On Poetry
Poet Maxwell (One Thousand Nights and Counting, 2011) offers a refreshingly astringent, deeply personal, and forceful argument about what poetry is—and is not. “You master form you master time” is the oft-repeated mantra of this modern defense and definition of poetry. Maxwell disposes of song lyrics and much of free verse, quoting Eliot with approval: “The division between Conservative verse and vers libre does not exist, for there is only good verse, bad verse, and chaos.” In chapters with eccentric titles such as “Pulse” and “Chime,” Maxwell builds a picture of poetry as the great organizer of time, writing that poetry divorced from time is not poetry at all. He considers a poem’s appearance on the page and the importance of the white space around the shapely or shapeless column of type. He develops a marvelous analogy between filmmaking and poetry. The book is leavened with the work of four allegedly imaginary creative-writing students, and Maxwell’s observations and exercises will be useful for all aspiring writers. An outstanding addition to the how, what, and why of poetry. --Michael Autrey