An Introduction to Poetry: The River Sings [Paperback]

Jeff Knorr (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0130932922 | ISBN-13: 978-0130932921 | Publication Date: July 7, 2003 | Edition: 1

Breaking barriers and cultivating a lifelong love of poetry, this practical guide to reading poetry is set up to provide a background in analyzing poems, applying literary theory, forming opinions and offers approaches to discussing and writing about poetry. The volume teaches readers how a writer works so that they can feel more comfortable reading poems. The author examines survivalist poetics, how readers and writers work, literary criticism, how a poem is built; metaphor, symbol, and point of view, sound and the poem, shaping the currents of poetry, reading a poem, writers on writing, and provides poems for further reading. For those looking for an accessible introduction to poetry.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

AN INTRODUCTION TO POETRY: THE RIVER SINGS by Jeff Knorr provides readers and teachers of poetry with a book that explores the poem, its parts, and ways of reading a poem in a practical manner. The poems included in this slim guide become living texts for students to study the key elements of poetry and to enhance their critical reading strategies.

An excellent text or supplement for introduction to poetry, introduction to literature, and creative writing.

About the Author

Jeff Knorr is the author of two collections of poetry, STANDING UP TO THE DAY and WESTERN REACH. He is also the co-author of MOORING AGAINST THE TIDE: WRITING POETRY AND FICTION (Prentice Hall), the co-editor of A WRITERS COUNTRY (Prentice Hall), and the author of AN INTRODUCTION TO POETRY: THE RIVER SINGS (Prentice Hall). He was the founding co-editor and poetry editor of the Clackamas Review, Red Rock Review, and Oxford Magazine, as well as others. Jeff Knorr currently lives in California's central valley and teaches literature and writing at Sacramento City College.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 1 edition (July 7, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0130932922
• ISBN-13: 978-0130932921
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #306,384 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jeff Knorr is the author of the three books of poetry, The Third Body (Cherry Grove Collections, 2007), Keeper (Mammoth Books), and Standing Up to the Day (Pecan Grove Press). His other works include the co-authored Mooring Against the Tide: Writing Poetry and Fiction (Prentice Hall); the anthology, A Writer's Country (Prentice Hall); and The River Sings: An Introduction to Poetry (Prentice Hall). His poetry and essays have appeared in numerous literary journals and anthologies including Chelsea, Connecticut Review, The Journal, Red Rock Review, Barrow Street, and Like Thunder: Poets Respond to Violence in America (University of Iowa, 2002).

Jeff has edited, judged, and been a visiting writer for various conferences and festivals. He was the founding co-editor and poetry editor of the Clackamas Literary Review. He has also been an invited judge for contests such as the DeNovo First Book Contest, the Willamette Award in Poetry and the Red Rock Poetry Award. He has appeared as a visiting writer at such venues and festivals as Wordstock, University of Pennsylvania's Kelly Writer's House, The Des Moines Festival of Literary Arts, and CSU Sacramento's Summer Writers Conference. He currently directs the River City Writer's Series at Sacramento City College and also serves on the Sacramento County of Education Arts Advisory Board.

Jeff Knorr lives in California's central valley and is Professor of literature and creative writing at Sacramento City College.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poetry That Makes Sense, July 25, 2003

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"eng101" (Wilmington, NC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Introduction to Poetry: The River Sings (Paperback)

So many students and beginning writers turn off to the craft of poetry because of the myth that it is supposed to be impossible to understand, because they think the language is so inaccessible, because they believe the art has been elevated to a status where only the truly educated and privileged can relish its beauty. Bunk. Jeff Knorr, in his highly accessible text The River Sings, introduces poetry at a level anyone can easily "get." His text is written as a conversation with the reader, in plain and simple English. And in the best practice of teaching, he makes sense of the impossible and makes the reader want to appreciate and experience the craft in the same way Knorr does himself. He also explores some of the loveliest poetry written, honoring Theodore Roethke, Alice Walker, Linda Pastan, Langston Hughes, Gary Soto, Elizabeth Bishop, and others who have become fixtures in contemporary anthologies. But he also honors lesser published poets like Jimmy Santiago Baca, Jim Harrison, Richmond Lattimore, and Sekou Sundiata, and in doing so introduces new and accessible voices across many cultures. And yes, for all of you who think a poetry text can't be complete without Frost, Poe, Barrett Browning, or Longfellow, they're in here as well in the section "For Further Reading." Knorr finally lets the canon take a rest in the back of his text, using fresher and more easily understood voices to explain what poetry is all about, and this device works. Bravo. But what I like best are the sections on Reading a Poem and Writers on Writing, which encourage the readers to appreciate poetry at its oral roots and let them in on the thoughts that myriad writers share about poetry. With credit to Naomi Shihab Nye, The River Sings helps all of us understand that there is "a great energy released just by the act of being receptive to words," and anyone who has ever shied from poetry, as a student or as a writer, will find it a welcome art when studied through the eyes of Jeff Knorr.