The Art of Syntax: Rhythm of Thought, Rhythm of Song [Paperback]

Ellen Bryant Voigt (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1555975313 | ISBN-13: 978-1555975319 | Publication Date: June 23, 2009 | Edition: Original

With intelligence and precision, Ellen Bryant Voigt parses out the deft and alluring shape of poetic language in The Art of Syntax. Through brilliant readings of poems by Bishop, Frost, Kunitz, Lawrence, and others, Voigt examines the signature musical scoring writers deploy to orchestrate meaning. “This structure—this architecture—is the essential drama of the poem’s composition,” she argues. The Art of Syntax is an indispensable book on the writer’s craft by one of America’s best and most influential poets and teachers.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ellen Bryant Voigt is the author of seven collections of poetry, including Messenger: New and Selected Poems 1976–2006, which was a finalist for the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. She lives in Vermont.

Product Details

• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: Graywolf Press; Original edition (June 23, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1555975313
• ISBN-13: 978-1555975319
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #75,559 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A necessary addition to any prosody bookshelf, August 10, 2010

By 

Brad Richard "poet-teacher" (New Orleans, LA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Art of Syntax: Rhythm of Thought, Rhythm of Song (Paperback)

I've long been an admirer of Ellen Bryant Voigt's earlier collection of essays, The Flexible Lyric, and have been delighted to find The Art of Syntax to be just as engaging and challenging. This book has helped me to re-think some of my assumptions about prosody, in reading other poets' work and my own, and the glossary is an excellent quick resource. Strongly recommended for any writer or student who already has a good grasp of grammar and the elements of prosody, or for the beginner who is willing to take the time to learn new concepts in order to appreciate Voigt's discussions and analyses. All readers of poetry will be delighted by her scalpel-sharp parsing and prosodic analysis of poems by Frost, Larkin, Kunitz, and others.

15 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Will prove to be of immense and practical value to all aspiring writers, July 15, 2009

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Art of Syntax: Rhythm of Thought, Rhythm of Song (Paperback)

Graywolf Press is a premier and consistent publisher of poetry and prose with distinctive and enduring literary qualities and values. Now they have newly published a title that will prove to be of immense and practical value to all aspiring writers regardless of the genre they are working in. "The Art Of Syntax: Rhythm Of Thought, Rhythm Of Song" by accomplished poet and essayist Ellen Bryant Voigt focuses upon the poetic language and examines signature musical scoring to reveal the basics and embellishments of the writer's craft as applied to fiction and non-fiction alike, but especially to the creation of verse. "The Art of Syntax" should be considered mandatory reading for any writer who wants to not only produce award-winning quality work, but to be able to interest whole new generations of readers in that work.

11 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disequilibration, June 10, 2010

By 

SusanBG (San Pedro, CA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Art of Syntax: Rhythm of Thought, Rhythm of Song (Paperback)

I was looking forward to The Art of Syntax. Billed as part of a series of books that look at the "art of criticism while illuminating the art of writing" - I was anxious to see how Voigt used music as a metaphor/link to poetic word choice. Alas, the first few pages drew me to a screeching halt. Voigt begins by using Piaget and "tabla rasa" in the same sentence. She refers to Piaget's view as "nurture". This is grossly inaccurate. Piaget was a cognitive, developmental psychologist - he was not a nurture aka behavioral guy. Piaget believed we are wired to make meaning. It is a natural, internal process. Yes, the environment plays a role, but a role that is very similar to, not opposed to, Chomsky's view of the role of environment - language is universal, the role of the environment is limited to I was born in Philadelphia, therefore I speak English. Piaget suggested that we learn new things when we encounter things that bump up against what we know. Faced with cognitive dissonance, we either accommodate or assimilate. I did argue with myself - because I do think that the neo-Piagetian view does suggest the environment plays a larger roll in what we know - leading Piaget to fall into the psychological constructivist zone, but even then, his work is still grounded in cognitive theory which is nature by design. While I actually think that Voigt is making the point that nature and nurture influence each other - and I agree - I wish that she had used a different example. I still love the idea of the music metaphor, that words sing.