Fiction Non-Fiction Poetry

The Art of the Poetic Line (2007) by James Longenbach

Advice on Writing Poetry

cg fewstonThe Art of the Poetic Line by James Longenbach
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The fifth book I’ve read in the series “The Art of…” (edited by Charles Baxter) The Art of the Poetic Line (2007) by James Longenbach has continued with my overall pleasure of these short, but extremely useful books on writing.

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The Art of the Poetic Line focuses on the line in poems, and in some cases, prose, and how the poet creates a sonic pleasure through line endings (otherwise known as “line breaks”). Whether you are a poet or novelist, this book should prove useful on how to consider sounds of syllables, words, and line endings to increase the reading pleasure found both in the reader’s ear and intellect.

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James Longenbach, American Critic & Poet (born 1959)

“Poems are poems because we want to listen to them,” writes James Longenbach, “But the poet needs to understand what she is rejecting as well as what she is harnessing” (p. 120).

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This book, step by step, in three essays, makes it easy for the writer to see clearly on the various tactics other prominent poets (like Eliot and Yeats) have taken in order to achieve success in the varied structures a poem may take.

A recommend for any writer desiring to write better.

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cg fewston

CG FEWSTON

cg fewston

CG FEWSTON is an American novelist. Born in Texas in 1979, he has been a Visiting Scholar at the American Academy in Rome and a Visiting Fellow at Hong Kong’s CityU. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in London and has been a member of the Hemingway Society, Americans for the Arts, PEN America, and the Royal Society of Literature.

He holds a B.A. in English, an M.Ed. in Higher Education Leadership (honors), an M.A. in Literature (honors), and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing & Fiction.

His books include A Father’s Son (2005), The New America: A Collection (2007), The Mystic’s Smile (2007), Vanity of Vanities (2011), A Time to Love in Tehran (2015), Little Hometown, America (2020), A Time to Forget in East Berlin (2022), Conquergood & the Center of the Intelligible Mystery of Being (2023), and A Time to Remember in Moscow. Cowboy — or, A Communion of Saints (2026) is set in 1901 Texas.

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3 comments on “The Art of the Poetic Line (2007) by James Longenbach”

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  3. Pingback: On the Art of Writing (1916) by Arthur Quiller-Couch & the Dark Age of Lord Coke | CG FEWSTON

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