The Eye of the Poet: Six Views of the Art and Craft of Poetry
by David Baker, Billy Collins, Carol Muske-Dukes, Yusef Komunyakaa, Maxine Kumin, Ann Townsend
Category: Literary Criticism

Featuring contributions from widely published and practicing poets who are also experienced teachers and presenters of poetry, The Eye of the Poet: Six Views of the Art and Craft of Poetry provides students and other readers with invaluable practical advice. Ideal for courses in poetry writing and creative writing, it includes six sections written by Billy Collins, Carol Muske, David Baker and Ann Townsend, Yusef Komunyakaa, Maxine Kumin, and David Citino. These poets speak their minds about their relationship with their art and craft, offering guidance to writers at all levels of experience from the beginner to the veteran. In his section, Billy Collins looks at the ways reading and writing poetry give readers pleasure, while Carol Muske's essay examines the question, "What is a poem?" David Baker and Ann Townsend discuss the formal and musical aspects of composing and reading poems; they include many engaging exercises and directions to further reading. Yusef Komunyakaa enrolls readers in a virtual poetry workshop, Maxine Kumin considers the necessities and demands of audience, and David Citino talks about the roles that poets play as they conceive and execute their work. In their essays, the contributors include examples of poems--written by themselves or others--to illustrate key points. While the chapters are meant to be self-contained explorations, they are also interrelated parts of the volume as a whole. The Eye of the Poet is a stimulating conversation in which successful poets share with readers their enthusiasm, knowledge, and vision, as well as their estimation of the possibilities of the poem. In this book, students of poetry will discover the wide variety of options available to them when they sit down to create their own works.