The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics

by Brogan Preminger (Editor), T.V.F. Brogan (Editor)

From abecedarius to zeugma, by way of cywydd, estribillo, Nibelungenstrophe, Tachtigers, and other poetic terms that sound like poetry, The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics is a gold mine for readers and writers of poetry alike. First published in 1965, this tome has evolved to reflect developments in critical thinking and an expanding knowledge of non-Western poetry (without, heaven forfend, being trendy: "a reference work," the editors explain, "must always distance itself from its time while it works to embrace that time"). For this third edition, the editors write, nearly every entry has been changed significantly, and 162 entries have been added. The preface claims coverage of every poetic tradition in the world, and one doesn't doubt it. There's enough material here to keep one browsing well past Yeats's "Second Coming." If that's not enough to quench your poetic thirst, fret not: a detailed bibliography concludes each entry.

Genres: Poetry, Reference, Nonfiction, Criticism, Writing, Literature, Literary Criticism

1383 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1993

Reviews

[TC]

uh, i haven't exactly read the entire thing.

[Steve]

A doorstopper with tiny print and frequently abbreviations just to fit it all in, but basically everything you ever wanted to know about poetry and literature written by experts in their areas. I can't say I have read all of it, who has? It's definitely got everything there if you want to look something up. It's all about concepts though, no entries on individual poets, though it does have fascinating entries on national literatures. Amaze your friends by telling them the whole history of irony, beginning with Socratic and cosmic irony. And of course the entries go deep into other related fields. Decadence is a good entry, check it out.

[Anselm]

A 21st century update would be useful, but this is a bad ass read for the specialist and spoonist alike, even if some of the entries are wildly uptight (though that also makes them rather interesting from the perspective of one who understand that free verse (Prince) defeated formalism (Michael Jackson) rather handily.....the analogy fails once Prince joins the Jehovah's Witness flock, but maybe that's the fate of the free versers ultimately as well.

[Melody Schwarting]

This resource is invaluable. It's helpful in reading, writing, and criticizing poetry. I use it more frequently than most other reference books of any kind. Even for those who do not engage with poetry creatively, it's a fantastic critical resource for understanding poets/poetry in context--e. g., looking at writers in the context of their movements and referencing uses of their forms/styles/methods.

[Tana]

A "must have" for scholars and aspiring writers of poetry; those who wish to explore more fully the myriad forms and theories of poetry, and to track its metamorphoses through several thousand years of human history. This book offers specific elements of the poetic tradition in alphabetic order. This is a great reference book.

[Tomas Traslaviña]

del cap que leí (Lyric) me quedo con que: 1. Paul Demann, influído por Derrida, hace un giro, clásicamente el poeta estaba detrás de la voz, y la vuelca a una suerte de juego retórico (“fenomenalización de la voz”) donde el poeta desaparece. La voz queda (estudio del apóstrofe: “oh”) en el acto de invocar. no hay sujeto previo que habla.
El sujeto aparece porque el poema habla.
No:
poeta → voz
sino:
voz → efecto de sujeto
Es decir:
el yo lírico es producido por el lenguaje. Esto coincide con la tesis del poeta como fuerza (o parte de fuerza natural kantiana), que, al producir y separarse de su arte, éste se hace in-dependiente de él y por ende autónomo -falso, pero bueno-.

2. La secuencia de 24 sonetos (1555) de Louise Labé, con inspiración petrarquista en su composición (1 soneto en italiano; los otros en francés, en forma clásica: 2 cuartetos + 2 tercetos), cuya temática -aquí está lo disruptivo, o extraño para el siglo XIV, es su centramiento en el deseo femenino, que termina por volcar la posición falico-centrista de Petrarca. La mujer, ahora, desea: "No me reprochéis, damas, si he amado.".

En un contexto en que todos imitaban a Petrarca -al cabo del siglo se agotarán las formas- Labé descentra al sujeto. Eso tiene algo.

[Scott Avery]

Short enjoyable read

[Quinns Pheh]

Will definitely reread this gem of references. Read through some important information that was bookmarked and especially those highlighted.

[jabot scrob]

This was given to me as a gift at a time when I was very into poetry, both reading and writing. At that time I would read this a lot. Flipping through it and reading random headings that caught my eye or looking up specific terms to see what they had to say. All in all it was a quite positive experience and I learned a lot. I guess my only criticism would be that at times it seemed to verge into 'theory' a bit too much for me, (but then I don't have much tolerance for what I understand about it, which admittedly isn't much).

I actually lost this at a time when I had to leave a substantial library behind in my perambulations. I picked up a used copy of the same edition later. I don't consult it like I used to, but then I haven't sworn off it or anything either.

[Allyssa]

useful, but when you look up "poet"-what is going on there?

[Meg]

super-helpful-idea-machine-definer.

[Rich]

If you're interested in writing poetry, you simply must own this book. Sure, it's very expensive, but it's one of the most useful resources you'll have on your bookshelf.

[Xenophon Hendrix]

comprehensive

[Stephanie Graves]

This is really an invaluable resource for anybody studying poetry. And of course, I haven't read it cover to cover per se, but I sure reference it a lot.

[Mandy]

A very comprehensive list of terms. Definitions are historical as well as literary, which makes it an extremely useful text. Definitely worth the money I spent!

[Sam]

This is the tome of all answers. I love teaching my students to read the entries, training for reading the OED.