Customer Reviews

Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing Poetry

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On page 261, there is a quote from the poet, Sylvia Plath: "nothing stinks like a pile of unpublished writing." This friendly introduction to writing poetry has everything--forms, writing and revision exercises, workshop and formal classroom advice, and some very humorous and helpful quotations from those who have been through the process. One's writing might still "stink," but this guide gives the novice poet a chance to give thought, coherence, and polish to those random scribblings.

I'm a retired public acquisitions librarian who started writing poems in his forties. I could have avoided spending a lot of money and saved a lot of room on my shelves had this book been available sooner. Just a cursory look shows that it accomplishes more in less space than anything else I have on my shelves, and I'm talking well over 30 volumes on how to write poems. The explanations are crystal clear and the advice is right on target.

There are some wonderful textbooks such as Mary Kinzie's, "A Poet's Guide to Poetry" and Wallace & Boisseau's, "Writing Poems," but this book is perfect for the person who has no access or wants no access to formal classes or just wants to get his/her feet wet. A competitor to the "Idiot's" series has a look-a-like volume, "Poetry for Dummies," but that volume is more of an all-inclusive reference work with a major portion devoted to the history of and facts about poetry--nevertheless also a good introductory volume.

For the aspiring poet with little or no exposure to poetry writing, this has to be the first choice.

I'm completely new to the world of writing poetry; in fact, it's one of those things I never thought I'd be picking up a book for, let alone an Idiot's guide. I'd like to learn the basics because not only am I a big word nrrd whose idea of an exciting night in is hunkering down and learning what "iambic pentameter" really means, I know darn well that all those economy of words and lyrical language skills are really going to come in handy on the fiction writing tip, too. Overall, the other reviewers here are right on the money: this book does a great job of explaining the basics, is an excellent reference for all those poetry terms you never learned, and is packed with fun exercises that are sure to get you writing. I've been very happy with this book -- I carry it around on the subway and whip it out when I have a free minute, and always have a good time when I do.

However.

There's one thing that really sticks in my craw about this book, so much so that I'm sitting down to type out this review. And that's the unrelenting admonishments designed to steer us humble students in the direction of writing "good" poetry. I'm thinking that anyone who is picking up a Complete Idiot's Guide to Poetry has probably got a heck of a long way to go before their work is what you would consider "good". I'm also pretty confident that, for anyone picking up said Complete Idiot's Guide, writing "good" poetry is probably a little further down the list of priorities, perhaps nestled somewhere between "adapting all of MOBY DICK as a fixed-form ballad" and "writing ''Twas The Night Before Christmas 2: Electric Boogaloo'".

One thing that really troubles me, here, is that the author never misses the opportunity to bring up the "good poetry" issue. Perhaps she's just had to read a lot of bad poetry, in the course of teaching or editing literary journals or whatever, and is just plain sick of it. I can appreciate that. Here's the thing, though: bad poetry is just a fact of life for beginning writers. And beginning writers, especially those who have been traumatized into not writing for one reason or another, don't need yet another negative voice in their head to concern themselves with, no matter how well-meaning. They've probably got images of their horrid seventh grade English teacher in there already, the one who humiliated them in front of the entire class or sucked all the joy out of putting words together. A concern for "good" too early in the game is misplaced, in my opinion, and I found all the comments on it to be condescending distractions that just served to get my dander up.

All in all, this book is excellent, but gosh darn it all, it would have done well with a little less schoolmarming and a little more cuddling.

This book completely demystifies the process of writing poetry. It shows how to write, what to aim for, gives some real, concrete guidelines for starting, yet doesn't encourage your poetry to be formulaic. The author so enjoys reading and writing poems that she reminds the reader what we love about them too. Title is a misnomer, though: this book is not for "complete idiots" at all; it is for anyone enthusiastic about the craft.

It seems like the dual purposes of this book were to teach the basics of writing poetry and discourage anyone from doing it. When the author sticks to facts and discusses examples, the text moves fine. Many of the poems included are good at illustrating what she is discussing. Whenever she starts talking about real "poets" or "poetry" the tone becomes condescending and judgmental.

Far too much of this book is spent trying to deflate the supposed desire for poetry superstardom (hah!) and not enough on encouraging people who are new to poetry to give it a try and do something new. Find a better book that will give you the basics without the editorializing.

This book is great for beginners and those with a knowledge poetry alike. I wrote a lot of poetry when I was in college because I had a lot of free time, but once I entered the work force I became blocked and couldn't write with so little time. This book helped me look at writing poetry in a new way that facilitates the process and allows me to finish poems in days rather than weeks. I really recommend this book to anyone that wants to be considered a poet.

One of the most important things about this book was that it really helped me put a rudder in the water when it comes to poetry. I've always written here and there but my poems always sounded like greeting cards. The exercises and poems in this book have really helped me grow and to feel like I'm finally starting to write poems that sound like they could only come from me.

I have never picked up a more helpful book. This book helps you get started, ensights your thought process, but more than that it offers helpful hints and more references. I found web sites, writting groups, as well as hepful tips that are easy to understand. Every chapter is writen in plan, every day english that anyone would be able to understand.

MUST for beginners in poetry, SURE for others who need to compose delicious lines, and YES for all of us. If $15 delivers the artistry of verbal communication, wouldnÕt anyone click Check Out?

Moustaki formulated abstract concept of poetry writing into an easy-to-write handbook that resembles a cookbook. She guides us with superb academic knowledge dressed in plain languages. With a pencil, a pad, words and five senses we already have, we learn to cook a poem. Great poems and wisdom from the masters garnish her lectures. Writing exercises at the end of each chapter give valuable tools for practicing writers.

Part 4, Poetry and Practicality scratches itch-to-know spots adding publishing, workshops, and conferences information with their web sites.

As a novice poet, I started to write ÒOne poem a dayÓ already. ThatÕs fabulous! LetÕs gain serious poetry writing skills with Nikki MoustakiÕs friendly voice.

I initially thought this was going to be a light, silly book, but once I get into reading it I realized that the author was very serious about her subject. This is a great resource for a poet at any stage, from beginner to published author. The exercises are terrific and there's a lot of enthusiasm and inspiration oozing from every chapter. A very worthwhile read and a great workbook.

Nikki Moustaki, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing Poetry (Alpha, 2001)

Some books' titles just beg for bad reviews. And I admit, I took this out of the library expecting I'd skim it quickly and give it the bad review it so richly deserved. I was somewhat surprised (and, I admit, a little nonplussed; sometimes you just need to give SOMETHING a bad review, no matter what it is) to discover that The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing Poetry is actually a pretty decent stab at sticking a writing course between two covers. There are some pieces of text where I wanted to cringe (the idea that line breaks are arbitrary, the idea that haiku is a 5-7-5 strict form), and a few that seem to contradict one another (mostly having to do with meaning and message), but overall not a bad little book. Take it with a grain of salt, and question everything, but definitely recommended for aspiring poets who are sick of getting rejected whenever they submit something for publication. *** ½