The Roar on the Other Side: A Guide for Student Poets [Paperback]

Suzanne Rhodes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2000 | ISBN-10: 1885767668 | ISBN-13: 978-1885767660

For all its storied past and lofty reputation, poetry is really just the art of noticing, naming, and comparing the stuff of this world. Unlike the eye of modern science (which sees the world as a giant specimen for us to dissect), poetry fosters and nurtures life by finding wonder in the nooks and crannies of ordinary life.

Suzanne Rhodes, a longtime poet and teacher, offers The Roar on the Other Side as an introductory guide for students (junior high and up). Clear and imaginative, this book makes poetry approachable. Focusing on the importance of sight and the necessity of practice, Rhodes easily communicates the joy of words to her readers and helps them see how good poetry binds all seemingly-contradictory things together. Students will emerge from this book with a good handle on the basics of writing poetry and a new appreciation for the awesome world wherein we live.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Generously, gracefully, The Roar on the Other Side imparts both information and inspiration. What are the devices of poetry? How can apprentice poets master their craft? Why write, and to whom? Suzanne Clark supplies answers and examples, rigorous standards and gentle guidance. A lovely, helpful book. --Kelly Cherry, author of Death and Transfiguration

About the Author

Suzanne Underwood Rhodes is a widely published poet who has taught creative writing for many years to all age groups—from elementary-aged children to college students to retired professionals. Acknowledging the role of teachers and writers in her own development as a poet, she seeks to inspire others as a way of giving back blessings that God has given to her. Her poetry collections include What a Light Thing, This Stone and The Weather of the House (Sow's Ear Press). She has also written a collection of prose meditations on everyday life, Sketches of Home (Canon Press).

Recent work of hers has appeared in the Spoon River Poetry Review and the Alaska Quarterly Review. Suzanne is also working on a collaborative book with acclaimed Christian artist Carol Bomer. She received her M.A. from the Johns Hopkins University Writing Seminars.

Suzanne lives with her husband Wayne Rhodes in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and works for Angel Flight as the director of public affairs. Together, she and Wayne have five grown children and three grandchildren.

Product Details

• Paperback: 190 pages
• Publisher: Canon Press (October 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1885767668
• ISBN-13: 978-1885767660
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 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: #283,853 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Wonderful Poetry Study Book, March 13, 2011

By 

B. Barden (Cleveland, OH USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Roar on the Other Side: A Guide for Student Poets (Paperback)

I have never really been one to 'enjoy' poetry. I have one favorite (Love Sonnet by Elizabeth Barrett Browning) and can make a poem rhyme but I never understood the feeling and passion that goes into poetry.

This book is one that I am going to be going through with my daughter for her 9th grade year but I read it myself to check the content. Here is what can be expected from this book:
Sight Training, Beauty of Words (Real Toads), Metaphors, Paradox, Irony, Symbolism, Musical Thought, Rhythm, Sonnets, Haikus, Syllabic Verse, Stanzas (Couplet, Quatrain, Tercet (Triplet), Rime Royal, Spenserian, Parallelism (Synonymous, Antithetic, Synthetic), Villanelle, Sestina, Pantoum), Genres (Lyric, Narrative, Epic, Ballad, Elegy, Dramatic Dialogue, Didactic), Matters of Voice, Writing, Reading and Revising, Select Poems

This book has no pictures and if it did I would almost say that it'd be a bad thing; it would ruin the image you create on your own through poetry. Each chapter has at least one Stepping Stone exercise to do that deals with the subject of the chapter. For instance in chapter 1, Sight Training, the activity is to describe fruit with words that convey more than just an image but feelings and 'meanings'.

A book that will engage your student (or yourself) in the action of reading and writing poetry. This book is also from a Christian perspective which I find to be refreshing. The selected poets/poetry are ones that many are familiar with but there may be some that are not so familiar, which is also good.