Writing Poetry from the Inside Out: Finding Your Voice Through the Craft of Poetry [Paperback]

Sandford Lyne (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1402208448 | ISBN-13: 978-1402208447 | Publication Date: March 1, 2007

In Writing Poetry from the Inside Out, poet and national poetry workshop leader, Sandford Lyne, offers the writing exercises, guidance, and encouragement you need to find the poet inside you. Lyne's techniques, which he developed through twenty years of teaching poetry workshops, flow from an understanding that poetry is an art form open to everyone. We all can-and should-write poetry.

In this enchanting and inspiring volume, Lyne will introduce you to the pleasures and surprises of writing poetry, and his methods and insights will help you tap into your own unique voice and perspective to compose poems of your own in as little as a few minutes.

Whether you are an experienced writer looking for new techniques and sources of inspiration or a novice poet who has never written a poem in your life, Writing Poetry from the Inside Out will help you to craft the poems you've always longed to write.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sandford Lyne has led poetry writing workshops across the country for the last 20 years. His poems have been published in numerous journals, including The American Poetry Review, The Virginia Quarterly Review, Ploughshares, Poetry East, Louisiana Literature, and Louisiana Review. He lives outside Lafayette, Louisiana.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks (March 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402208448
• ISBN-13: 978-1402208447
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #227,588 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good *spark*, July 21, 2007

By 

Seven Kitties "7kitties" (Blue Point, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Writing Poetry from the Inside Out: Finding Your Voice Through the Craft of Poetry (Paperback)

This book certainly makes you want to write poetry, and certainly gives you the feeling that maybe it's not so impossibly hard after all. He teaches 'poem-sketching'--taking a small cluster of words and forcing your brain to puzzle something poetic out of them. What happens, as my students have shown, is magic. They're writing *poetry*. They're having to reach beyond their usual experiences. It's a transforming experience.

I only gave it four stars instead of five, because 'poem sketching' is just about all this book has to offer, other than pages and pages of warm and inspiring advice. He tends to get a bit spiritual, which has turned off some of my more secular, hard-headed students, who 'don't want to be *that* kind of poet' (whatever that means). If you want a well-spring of inspiration, something that gets you over that 'but what should I write a poem *about*?' hump, this book is pure gold. If you're looking, however, for a book that gives you ways to play around with form, and content and ruling metaphor and other poetic 'tricks of the trade', I've had wonderful experience with Kowit's _in the palm of your hand_. Both books together could keep you writing for years.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poetry Workbook Cherished Memorial To Friendship With Sandford Lyne, July 9, 2008

By 

Laura M. Emerson "Bookworm" (Philadelphia, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Writing Poetry from the Inside Out: Finding Your Voice Through the Craft of Poetry (Paperback)

Having known Sandy since I was in the fifth grade, I realize that I have a substantial bias where his work is concerned; however, I must point out that not only did he encourage me to write poetry -- he never doubted my ability to do so in the first place. To a child with a disability, whose home environment was often far from ideal, his actions spoke volumes.
I learned of his death only recently, and longed for a connection to him, in order to soothe my aching heart. An understanding friend found the book, and when I saw it, I was overjoyed. After knowing Sandy for so long, I know full well how to poem-sketch on my own, but the book is his, and whenever I miss my beloved mentor and friend, it acts as a grounding force -- enabling me to draw upon the technique he taught me so long ago, while still encouraging me to make the power of words my own -- Some things never change.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Life Lessons & Poetry, May 6, 2007

By 

M. Whipp - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Writing Poetry from the Inside Out: Finding Your Voice Through the Craft of Poetry (Paperback)

This wonderful book is about much more than just writing poetry. It is a spiritual guide for life's journey. It is full of advice, anecdotes and inspiring examples of his students' writing (both children & adults) as well as examples from fellow poets. Sandy Lyne lays out the process in steps that are so logical and simple that anyone can feel successful.