The Triggering Town: Lectures and Essays on Poetry and Writing (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Richard Hugo's The Triggering Town, originally published in 1979, remains one of the freshest and most refreshing treatises on the writing of poetry. While you won't find formality or nicety here, Hugo has the unusual quality of being highly opinionated and yet not at all convinced that what works for him will work for you. Hugo doesn't believe that he can teach you how to write; he believes he can teach you how he writes, and by doing so, teach you "how to teach yourself how to write." And while most writing instructors claim that one can't be a good writer without being a good reader, Hugo claims "that one learns to write only by writing." Hugo's essays are strong-willed and funny and by turns full of bluster and cloaked in modesty. While "a good teacher can save a young poet years by simply telling him things he need not waste time on, like trying to will originality or trying to share an experience in language or trying to remain true to the facts," he writes, "ultimately the most important things a poet will learn about writing are from himself in the process." Above all, Hugo stresses that creative writing is creative because it is a creative act: "if one is writing the way one should, one does not know what will be on the page until it is there." So, he warns, "If you want to communicate, use the telephone." And "Think small.... If you can't think small, try philosophy or social criticism."

Product Description

"Richard Hugo's free-swinging, go-for-it remarks on poetry and the teaching of poetry are exactly what are needed in classrooms and in the world."—James Dickey Richard Hugo was that rare phenomenon of American letters—a distinguished poet who was also an inspiring teacher. The Triggering Town is Hugo's now-classic collection of lectures, essays, and reflections, all "directed toward helping with that silly, absurd, maddening, futile, enormously rewarding activity: writing poems." Anyone, from the beginning poet to the mature writer to the lover of literature, will benefit greatly from Hugo's sayd, playful, profound insights and advice concerning the mysteries of literary creation. .

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Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co. (August 17, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393309339
• ISBN-13: 978-0393309331
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #65,225 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Learn to write by writing, December 1, 1998

By A Customer

This collection of essays comprise the single best "anti-How To" book on writing. Hugo cuts to the chase and encourages us to discover what's at stake in our writing, and to allow the poem or story to tell itself in the way it wants to be told. I read this one annually, just to remind myself to trust the story -- I don't have to "manage" it.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful writing, great instuction, but maybe too hard to forget, August 12, 2005

By	Daniel J. Klotz (Lancaster, PA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Hugo is a delight to read in the way C.S. Lewis is: he is endearing, humble, and gentle--a man of style, grace, and quick wit--while remaining tough, straightforward, and confident. Even if you don't pay attention to what Hugo is saying, the way he says it could carry you though the book enjoyably.

Hugo's intent in assembling this book of lectures and essays is to teach and instruct hopeful poets, and for him the soul of poetry pedagogy is basically (and simply) to save students time, to show them what they would eventually teach themselves if they continued writing on their own.

The danger in "The Triggering Town" is that Hugo is at once demanding and seductive. He doesn't put his suggestions and opinions in uncertain terms, and yet he avoids coming off as a control freak by expressing his thoughts so beautifully and clearly. Reading Hugo, it's difficult not to be wooed into becoming a Hugoite.

Make no mistake: There are far, far worse things for a poet than to follow Hugo's advice and methods. Still, if a poet is never able to shrug off some of Hugo's axioms, she will never achieve true greatness. Conventional wisdom has it that only after you have learned to follow the rules can you break them. There is truth in this. But it possible to be taught the rules so well that one can never break them. It is a daunting task for any poet to muster up the sense of authority to dismiss Hugo's teaching. If a poet is too shy and insecure to throw away his teacher's instruction (as many greats are), perhaps the best path is to avoid the formal instruction Hugo offers and to simply read the fruit of great poets instead.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Triggering Town, December 7, 2001

By	Anthony Miler (Adrian, MI USA) - See all my reviews

The Triggering Town by Richard Hugo is a treasure chest full of tips for creative writers. It is overflowing with the wisdom of Hugo's years as a professor and poet. The book is made up of compiled lectures and essays about poetry and writing. Placed into chapters, these teachings make the book into a type of guide for creative writers. Hugo wrote on his own experiences as a student, professor and writer. He also told how experiences in a person's life could affect that person's writing. For example, Hugo's experiences in the Second World War helped to generate many poem ideas that eventually became poems. Also, he grew up with the perspective that he was outside of society. He called these thoughts or feelings triggers. The triggers will initiate the passion needed to write the poem about the subject.
Richard Hugo taught at the University of Montana and has written 12 books total, a few of which are A Run of Jacks, Death of the Kapowsin Tavern, Selected Poems, and Making Certain It Goes On. However, these books are slightly different from The Triggering Town in that they are books of poems. The Triggering Town isn't the typical "how to" book but instead is somewhat like a guide showing the possibilities. Experienced poets and teachers will find this book delightful, and beginners will find it's help extensive.