The Monkey and the Wrench: Essays into Contemporary Poetics (Akron Series in Comtemporary Poetics) (Akron Series in Contemporary Poetics) [Paperback]

Mary Biddinger (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 14, 2011 | Series: Akron Series in Contemporary Poetics

The Monkey and the Wrench: Essays into Contemporary Poetics takes a snapshot of a moving target: the ever-shifting conversation about today's poetry. The ten essays in this collection offer reflections and insights, practical advice for craft matters, and provocative points of departure for those who read and write poetry. This series seeks to further the discussion of poetics in America and beyond, and to showcase the ideas of writers and critics with varied sensibilities. The first volume in the Akron Series in Contemporary Poetics, The Monkey & the Wrench explores the debate over hybrid aesthetics, confronts the topic of contemporary rhyme, and ventures into the realm of persona and the mystical poem. This volume is ideal for both the classroom and the nightstand, for the poet's desk and the critic's bookshelf. Series editors Mary Biddinger and John Gallaher have assembled an eclectic collection that welcomes the reader into the conversation, while documenting the seismic activity in today's poetry world.

Editorial Reviews

Review

I am pleased to report that Biddinger and Gallaher have done a fine job of selecting timely and provocative essays for all of us "readers, writers, critics, students, and teachers" who continue to care about, or who are "into," poetry today. --Norman Finkelstein, Contemporary Literature 52.3

 Biddinger and Gallaher have compiled an exceptionally fine sampling of reflections on contemporary American poetry. Delightful in terms of style, broad and perceptive in subject and treatment, this book is a must-read for those interested in writing poetry. Summing Up: Highly-recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals; general readers.

Choice July 2011 issue

About the Author

Mary Biddinger is the author of the poetry collections Prairie Fever, Saint Monica, and O Holy Insurgency. She is the editor of the Akron Series in Poetry, and co-editor of Barn Owl Review. She is an associate professor of English at the University of Akron. John Gallaher is the author of four books of poetry, most recently Map of the Folded World and Your Father on the Train of Ghosts (with G. C. Waldrep), as well as the chapbook Guidebook from Blue Hour Press. He's currently co-editor of The Laurel Review and lives in rural Missouri.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: University of Akron Press (January 14, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1931968918
• ISBN-13: 978-1931968911
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 0.6 x 6.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #297,086 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)