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Best Words, Best Order, 2nd Edition: Essays on Poetry

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Stephen Dobyns has done a great service for thoughtful writers intent on honing their craft. This book is not a 'workshop' opportunity, nor is it a boring trudge through classic poems. Rather, in clear and insightful essays, Dobyns discusses the fundamental elements of poems (metaphor, pacing, tone), and the choices writers face (e.g., how does a poet decide between two similar words). There is also an interesting chapter on the evolution of free verse, as well as inspiring chapters on writers Dobyns admires for varied reasons: Rilke, Chekhov, Ritsos, and Mandelstam.

But Dobyns goes beyond an esoteric discussion for poets' eyes only. He explores larger issues and forces us to question how we define and use art. As a writer, actor, painter, and musician, I have benefitted greatly from reading this work. Let me end by quoting Dobyn's first paragraph in the chapter entitled "Pacing":

"A work of art is something that exists independent of all people, all value systems, that does not need, is not needed and has as much importance as a rock floating through outer space. Contrariwise, it is also a conduit passing between artist and audience, the half-open door standing between them. Yet it is more than a means of communication, it is also what is being communicated. It contains the essence, the very spirit of its creator, but if the audience cannot find its way within it, then the work of art will fail. A work of art is about the artist, about the audience and about nothing at all at the same time. It is irrational, mysterious and attempts to touch the emotions, the senses, the intellect, even the spirit of its audience. It does this not only with what it communicates, its apparent subject, but also with its form. A poem, for instance, communicates as much through the manner of its telling as through what is told."

These essays are amazing -- the most brilliant, thorough, painstaking essays on poetry I have ever read. Dobyns, who long ago got his MFA from Iowa University, the finest institution for graduate poetry, & now teaches in Boston, knows poetry through & through & wants his readers to as well. In this book he teaches about so many aspects of the highest poetry, how much the words have inside them, & does it in a way perfect for the reader (or for me anyway) to learn from so well. He considers poems throughout in order to illustrate concepts he's writing about, & the book closes with chapters on 3 20th century masters: Ritsos, Rilke, & Mandelstam, & the penultimate chapter about the intricate bestness of a poem of Dobyns's own. I wouldn't consider this a how-to book so much as a keep-this-in-mind-while-you-invent book. Essential essays.

Steven Dobyns, a great Poet in his own right, author of eight volumes of Poetry including Velocities, is as prolific and accessible as any before him. In Best Words we are given a rare and plain view of the inner workings of modern poetry. Dobyns calls upon his years of study, writting and research to give us 13 wonderfully crafted essays, many separately published, that touch on the general (Notes On Free Verse) mechanics (The Function of Tone) and critical (Rilke's Growth as a Poet). If ever there was one book about the Art of Poetry that is a "Good Read" this is it.

I write poetry, and read essays on poetry for pleasure. Very few such tomes actually make one a better poet. Dobyns' book is an exception -- the remarkable force of his analysis draws the reader into a deeper comprehension of the structure and meaning of one's own work -- as well as that of all those other poets in the world. What a gift to receive from a book!

I underlined perfusely and may read this right over again. If you need direction for your work this offers much to think about, from the practical to the philosophical. A good risk of you're buckling down to create. Can't say enough--if it's not your bag, you're either overeducated or under-interested in the subject matter.

This book will surely not serve to make its reader a master poet, but it is a very interesting read for anyone who cares about the high art of poetry. Anyone who's fairly new to poetry & wants to know more sbout it, about some ways to think of the words, really ought to read this book. Beyond that, it's enjoyable anyway to read someoned else's thoughts on poetry, poems, & the act of writing.

A deeply informative and wonderful book of essays from one of the most unique voices in American poetry, exploring the evolution of poetry and poetic voice. With shared wisdom from the giants of many ages - Baudelaire, Rilke, Larkin, et al -- these essays go deep into the art of writing, reading and thinking about poetry; i.e. writing with greater freedom, reading with greater confidence. A priceless resource for anyone writing - or aspiring to write - poetry ... Or just wanting to read poetry with greater knowledge. Wonder, weep, laugh, learn.

This book will surely not serve to make its reader a master poet, but it is a very interesting read for anyone who cares about the high art of poetry. Anyone who's fairly new to poetry & wants to know more sbout it, about some ways to think of the words, really ought to read this book. Beyond that, it's enjoyable anyway to read someoned else's thoughts on poetry, poems, & the act of writing.

I found these essays disappointing as one quite familiar with the strength and breath of Dobyns work. I felt the questions he asks are too easy, too obvious for such a formidable thinker, I found this quite surprising, and so though I enjoyed the essays, I didn't really learn anything new.

Not sure it will make you a poet. But good intentions don't always lead to the subway. Heck, if he had read his own book, would he have written "Paradise Lost"? As Pierre Menard said (in Spanish), I am competing with Cervantes. The influence of Harold Bloom is nowhere less felt. Put your anxiety aside and spill your drink into the face of the loudmouth begging for it. Is that a prescription for poetry. Maybe not, but until a better one comes along, I'll stick with the best (thank you, Samuel Taylor Coleridge).