienced writers and beginners alike will find inspiration and encouragement in the words of exceptional poets such as Maggie Anderson, Wanda Coleman, and Beckian Fritz Goldberg. This book should...more
Paperback, 96 pages
Published
January 15th 2006
by Cleveland State University Poetry Center
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"When poets talk about assembling a book of poems," Maggie Anderson writes in her essay titled "Keeping Company: Thoughts on Arranging Poems," "we like to suggest that it is an occult procedure."
There is a good deal of occult talk in Ordering the Storm:How to Put Together a Book of Poems , talk that makes the organization of a book of poems seem beyond the abilities of all but a few gifted adepts.
Daunting talk for anyone attempting to assemble a first poetry manuscript.
Thankfully, though, there...more
There is a good deal of occult talk in Ordering the Storm:How to Put Together a Book of Poems , talk that makes the organization of a book of poems seem beyond the abilities of all but a few gifted adepts.
Daunting talk for anyone attempting to assemble a first poetry manuscript.
Thankfully, though, there...more
I read this slim volume of essays by poets in two sittings. Robert Miltner had a lot of solid advice about unifying a collection, and Karen Kovacik's discussion of her own journey to publication was illuminating. I skipped a couple of the essays because their style (pompous and self-indulgent in one case, overly academic in another) irritated me. Conversely, I really enjoyed Wanda Coleman's honest and straightforward writing style, even if I didn't learn a lot from her piece.
Throughout the book,...more
Throughout the book,...more
These essays were written by various poets, so like any edited anthology, some were more helpful than others. I found it amusing and somewhat irritating that almost all of the authors recommended spreading the poems out on the floor to decide the order. More than one of them mentions that if they had it to do over again, they would write books of poetry with the entire book in mind rather than only treating the poems as individual entities. This appeals to me anyway -- a book of poems with a the...more
An interesting collection of essays by well-published poets on the process of assembling their manuscripts. The essays cover several points of view. They discuss a "straight-through" manuscript versus arranging unified sections. Most of the manuscripts discussed were prepared as contest entries, and advice for that process is shared. It was encouraging to read of the manuscripts that didn't make it, or were finalists but not published, the first entry, but succeeded a year later after revision a...more
I was so excited to find this title in the midst of my own miasma of manuscript ordering, and I think it's such a great idea for a book of essays, but overall, I was a little disappointed by it. Maybe my expectations were too high-- the gist of the book, after all, and what most any poet-teacher will tell you, is that you have to figure it out for yourself, in your own way, blah blah blah. Surely sound advice, but it doesn't keep me from searching for a silver bullet. What I found most useful he...more
Nothing really surprising here, and I don't think any major light bulbs will go off, but the essays are good and worth a read. Interesting thoughts on a variety of attitudes about and personal experience with book making and organization.
Very little to take from this and then "use" or "apply" to your ms. I've seen a few reviewers say that their expectations may have been too high;I agree with this. I saw this title and instantly thought: "Finally, a book that will tell me *how* to put my ms together." In the end,and it may be the only *real* way to do it, you have to try to obtain a "feel" for the flow of your material, and this is different for every person. At least I feel that I'm not doing something wrong. And for that, it w...more
Many different takes on how to put together a book of poems, an undertaking not unlike writing a large poem of many parts.
I found many of the essays most helpful.
I found many of the essays most helpful.
Less like a how-to book and more like a self-help book to remind you that no one else knows what they're doing either.
one of the essays was somewhat interesting and somewhat useful. The rest, not much to write home about.
some silly navel-gazing, but it got me thinking. i liked Beckian Fritz Goldberg's essay.
I have an essay in this book.
Good for poets putting together first or second collections.
Good for poets putting together first or second collections.
Dec 22, 2012
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Aug 24, 2009 06:19pm