Customer Reviews

Creating Poetry

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There are a few books in my personal library which I have acquired without really knowing the exact reasons for my ultimate decisions at the point of purchase. It could be the spur of the moment. Or something just grabs me. I really don't know.

This is one particular book (in fact, the only one of its genre, which I had bought) that fell under those impulses.

But there is something I am very sure of & that is, I am often fascinated by people who write literature, plays & poems, as well as the aesthetics of their creative work. I once heard this story from a government minister: "Math & Science give you the capability to build a gun. Literature & Poetry help you make the decision when to use it."

Neverthless, I took the trouble to read - & reread - this book on how to begin a poem. Through the hundreds of practical exercises to get going, I even invoked my muse & wrote a few short poems along the way. Not the best, but not bad for a beginner after all!

Personally, I really appreciate the author's constant encouragement: explore, practise, open yourself to all the potential sources of poetry - all around you & within you. I also like his beautiful presentation through twelve thematic chapters (each a self-contained unit), to name a few as follows:

- Preparing: developing your poetic sensitivity;
- Language: learning the fundamental tools of poetry & using them effectively;
- Sight: refining sight & insight to make your poetry come alive within themind's eye...& the heart's eye, too;
- Sound: sensitizing yourself to the music of words - both singly & in combination;
- Movement: developing the rhythmic qualities that make poems sing...& shout, match, croon & whisper;
- Voice: becoming aware of the fine nuances of how the words are said & connected, revealing each poem's implied speaker & "stance";
- Finishing: bringing each poem to successful completion;

As far as I am concerned, the author has also done a terrific job in addressing the imagery, metaphor & different methods of constructing & experimenting with new poetic forms.

On the whole, even though I cannot compare this book with others (this is the only one of its genre in my library & the only one I have perused), I would like to rank it with the highest marks.

"The first line of any poem is a kind of door, an entrance into the rooms of the stanzas, an opening. There are many kinds of doors, some plain, some ornate..." ~John Drury

Creating Poetry is not a book, it is a muse disguised as pages of paper within a cover! I cannot express my appreciation enough for this beautiful gift. John Drury's wisdom and attention to detail is inspiring and the warmth with which he writes inspires you to write poem after poem.

You can literally read this book and compose poems instantly as the inspiration flows through you. I was amazed at how Creating Poetry invoked the muse so effectively! Most of my poems appear as a singular thought or moment and then the first sentence will keep repeating itself until I start writing, then a poem flows through the pen. Reading this book, you need to keep paper and pen nearby because poems will appear as if called from a never-ending well of creativity.

"Some poets do depend on a flash of inspiration, maybe a good first line, before they sit down to work...waiting is their discipline. Like all poets, they are constantly preparing for the poems they will write." ~ John Drury

John Drury explores a wide variety of poetic forms and teaches poets how to develop style and feeling that will be conveyed to the reader and enhance the experience. For a long time I wrote poems without knowing what I was doing. In fact, my first book of poems appeared so spontaneously, I had no idea I could even write poems.

One of the suggestions he gives in this book is to read lots of poems and to indulge in the experience of reading them frequently. I cannot agree more! He also talks about playing music while you write. These suggestions are all very helpful. Some of the brilliant ideas include thoughts on myths. You can put yourself into the story and write about yourself as a mythical creature or you could write a poem about a painting or sculpture. The main sections introduce you to:

Developing your poetic sensitivity
Learning the fundamental tools of poetry
Refining sight - image, metaphor, symbols, vision
Sensitizing yourself to the music of words - alliteration, assonance, rhyme, sound effects
Developing the rhythmic qualities that make poems sing
Understanding the basic units of which poems are made - visual shape, stanzas, lines
Taking advantage of poetic forms - Ballad, Haiku, Ode, Villanelle, Song, Pantoum
Becoming aware of fine nuances - tone, understatement, dramatic monologue
Opening to potential sources - love, dreams, chance, thinking, memory, journals
Things to write about - stories, people, occasions, modern life, objects, subjects
Appreciation for Life - history, science, music, myths, painting, photographs
Bringing each poem to completion - revision, omissions, endings

Reviewing poetry stirred my interest as I noticed similarities within the uniqueness of style. What was it that so captured me in some poems and drew me in deeper into a poet's world? How do poets create a connection of souls in just a few lines? Often what a poet needs is an idea and then the full experience appears.

This book inspired me to write poems about love, silence, cinnamon, bookshelves, reviewing, bubble baths, candles, travel, eternity, hunger, dreams, music, friendship, autumn, wolves, castles, plum blossoms and even a poem about ships in a sea of emotion.

Reading "Creating Poetry" will inspire you to the point where reading this book may in fact inspire you to write 50-70 poems! You can read a book and write your own book at the same time! I'm working on publishing the book this book inspired, but I keep writing more poems! Creating Poetry Creates Poets!

~The Rebecca Review

Many of us feel an inexplicable upwelling of emotions that long to become a poem but have no knowledge of how to use words to convey either an essence or a slam-up description of the experience. How can we begin to put pen to paper, let alone belly up to the mic at a poetry slam, without this knowledge? This book is how. It covers everything from meter to free verse and how it is used. It explains rhythms, movement, creating a pattern and a point of view and much more. This book includes practices and comparisons, and reading suggestions for seminal anthologies, magazines, and dictionaries. This is information I have not found in my local library...no matter where I've lived.
If you've got a poet in there trying to get out...set him or her free with this book. My own bad poetry has already improved in voice and rhythm. My poet is shaking, but finally free.

Beginners and veteran poets alike are sure to find inspiration in this complete guide to writing poetry.

There is inspiration here in the form of exercises to invoke your muse, as well as practical advice on the "nuts and bolts" of writing and submitting your work.

Just about every aspect of writing poetry is covered, making this a wonderful resource for any poet.

Twelve chapters overflowing with examples, exercises and prompts - all practical tools that you can use in poetry writing. Through John Drury's book, you can actually learn to write poetry. However, to write a poetry, one need to do a lot of reading. Nothing ever can be jotted down in verses unless you have the creative juices flowing within you - Creating poetry offers insightful, thoughtful rhyme and reason. The book motivates you and it's only being confident to shrugg off the 'writer's block' with your inability to do nothing on the page. As the Author says, "The first line of any poem is the kind of door, an entrance into the rooms of stanzas, an opening" - And the flow of writing comes natural with the first lines to what's next.

The book elaborates following sections:

Preparing
Language
Sight
Sound
Movement
Shaping
Patterns & Traditions
voice
Sources of Inspiration
Things to write about
Other Arts, other Influences
Finishing

How to write a poetry and the answer comes quite natural - Grab a copy of this book. It is here to develop your poetric sensitivity with rhythmic qualities that make poems sing, shout, march, whisper or just let it roll....Recommended for all who love Poetry. Best Pick.

I read the previous edition (1991) of this book, and that's what I'm commenting on. I assume the new edition is even better. This is an excellent book with outstanding examples of poetry that illustrate what Drury is talking about.

Writing poetry is about discipline: discipline in thought, in word choice, in line breaks, and in rewriting. Drury starts off by stressing that if you want to write well, you have to READ. Read all the time. He also stresses that poetry does NOT come out of a self-absorbed vacuum. "Poetry is not self-expression, though it may be self-discovery." This advice will not go down well with some people, those who want to emote on paper and have everybody worship what they've written. But this advice is critically important IF you want to write good poetry.

Although I'm not a fan of writing exercises, I like the ones in this book because they allow you, the reader, to make your own choices. One activity calls for you to take any poem you've written and play around with it by mixing Anglo-Saxon words with Latinate words. Notice what happens to a line when it has Anglo-Saxon words. Notice what happens when it has Latinate words.

I've read this book three times already and anticipate reading and using it at least that many more times. Definitely Recommended.

This book is a fabulous teaching tool, and is great for the average writer working on her/his own. The exercises are splendid and when reading it I felt like one page was worth ten in terms of how much I was learning.

(The following review contains graphic information which may be disturbing to some readers. Discretion is advised).

I ONCE HAD a dog who was interested in poetry. He would turn the pages of Homer's Iliad--no other book--just that one book. He died after a while and left me the book. So that's, basically, how I became interested in poetry.

I was at my desk, working on a new poem, when the phone rang.

It was the hospital with devastating news.

I had contracted rhymitus, a disease commonly associated with aspiring young poets. Suddenly, my entire life flashed before my eyes. Why did this have to happen to me?

"Medical science cannot help you," I was told. "A cure is possibly ten to fifteen years down the road."

Rhymitus is an insidious disease. It attacks the central nervous system forcing the victim to rhyme uncontrollably. Anything put to paper will rhyme.

Was this a mistake? A wrong diagnosis? Why did this have to happen to me?

I glanced down, then everything fell into place. There was my poem staring up in my face:

I used to eat cheese
As much as I please,
But then someone said I could get a disease.
"Disease from the cheese?" I asked. "I think you tease."
Did never I hear of disease from a cheese.
I went to the doctor and asked, "If you please,
"Did ever you hear of disease from a cheese?"
"Disease from a cheese!" he scoffed, "Please be at ease.
"I never did hear of disease from a cheese.
"'Scurvy' I heard of, but that's on the seas;
"Heard about insect bites--mainly from bees."
"Thanks, doc," I said, as a breeze made me sneeze.
"Do you always sneeze when there comes a mild breeze?"
"No, doc," I said, "but I just ate some peas."
"You just ate some peas?" he asked, "That's why you sneeze?
"I think you are getting some kind of disease."
"Disease from the peas?" I asked. "Well, maybe in the knees.
"Is there a disease from peas affecting the knees?"
He said, "You need a specialist. See Dr. DeVrees."
Now, Dr. DeVrees, scratching for fleas, said,
"Welcome, my dear sir, and take one of these."
A small pill it was; I started to freeze--
Not from the pill itself--but from his fees.

The story now ended so here's what I'll do,
I'll tell you another that all rhymes with "oo":
Well, once upon a time there was a boy named "Lew".
Now, Lew had a girlfriend by the name of "Lew," too....


I CAN REMEMBER when I first saw the book. It was a pretty book with a flower on the cover. It kind of reminded me of a birthday card. Creating Poetry by John Drury.

"We have poetry readings on Saturdays at 2," she said. It was the librarian at the check-out desk. "Would you like to register?"

"Uh, no, actually. It's for my dog."


SEARCHING FOR A CURE, page 9 says, "Many poets would say that the poet needs to induce a trance before the 'real' writing comes through. There is no 'right' way to get into this frame of mind; whatever works for you...."

For the sake of accuracy I checked the dictionary. Trance: (1) a sleep-like or half conscious state without response to stimuli. (2) a hypnotic or cataleptic state. (3) such a state as entered into by a medium. (4) a dazed state, as between sleeping and waking; stupor.

Well, I hear tell that each of us are different. Suffice it to say that this is not for me. (Sounds like trancing is more apt to stifle creativity than induce it). And anyhow, just what do you take me for? A mental case???

Next.

Page 12: "As William Stafford suggests, get up early, 'before others are awake,' pick up a pen, have a sheet of paper ready, and see what words and thoughts occur to you."

Okay. Sounds reasonable. Better than that trance stuff.

Unfortunately, my sleep--especially my early morning sleep--is of paramount importance to me. If it's a choice between poetry or sleep I'll choose sleep. I was actually going to follow through on this, but at 4:00 a.m. I realized the difficulty.

Next.

Pages 13 & 14: "If you want to write poems, you have to read. Read a contemporary book of poems. Read and reread a single poem. Each time you read it, look or listen for something in particular: rhythm, images, metaphor, sound effects, tone, word choices, line lengths and how the lines break, the way sentences snake through the lines and are varied, what's 'unsaid' in the poem, how the pacing changes or keeps steady, how the poem flows. It can be summed up simply: Read widely, read closely, and respond to what you read.


AND THAT'S WHAT I did: I decided to read. I decided to READ more poetry than I write, rather than the other way around, as I had been doing. And today I can tell you that my rhymitus is in remission.

One day I might be a writer of great poetry. Until that day I'll be just as happy reading yours.

I wish to thank John Drury for being a good sport and, of course, for his excellent book. It truly was worth every penny that I paid for it.

I took a chance buying this, thinking that it might be boring or even unreadable. But the risk paid off. It is well organized and extremely informative. If you just read poetry you will get alot out of this. It fills me with ideas and inspiration for creating my own poems.

A fun and easy-to-read introduction to poetry for anybody. A must for a beginning poet.