| Title | : | The Crafty Poet: A Portable Workshop |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0996987126 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780996987127 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 288 |
| Publication | : | First published August 1, 2013 |
This revised edition contains a full Table of Contents and an Index.
The Crafty Poet: A Portable Workshop Reviews
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I’ve been following Diane Lockward’s poetry blog/newsletter for several years, and I save each one into a folder on my computer with the intent of revisiting articles on craft, as well as writing suggestions and prompts. Notice I used the term “with the intent.” Only occasionally have I taken the time to sort back through and find a prompt that intrigued me at the initial reading. I have purchased several craft books based on Lockward’s recommendations, and each one has lived up to her comments. I also enjoy Lockward’s poetry.
The Crafty Poet places all of these tips and articles in one well-organized place. I have read it through several times, and have returned to specific prompts to stimulate my own writing.
There are sample poems that follow the original prompt, interviews with poets about their poem, and good information on specific aspects of craft. This is not a book for beginning poets, but rather an advanced portable workshop. I see this book as filling a rather large gap in poetry writing books-the poet who is actively writing and publishing-with invaluable exercises and articles. In her intro, Lockward states that this book “assumes a fairly knowledgeable reader.”
The book is divided into 10 topical sections, such as Sound, Voice, Syntax, Revision. It would make an excellent gift for a poetry writer, and would be extremely useful in a poetry writing group. My critique group holds a writing retreat once or twice a year, and I’ve already flagged several prompts I want to suggest. -
Diane Lockward's The Crafty Poet: A Portable Workshop is a poetry exercise/craft tip book poets (and English instructors) only dream about, a collection divided into sections such as "Sound," "Voice," and "Syntax," each addressing the stated topic with relevant writing/revision suggestions, plus a poem provided as a springboard for writing a poem in a similar mode or form. There are even examples of poems written from the prompt*.
The Crafty Poet is a brilliant book for teaching beginning poets to examine poems carefully and learn/steal from them. Diane's clear and succinct descriptions and analysis assist inexperienced poets with handling mood/tone, stanza length, fixed forms, etc. But let's face it: even more seasoned writers (okay, just speaking for myself) need guidance (if not a kick in the pants) when it comes to putting words on the page, especially when subject/setting/situation/ formal considerations aren't immediately jumping to mind.
I don't know about you, but more often than not I arrive at my writing desk with perhaps a subject but no idea how I will translate my thoughts and/or gathered factual information, into poetry. The danger of this scenario, at least for me, is that I will invariably choose research (think Wikipedia, library websites, wherever Google happens to lead me), amassing pages and pages of notes on, say, mollusks or Leonardo Da Vinci, without writing a word of poetry. Definitely disheartening. One way to avoid this kind of stall out is to own a copy of The Crafty Poet! Here's how I have been using The Crafty Poet to help me reach my goal writing more poems:
On days when I am stumped for form, content, trope, and everything in between, I head to a quiet place with Lockward's book in tow, close my eyes and flip to a page. Whatever page I flip to, I open my eyes and begin reading (note: if your eyes land in the middle of an interview, you can scoot to the nearest prompt or read the poem/interview and create your own exercise using it). As an example for how this method plays out, the other day I landed on page 196, in the section titled Line/Stanza. First I read "Two Gates" by Denise Low ("I look through glass and see a young woman / of twenty, washing dishes, and the window / turns into a painting ..."). Then I ingested Lockward's deft analysis and her prompt asking me to look back at a former self and "bring forth the person you used to be." Along with a few key parameters, I was being asked to follow Low's format, shooting for 15 lines, with a stanza break between line 9 and 10.
Suddenly, instead of staring at a blank page, I had an assignment. A poem was in my near future! I set the timer for fifteen minutes, and began writing a poem about a child with a short pixie haircut barred from cheerleading, slumber parties, and meeting boys at the mall. It's not much of a poem after fifteen minutes, but I have managed to write fifteen lines and somehow managed to place my stanza break in the requested place. Small victory! I know that to for it to become the poem I want it to be, I will need to go back to Low's poem and Lockward's prompt, read the sample poems again, and improve on teasing out my prepubescent self. For instance, I haven't yet found a way to "as speaker, look with full knowledge," but instead of having nothing at all, I am inching in the right direction. Bottom line: I now have a poem to work on, whereas fifteen minutes earlier I had just one thing: a blank page.
I could read the book from cover to cover, but then I would be reading for enjoyment, not as a writer, someone who actually has designs to complete each and every exercise, including the bonus ones!! I have to admit, it's tough not to sit down and read the whole thing at once like a huge box of chocolates. What's keeping me from "stuffing face" (or in this case stuffing brain?) is the desire to stretch out and savor this book, making it last for months, if not years.
Okay, so that's the skinny on my take on how to make the most of this book. As a writing instructor (one of the other hats I wear), I look forward to the next time I teach introduction to poetry writing because I definitely think students will appreciate the specificity of Lockward's prompts. Students are always asking me for sample poems to go with a particular assignment, and with this book they will be pleased to find not only a "jump-off" poem associated with each prompt, but sample outcomes as well. Yahoo!
There's one other very cool feature I haven't mentioned: The Poet on the Poem, detailed author interviews with Ann Fisher-Wirth, Patricia Fargnoli, Jan Beatty, Edward Byrne, and other luminaries about specific poems.
The Crafty Poet will help you write more and better poems. With a book like this, and a method something like the one I have outlined, it would be difficult not to.
*Diane was able to provide samples because this book began as a monthly poetry newsletter you, too, can subscribe to! When she learned that her newsletters would be made into a book, she solicited subscribers to submit sample poems written using her provided prompts. Sign up for Diane's newsletter via her blog (Blogalicious) at
http://dianelockward.blogspot.com/. -
This book is fantastic. On days when I had no ideas, I turned to The Crafty Poet and never came away disappointed. Lockward has filled this book with poems, prompts and essays by poets about their craft. The poems themselves are wonderful, but we’re encouraged to use them as springboards for our own work, using some of the same techniques. The exercise I just finished offered a poem with no punctuation or capitalization. I had never written such a poem, but trying it made me feel so free I plan to do it again. Other prompts work with places, sounds, word, line breaks and much more. I’m not sure what I’m going to do now that I have finished this book. I may have to go back to page one and start again. Lockward offers a poetry newsletter at
http://dianelockward.blogspot.com. I also recommend her books of poetry. I’m currently reading What Feeds Us and loving it. -
Considering that I am more of an intuitive than a crafty poet, this handbook, chock-full of invitations and suggestions and quotable quotes, was a fun surprise. The essays, written mostly by poets I am not familiar with, touched on topics I've mused about without a vocabulary to articulate. The idea of muscular writing p33 and advice from a caterpillar p46 and Because I Never Learned the Names of Flowers p34 all touched me in a personal way.
When the words move through the body we find things out. p227
So, even though this is very much a workbook, and I am very much one who does not take well to instruction, the very nature of its subject creates an intimacy that breaks down resistance and entices
experimentation. I was amused by what I produced, following instructions.
Will you give your reader a piece of white paper with words on it, or the small warm animal of your hand? p33 -
I love Diane Lockward’s poetry and blog, and this workbook came highly recommended by poet friends. My expectations were high, but the book exceeded them. First a disclosure: I love reading how-to-write books, but I’m lazy about tackling the exercises. If the book is good, I will continue returning to it for years to come. This how-to was my favorite ever, so good that I added volume II to my wish list when I was only about 30 pages through this one.
Reading good poems usually inspires me to start writing without needing added prompts. Above all else, this craft book is good reading. I was flying through it and only stopped to write when my Muse knocked the book from my hands. I was trying to shake off a holiday, winter, election writer’s block. I first tried the Poem and Prompt for “American Supermarket Idyll” by Suzanne Zweizig, and drafted my favorite poem in months. All it took was opening the door, then other poems poured forth, not always connected in any obvious way to the book.
Tips offered on revision were even more inspired than prompts, since they’ll help writing every day. I was also gratified when I could nod my head in agreement with experts. For example, I love short lines and white space on the page, perhaps because I’m married to a graphic designer or because I have poor vision. This quote from Lockward’s interview with Edward Byrne hit home for me
“I like to think of the stanza breaks as the leaven, substances that
lift or transform what otherwise could be a heavy or doughy passage burdening the poetry.”
I agree, in fact, that was one reason I was annoyed by a Proust novel. I couldn’t find a break to set the book down!
For me, Lockward created a charmed formula by combining tips from well-known poets, interviews with poets on why they did what they did in a specific poem, and enough good poems to be a poetry anthology without the tips. I felt like I was buoyed up, not drowned by fussy rules. I’m ordering part II right now! -
This is a book I recommend to all the poets I know because it is full of the kind of clear advice and inspiring prompts that keep a poet writing. In the end, that is the best kind of praise I can think of for a craft book: that it keeps the creative juices flowing and this book does it better than many others I have on my own shelf.
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Would-be poets, young poets, those who write a poem a year or prolific poets, this book is an inspiration as well as a tool shed.
If you don’t use it as a workshop (which it is), use it to expand your range. THE CRAFTY POET is a book which should be on every poet’s bookshelves. It also brings us down to earth by pointing out that there is as much craft as there is inspiration in creating poetry.
Instead of a couple of quick-'n-dirty sentences and the odd prompt, Diane Lockward has created an outstanding poetry recipe book, from a poet’s ‘how I write a poem’, through a nifty analysis of the sample poem, to poems written in response to the prompts.
You get stuck sometimes? Don’t we all. When you feel you’re in the doldrums, browse through THE CRAFTY POET and I bet it’ll get your creative juices flowing again (or just read it for entertainment). -
Excellent book for people who want to learn the art of poetry in a very unacademic, unscholarly way. Looking forward to reading and review part two of this series.
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Some interesting prompts. Some not so interesting.
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Most artists worry at one point or another that they will lose their creative spark, that if they are not working actively at their chosen art, they will find themselves alienated from whatever impetus that caused them to create art in the first place.
In
The Crafty Poet by Diane Lockward, poet Michelle Biting writes, “I worry I will slip out of the creative zone I’ve worked so hard to tap–ideas will fade, metaphors atrophy–I’ll wake up an exile from my own poetry country” (19). Biting then suggests that the poet who finds herself in this poetic desert try the practice of scratching, to write down snippets on the fly: images, overheard conversations, random thoughts.
Theodore Roethke kept a practice similar to scratching. He would write down disparate lines in his notebook until he had gathered enough of them to create a poem. This practice is what my own writing has turned into lately while teaching four sections of English Composition. I've been writing down fleeting images and thoughts while my students do a free-write warm up at the beginning of class.
Scratching is one of many craft tips Diane Lockward has collected in her volume, The Crafty Poet, A Portable Workshop (Wind Publications, 2013). As she explains in her introduction, the book grew out of a monthly newsletter she writes through her well-known poetry blog,
Blogalicious. Each of the ten chapters revolves around a different aspect of poetic craft: generating material, diction, sound, voice, imagery and figurative language, going deep/adding layers, syntax, line/stanza, revision, and writer’s block/revision.
The craft tips included in each chapter come from highly regarded, nationally known poets,. The book includes 27 craft tips followed by a poem, also from accomplished, well-known poets, many of whom are or have been their state's poet laureate. After the poem comes a writing prompt. Besides the poems by established poets, Lockward has included sample poems written by readers of her monthly newsletter who followed the suggested prompts.
Because there are so many poems by innovative, contemporary poets, The Crafty Poet is more than a portable workshop; it is an anthology of poems written in the kind of fresh, rich, and lively language we writers want to emulate.
Now that I have a break from a semester of teaching English Composition I, I have my eye on several of the prompts in this book. I’m thinking of starting with Kim Addonizio’s “Sonnenizio on a Line From Drayton.” Lockward explains, “a sonnenizio is a form invented by Kim Addonizio. As it’s name suggests, its form is a spin-off of the sonnet” (61).
Now the fun begins–to look for a line from a sonnet to jumpstart my poem. I intend to spend my winter break mining the many craft tips in The Crafty Poet. With Lockward’s guidebook by my side, there’s no way I’ll find myself “in exile from my own poetry country.” -
I would love to see my poetry practice perk up in 2014. Diane Lockward’s latest book, THE CRAFTY POET: A PORTABLE WORKSHOP (Wind Publications, $20) may be just the thing to help make that happen.
Disclosure: I’ve known Diane Lockward for quite some time. Earlier in her career, she taught English at the New Jersey high school I attended (in fact, she was one of my sister’s English teachers). This connection helps explain why I began following Diane avidly online, where she shares so much poetry knowledge and so many resources for poets, so generously. (I’m also a fan of Diane’s own poetry, which you can find in three books – TEMPTATION BY WATER, WHAT FEEDS US, and EVE’S RED DRESS – as well as in two chapbooks, numerous anthologies, and within still more journals and websites.)
THE CRAFTY POET marshals this experience. As Diane explains in her new book’s introduction, THE CRAFTY POET “evolved out of a monthly newsletter [she] started in 2010.” Combining craft tips, model poems with prompts based on those poems, and more, Diane’s newsletters have found an appreciative audience, and they provide the backbone of this book.
THE CRAFTY POET comprises 10 sections, ranging from “Generating Material/Using Time,” to “Figurative Language,” to “Revision.” Each section includes two to three “craft tips” in which a practicing poet offers a brief discussion on a particular craft element. A poem that Diane has chosen, followed by a prompt she has devised based on that poem, ensues. Sample poems responding to those prompts are also included. Also sprinkled throughout the book are a number of “Poet on the Poem” features, in which Diane interviews poets about a poem of theirs. Each section concludes with a “bonus prompt.”
“There’s a philosophy behind this book,” Diane writes in her introduction. “I believe that courses and workshops are great. I’ve taken lots of them. As a poet who came late to the party and wasn’t able to do an MFA, local courses and summer workshops were where I acquired my poetry education. I supplemented that work with books and more books. Because I believe in the autodidactic method of learning, I have attempted to construct a book that can be used independently, as well as in a group or in a classroom. It is my hope that this book will provide poets and poetry students with a good deal of education and inspiration.” Given my experience reading THE CRAFTY POET, that hope is more than likely to be fulfilled.
(My thanks to Diane Lockward and Wind Publications for a complimentary review copy. A version of this review appeared in the February 2014 issue of "The Practicing Writer.") -
Not all poetry prompts are created equal. Diane Lockward’s are some of my favorites. I love the way she observes the poems from which she gets her inspiration (often with a dash of her sly humor), and how she leaves no stone unturned in delivering to us a range of places to look (within and around us) for something to write about.
But The Crafty Poet: A Portable Workshop is much more than just prompts. It contains craft tips from established poets as well as explanations of how specific poems came to be written—the wisdom of fifty-six contemporary poets in all! On top of that, it has sample poems written for all but the bonus prompts, to give us an idea of how others tackled these prompts.
It’s poetry how-to plus the wisdom of one’s clan (poetry clan) in a 280-page volume. -
I can't wait to use this text with my poetry students. Chock-full of writing exercises as well as interviews with various poets about their creation process and sample poems, this is an anthology that is as whimsical and inspiring as it is practical. :) I've also taken a few of the exercises for a spin with interesting results. The ten chapter divisions, from "Generating Material/Using Time" to "Going Deep/Adding Layers" to "Writer's Block/Recycling," make this text easy to pick up and use at all stages of the drafting process. I'd recommend this book to poets and teachers foremost but also to readers interested in how poets put together poems and edit them. An insightful read.
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The Crafty Poet is a practical, thoughtfully organized, and beautifully presented resource that will inspire poets of every stripe with prompts, writing tips, poet interviews, and numerous example and sample poems. It's the best book of its kind that I've seen and an excellent resource for poets, teachers, and students. If you enjoy reading and/or writing poetry, if you teach poetry, or if you'd like to learn about the process of poetry writing, go to Amazon and place an order. You won't be disappointed. If I could give The Crafty Poet more than 5 stars, I would.
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Diane Lockward has created the ideal book many of us wished for but never quite had in the writing classroom or workshop until now. The Crafty Poet presents a wonderful array of poetic voices who generously share the ever mysterious and fascinating creative process with the reader. Model poems, sample poems, interviews, commentary, all blend together to inspire, encourage, and connect with the creative writer in specific and concrete ways. A cautionary warning: reading this book will result in the writing of poems!
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Lots of good things here. I enjoyed it and will return to try many of the exercises. Some have already resulted in poems. And I have lots of notes and ideas for others. I especially liked the model poems and exercises based on them. Many of the craft tips were very good, too. (Pleased to see Julie Kane represented here! And I really liked Lee Upton's Craft Tip on revision.) I was less keen on the author interviews about particular poems.
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I'm so honored that my poem "More Lies" is included in this book alongside a wonderful prompt by Cecilia Woloch. There are many really great exercises and examples in this book, and I know I will refer to it often in my teaching. Great work on this,
Diane Lockward. -
Ms. Lockward appeared at a poetry workshop series which I attend, hosted by Stockton University. I purchased a copy of her "The Crafty Poet: A Portable Workshop" and recommend it highly to aspiring poets.
Her discussion with our group and exercises she encouraged us to partake of were excellent and challenging. -
This is an excellent and practical guide for practicing poets. This is a beyond-the-beginners book that skips fluff and cheering for hands-on writing prompts that get the mind working and the pen rolling.
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Better than the majority of writing books, this is filled with not only exercises, but also brief essays on craft and even interviews with poets about how they wrote a particular poem. Clear, accessible, and lucid, this is a book I'm ready to start rereading and working through the exercises.
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I read this book, first page to last saving the exercises for later. Just reading it propelled me into stimulating new territory after which I wrote, rewrote, and revised my work. It helped me read other poets with new attention. A very valuable resource.
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Very helpful collection of prompts, with inspiring poems and great exercises. The kind of book you'd take to a desert island, with lots of paper and no internet connection, to dive deep into. Diane has created a community of poets, in real life and on paper, that I'm honored to be part of!
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Good variety and good examples.
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The Crafty Poet is now a favorite of mine as a teaching resource--plus as a go-to for my own writing inspiration. I love its variety of ideas!
