In the Palm of Your Hand: A Poet's Portable Workshop

by Steve Kowit, Kaylin Haught (Contributor)

An illuminating and invaluable guide for beginners wary of modern poetry, as well as for more advanced students who want to sharpen their craft and write poems that expand their technical skills, excite their imaginations, and engage their deepest memories and concerns. Ideal for teachers who have been searching for a way to inspire students with a love for writing--and reading--contemporary poetry. It is a book about shaping your memories and passions, your pleasures, obsessions, dreams, secrets, and sorrows into the poems you have always wanted to write.  If you long to create poetry that is magical and moving, this is the book you've been looking for. Here are chapters on the language and music of poetry, the art of revision, traditional and experimental techniques, and how to get your poetry started, perfected, and published.  Not the least of the book's pleasures are model poems by many of the best contemporary poets, illuminating craft discussions, and the author's detailed suggestions for writing dozens of poems about your deepest and most passionate concerns.

Genres: Poetry, Writing, Nonfiction, Reference, School, Teaching, Crafts

288 pages, Paperback

Published June 1, 2003

Reviews

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is easily the best textbook I have ever used in any of my classes--creative writing, literature, or composition. Not only was the instruction clear and helpful, but the writing is so accessible that the students looked forward to reading it. Normally, I have trouble getting my students to complete the reading, but that was not the case with this book--they loved reading it. And the assignments are wonderful because they are straightforward and easy to understand and also help the students focus on manageable writing projects. It was such a joy to have one of my students stand up at open mic on campus last week and thank me for helping her write the two outstanding poems she had just read, but in truth, all the credit goes to Steve Kowit's In the Palm of Your Hand.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is some good material here, and the author strikes an affable narrative voice, but much of the material feels just a bit facile, and the exercises are (overall) not terribly inspiring. But I did find this somewhat helpful in planning the poetry section of my Intro to Creative Writing class.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simultaneously serves as a great and eclectic collection of poems and a guide to appreciating them. I often found myself reading the poem at the beginning of some chapter and thinking the poem was opaque, only to gain a fuller understanding of what it was doing and how it was working as I read through the chapter. It's a nice feeling to be actively aware of your progress in learning!

I didn't do the writing exercises at the end of each chapter but the exercises seemed very good also.

Just an extremely competent book that illuminates a lot of things about poetry and makes some great poems more accessible.

[Jessica Gleason · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an undergraduate, this was my favorite textbook. I connected to it and the exercises in a way that I'd never connected to a textbook before. As a result, I generated mass quantities of work and eventually went on to study the subject matter in graduate school and to teach writing at a college of my own. While I credit much of this to my wonderful professors, this book was key in unlocking some part of my brain. For that, I'll forever be grateful.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent choice of poems for discussion. Some good ideas and pointers, and worthwhile exercises and reading suggestions.

[Melanie Faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have chosen this book for a poetry writing course I will teach next month. I've read it before and used several of the exercises within it to pen my own poems. Steve Kowit uses excellent and insightful poetic examples and his technique comments are down-to-earth and accessible. He has great insight on various elements of the poetry writing process, as demonstrated in chapters like "The Art of Revision" and "Lonely as a Leftover Thumb: Figure and Image" and "Speeding Home in Reverse: The Controlling Metaphor." I would heartily recommend this book to other poets, other teachers, and even to people who want insight into how poets put poems together-- from structure to the basic mechanics of poetic language. Other than The Poet's Companion and Writing Down the Bones (two of my absolute favorites) it is near the top of my writing-books shelf (and I own dozens of writing books).

[Ron Mohring · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though I felt initially enthusiastic about this text and assigned it in a few sections of my creative writing classes, I came to grow disenchanted, specifically with the poems provided as examples: they seemed increasingly two-dimensional and were easily replaced by *better* poems. So I ended up supplementing the assignments with extra poems. Which led me to look elsewhere for a better text. Which of course is an endless process for many of us.

Reader-friendly, yes. Well-organized, yes. Good for a beginning poetry workshop or for young writers (not to be confused with young people) in need of practicing their craft, yes, of course. But I can't recommend it highly for anyone past that stage.

[Ken · Rating 3 out of 5]

Designed for would-be poets who want to become have-become poets, PALM OF YOUR HAND can be used by teachers as well, as it takes a soup-to-nuts tour of poetic elements and skills. Some of Kowit's included poetry is kid-friendly, but most seems chosen with adults and college students in mind. Nothing earth-shakingly different about this "Portable Workshop," and I prefer Ted Kooser's "Toolbox" book in a similar vein. But, as always, in search of the perfect teacher/poetry for middle school book. Nancie Atwell's is probably at the pinnacle, for now...

[Phayvanh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't get very far, because following his excersices took a lot out of me... I wrote some poems that were tought for me to write... was that the point? Some might think so after reading Dorriane Laux's introduction.

But I do think they were helpful and this is a good book for taking prompts from. Probably easily adaptable to fiction and other genres.

I only half-read it because I was already paying heavy late fees on it and had to return it to the library. :(

[Tone · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I don't think I'll ever like poetry, this book has gotten me further along to understanding it.

[Emma Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I took a poetry class.

[John Reinhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read and used several general poetry books and this one takes poetry basics a step further, fulfilling the subtitle successfully: The Poet's Portable Workshop. This is full of engaging prompts with thorough but not overwhelming description of the forms and tools for making verse.

[daima · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’ve always wanted to write poetry, but never knew where to begin, this is the book for you. It has been very helpful so far and it’s not difficult to follow each chapter. Everything goes straight to the point and the exercises are well organized and are simple enough for the reader.

[Mikael · Rating 1 out of 5]

the examples on the crossout poets were good but this book gives exercises youre not a gym

[Gerry LaFemina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really, this is a solid introductory book for the novice poet--though I wish it had more diverse samples, as the author's aesthetic bias weighs the book toward one type of poem.

[Lorena · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best creative writing book I have ever read.

[Ross Lampert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I dabble in writing poetry, so years ago a now-deceased poet-acquaintance recommended I pick up a copy of Steve Kowit’s book. At the time, I couldn’t get more than a few chapters into Palm because I wasn’t ready for it. It went back on the shelf.

Since then, my poems have been well received, even sweeping the poetry awards at a local writers’ conference last year. So a few months ago, I decided it was time to give the book another try. Four chapters in, I stalled out again, but after a few weeks away from it, I decided to keep going. I’m glad I did.

The book’s two subtitles, “The poet’s portable workshop,” and “A lively and illuminating guide for the practicing poet” turned out to be accurate. Chapters 2 to 27 (of 30) end with exercises to encourage the reader to practice the topics discussed, and it was the exercises in chapters 2-4 that caused me to put the book down. Kowit was asking me to do things I wasn’t comfortable doing, dredging up old, perhaps unhappy memories. While this sort of material can certainly produce powerful poetry, this demand this early in the book is one of my few major complaints. Perhaps for the “practicing poet,” this kind of work is less challenging, but for the novice, particularly someone uninterested in revisiting those times, this can be intimidating enough to cause him or her to stop reading and stop trying. It would have been better, for this reader anyway, if these chapters had been placed later in the book.

That aside, the book’s contents are very approachable. Kowit’s style is easy and comfortable to read, and the short but well-focused chapters keep the topics to a manageable size. While the author does get deep into some techniques that can really be eye-opening for the novice poet, he never gets overly academic. Only a few chapters deal with the kinds of poetry that academic poets seem to write only to impress each other with their cleverness, and even this material is balanced with a chapter on limericks and other humorous forms.

While most of the material in the book is timeless, because it was published in 2007, some of the material in the final chapters is dated. Kowit mentions publisher and magazine web sites, but he couldn’t have anticipated how much these organizations have since moved into digital media, or how important web and independent publishing, social media, and more recently, video conferencing, have become.

For the novice poet, In the Palm of Your Hand will definitely be a boundary-stretcher, but for the practicing poet, it should be a valuable addition to the reference library. Recommended.

[Helia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good starting point in poetry, but you will need to supplement a lot with other resources to understand topics like meter and rhytm (Dr Octavia Cox's lecture on youtube is great ), the use of metaphore, rhyme patterns and so on.

Also, I have to confess that poetry for me is something that rhymes, so I did not appreciate being introduced so early on to assonant, non-linear, borderline obscure poems right off the bat. If I were told that's what poetry is, then I would never want to write it at all. I felt like I was being told to dismiss all rules before being taught what they were.

So, not my favorite book on the subject and not something I'd get back to, but as a way to get introduced to poetry, it's concepts and ideas then yeah, it's a good start.

If you can get this book for free ,then do so. It's not worth the price.

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely comprehensive and filled with practical writing exercises. I love poetry, but know very little about the techniques behind it, so this was hugely informative.
"Art, then, is a way of remembering our real selves, of stepping out of the busy mind and back into the real world of trees, birds, clouds, people, chairs—the extraordinary, unspeakable presence of everything that exists—the sense of our identity with all creation. And once we do enter the present, we are apt to see the world more vividly, more wholly, our emotions open to the miraculousness of the ordinary."

*Read for school.

[Benny Farsäter · Rating 2 out of 5]

A readable and sensible book. And as can be seen from other reviews appreciated by readers. In the end though, for me, a bit bland. The author seems to have a dislike for what he considers to be difficult poems. He's entitled to, of course, but what he leaves us with is a bit too simple, to my mind. Many of his poetry examples in fact reads like prose. Fair enough - if that's what you're looking for.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very helpful book for poets as well as those who want to write their memoirs. There are exercises to help you write new poems, make list for future ones. As well as paragraphs written by other authors to help you recall moments in your own life that you want to write about, as well as paragraphs that seem to spark ideas of poems you will be curious about writing.

[Gail Oare · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has got to be one of the best books on writing poetry...covering style, mechanics, content and types of poetry (traditional and non-traditional). Good for those who write or aspire to write poetry or who want to understand poetry as a reader.

[Thomas Cannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read through this book several times. It gets to the heart of poetry while still teaching/exploring the techniques of poetry. It gives a great description of the types of poetry.

I recommend it to any poet.

[earlgray · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a refreshing semester (spring 2022) of getting back into poetry. I LOVED this book. This guide, this friend, this little light of mine.

I loved the romanticism of it. I loved the politics of it. The mythology, the surrealism. Yes yes yes yes.

Poetry is what makes us ALIVE.

[SophieJaneK · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting parts about the music of poetry. Very good section on poetic convention as well as lack of! A very useful book for anyone wanting fresh ideas and inspiration for their poetry writing.

[Linda Flynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book I may return to multiple times. The chapters presented differing ways to approach poetry; thus expanding an understanding of what poetry is. However, I often found the exercises unsatisfactory. That aside, the information was helpful.

[Tom Sebanc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful for any writer, not just poets.

[Rebekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to read this for my poetry class that I’m in. Honestly would have never picked it up on my own, but I do have to say it helped a lot. I also thoroughly enjoyed all the poems.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent guide to what makes poetry effective, beautiful, haunting or powerful, with exercises to try in every chapter. A must have for people wanting to expand their writing skills.

[Jennifer Vensel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely helpful for learning to write poetry!