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.
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.
“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).
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.
