Immersed in Verse: An Informative, Slightly Irreverent & Totally Tremendous Guide to Living the Poet's Life
Starred Review.Grade 6 Up–Perfect for young writers wanting to take the plunge or for those who've already gotten their feet wet, this how-to guide–chock-full of examples–is sure to inspire and nurture young poets. The information is intensive without being overwhelming, wise without being didactic. Wolf 's love of language is evident throughout (poems are not meant to be 'solved'; they are meant to be savored) as he offers a solid foundation with wit and humor. In the section The Nine Habits of Highly Successful Poets (Habit #6: Realize That Poetry Ain't Always Pretty), he writes, Note the grace of the swan on the water as well as the trace of the swan on the land–the poop. Mourning's hip cartoons and doe-eyed characters complement Wolf's humor. For example, beside a paragraph that begins Revising Your Poems, there is an illustration of a cloth voodoo doll sporting a small orange revision label stuck with push pins. There is ample coverage of all things related to writing poetry, from habits to cultivate to finding subjects. The author touches on topics such as reading, revision, form, free verse, publication, slams, workshops, and power tools such as metaphor, onomatopoeia, and so on. The book ends with helpful appendixes, a glossary, a selected bibliography, an index of poets cited (more than 50), and a subject index.–Teresa Pfeifer, Alfred Zanetti Montessori Magnet School, Springfield, MACopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.