How to be a Poet

by Jo Bell, Jane Commane

How to be a A twenty-first century guide to writing well by Jo Bell and Jane Commane. With special guest essays Mona Arshi, Clive Birnie, Rishi Dastidar, Jonathan Davidson, Abi Palmer, Robert Peake and Joelle Taylor. How to be a Poet combines advice, ideas and encouragement from experienced poets and editors in topical chapters to examine both the technical and creative dimensions of being a poet. It s a no-nonsense manual where we've replaced the spanners with lots of ink, elbow grease and edits. At each step, we ask plenty of questions what makes a poem tick over perfectly, how do we get it started when it stalls, and which warning lights should you never ignore Aimed at both new and more established poets, there is plenty for everyone here. How to be a Poet covers topics that range from redrafting poems and getting them published, to learning to pay attention and look and listen like a poet. There is practical advice on everything from getting over writer s block, getting it wrong and making peace with poetry, to performing live, experimenting with poetic form and using social media. This handbook aims to provoke, inspire and challenge poets of all forms and encourage you to read widely, write fearlessly and actively participate in the life-changing, life-enhancing force for good that is poetry.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, Writing, Reference

200 pages, Paperback

Published December 4, 2017

Reviews

[teres · Rating 4 out of 5]

helped me clean up one of my poems so good book 🤟

[Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative essays on poetry. I thought it was useful to read. It was helpful to know about practicalities and technicalities related to publishing, submission of poetry and other aspects such as performance and social media. However; it could have expanded more on writing techniques and answered ambiguous questions surrounding poetry. Nevertheless, it was a great experience.

[Jessica Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this! Super informative and expanded my mind to the UK poetry scene. Great advice, techniques, and stories from widely interviewed poets. There were so many wonderful lines and beautiful quotes which really touched my heart. For instance, the chapters on looking, making peace with poetry, confidence and learning from art and artists. As well as practical information such as using politics in poetry, submitting to different magazines and publications, and building a track record. After reading How to be a Poet, I came away with a skip in my step and equipped with insightful advice that I'll be sure to take on my journey/add to my writer's toolbox.

My only feedback is that I noticed there were typos throughout. Clearly, it had been edited, perhaps using Word or some software, as it changed a few words around to fit what the system thought it should say. As opposed to what the writer intended to say. So when reading, it abrupted the flow of sentences. Which was funny and ironic when given advice to 'edit ruthlessly.'

But, in the words of Hannah Montanna, 'everyone makes mistakes, everybody has those days.' Haha.

Either way, I highly recommend reading this book if you're looking to improve your craft or just begin your journey delving into the world of poetry.

[Miriam James · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book: the advice was all explained so well that I could fully see where all of it was coming from. I liked the fact that there was advice all the way from the writing and editing process to the publication process, including so many details which I hadn't even considered. A lot of it really inspired me to think about my poetry more and how I interact with other poetry, as well as giving me more confidence in my poems and writing process. I loved the way they pointed out that no poet ever thinks their poems are perfect and no-one is ever content that their poem is 'finished'. This book was super easy to read and to understand and I would fully recommend to anyone who has ever thought about writing poetry.

[Calum Mackenzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t gel with this at all. I took some ideas away that sparked some work but for me, it fell flat. Occasionally it bored me. At times it came across as pretentious and at a few points gave some great ideas.

Most people that buy this will probably love it but I’ve read books such as Stephen Fry’s book on writing poetry to be much better and far more helpful.

I don’t recommend.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a marvellous book! It has taught me so much about all aspects of being a poet, and it has definitely helped my writing and the path I want to take in terms of publication the the future!
If you want to improve as a poet, read this book!!

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book. Clear, straight to the point advice. Inspiring!

[Tyler Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative and entertaining! A pleasure to read and learn. I’ll undoubtedly return to this book countless times throughout my journey.

[Apina_lukee_kirjoja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Does exactly what it says on the tin. Easy to read. Useful handbook to all writing or thinking of writing poetry (in the UK - the resources and links are local).

[Nina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible insight, very insightful and well-written. I can only recommend it.