How to Read (and Write About) Poetry - Second Edition

by Susan Holbrook

How to Read (and Write About) Poetry invites students and others curious about poetry to join the critical conversation about a genre many find a little mystifying, even intimidating. In an accessible, engaging manner, this book introduces the productive questions, reading strategies, literary terms, and secondary research tips that will empower readers to participate in literary analysis. Holbrook explicates a number of poems, initiating readers into critical discourse while highlighting key poetic terms. The explications are followed by selections of related works, so the book thus offers what amounts to a brief anthology, ideal for a poetry unit or introductory class on poetry and poetics. A chapter on meter illuminates the rhythmic dimension of poetry and guides readers through methods of scansion. The second edition is updated throughout and includes a fresh selection of poems and the latest MLA citation guidance.

210 pages, Paperback

Published December 9, 2021

About the author

Born in 1967, Susan Holbrook is a Canadian poet and professor. Holbrook received her B.A.from the University of Victoria, and her M.A.from the University of Calgary. She teaches North American literatures and Creative Writing at the University of Windsor, in Ontario.

Susan Holbrook’s teaching, research and writing is propelled by her interests in contemporary poetry and poetics, Canadian literature, American Modernism, gender studies, and creative writing. She is poetry editor for Coach House press. She is currently working on a poetry manuscript (Throaty Wipes, forthcoming in 2016), and an edition of Daphne Marlatt’s collected poetry.

Reviews

[Reading Through the Lists · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of How to Read (And Write About) Poetry from Broadview Press to use in my classroom for our poetry unit next year. While most of the poems in this volume are a little too grown-up for 7th graders, Holbrook’s manual will be useful not only in the classroom (particularly the glossary of poetic terms), but also in inspiring me to try and write poetry again.

There’s a delight that comes from reading really good poetry, and the wide variety of pieces included here helped renew my appreciation for the craft of poetry, for its challenges and its triumphs. I look forward to reading and teaching (and writing!) more poetry this coming year.

3.75 stars.

[Khoen Bell · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a class. Kinda feels like cheating ngl.