The Magnetic Poetry Book of Poetry [Spiral-bound]

Dave Kapell (Author), Sally Steenland (Author), Robert Pinsky (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1997

A combination anthology, primer, and custom Magnetic Poetry set, this handy, spiral-bound book with a magnet-ready inside front cover is a complete portable poetry kit. Taking poetry out of the academy and into the neighborhoods, here are poems from schoolchildren and stockbrokers, grandmothers, housewives, and punk rockers. The Magnetic Poetry Book of Poetry comes with a vinyl pouch that includes more than 100 word tiles, offering many words not available in other Magnetic Poetry kits-open the front cover, and start composing. And if you get stuck, a poetry primer shows how to polish that verse. From ways to approach poetry-sound, rhythm, visual impact. To forms-haiku, lune, cinquain. To writing exercises-lists, menus, concrete poems, rhymes and alliterations, and more. Foreword by Robert Pinsky.

159,000 copies in print

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The blurb on the back cover of this collection declares that Magnetic Poetry "has inspired a new nation of poets." If it's an exaggeration, it's not much of one. Former U.S. poet laureate Robert Hass describes the craze of refrigerator-magnet composition as a game of "one-man Scrabble and the prize is insight." A lot of the beauty in these poems comes from their very amateurishness, remembering the relationship between amateur and amor. Here's a terrific poem in that spirit, from Annamarie Zmolek, age 14: "I see a garden / its petals are tiny and red / a light rain falls / down from the sky / and cools its lovely head."

Review

"A compelling collection of snapshots, moments caught in shorthand and preserved." (Los Angeles Times)

"You've seen those black and white word magnets everywhere. They show up on Jerry Seinfeld's sitcom refrigerator. Mel Gibson, in the movie "Conspiracy Theory," used them to spell out messages for Julia Roberts. Molly Ringwald has them in her New York City apartment. George Carlin has ordered a dozen kits.

And now comes "The Magnetic Poetry Book: An Anthology of Magnetic Poems From the Refrigerator Doors of America," which aims to elevate casual kitchen musing to an art.

Magnetic poetry creator Dave Kapell and editor Sally Steenland have compiled hundreds of original magnetic works, from one-liners to sonnets. The book includes an introduction from US poet laureate and Boston University professor Robert Pinksy (who uses magnetic poetry as captions for refrigerator photographs) and a set of words for use on the book's magnetic back cover." (Molly Hennesssy-Fiske, Boston Globe)

"The Magnetic Poetry Book of Poetry...is a portable creativity kit for those who simply must write." -- REVIEWS

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Spiral-bound: 144 pages
• Publisher: Workman Publishing Company (October 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761107371
• ISBN-13: 978-0761107378
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,556,440 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Some of the best poems are from ordinary people, October 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Magnetic Poetry Book of Poetry (Spiral-bound)

I've loved magnetic poetry since I discovered it (until then I was cutting words out of magazines) and some of the best poems I've written and read have been made this way. I wonder if this is why poetry has made a comeback just when it seemed to most people to be an archaic literary form. I can imagine millions of people hovering at their refrigerators combining and recombining raw language into unheard of forms, sending their poems up the tree of wires until they emerge as ripe soul-apples in a book like this.

This is probably the best way to introduce yourself to the art; and if you already love poetry, it may surprise you by introducing you to some of the best short poems you've ever seen. An excellent argument for the universal nature of creativity, smashing the stereotype of poetry as an elitist preoccupation abstracted from real life.

It also occurs to me that having the magnets on a refrigerator is a clever way of using reinforcement (see Don't Shoot the Dog by Karen Pryor) to encourage creativity and self-expression. Forget losing weight, get the magnets :) Guaranteed to increase creativity and literacy, your kids need this (although it may spoil them for the sterility of factory schooling)--Do not allow your children to attend a school where there is no magnetic poetry.

Buy this book or you will be cursed with the accumulated whispers of aborted poems lodging in your brain.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars It's okay, but try the other option., December 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Magnetic Poetry Book of Poetry (Spiral-bound)

I first stumbled across this book in the bookstore where I worked. Already being a fan of magnetic poetry, I planned to get it. Then later, in the children's section, I saw the book of magnetic poetry for kids. I got it instead. It costs more, but there is a bigger magnetic surface to work with. Both kits are worth the money spent on them.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Idea ..., March 30, 2002

By 

"fuzzee77" (Nashville, TN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Magnetic Poetry Book of Poetry (Spiral-bound)

The bulk of the book is other people's poetry divided up into sections by themes and is well-presented. The last part of the book includes games you can play with magnetic poetry (if you have a full set!). The most interesting part (in my opinion) is a quick overview of the different types of poetry and poetry jargon - written in a simple, non-English teacher type of way.

I love the whole magnetic poetry idea, but this book left me wanting more. It comes with a magnet-friendly cover and some words to get you started (but not enough). The authors are quick to point this out, stating that you will need to get a full set of magnetic poetry words in order to be to create something meaningful. Also the magnet friendly cover is very small, so I ended up using my fridge. That was the only slightly disappointing feature.