Ebook: The Art and Craft of Poetry

This book is about the making of a poet - you. It's written in a particular order to help you develop both yourself as a poet and your poetic works. You begin with a chapter on generating ideas for poems and end with a chapter on the total poem, summarizing key elements in the creation of publishable verse. You'll find three sections in this book: . Journals and Genres: In this section you'll learn how to conceive ideas for poems based on life experience, research and familiarity with traditional genres of poetry. You'll learn how poets use journals to keep track of ideas, and how to develop your ability to contemplate, observe and discover - skills that make superior poets. When you've finished the exercises in this section, you'll have as many as one hundred ideas for poems. Tools of the Trade: Here you'll learn the basics of craft. There are six chapters that focus on voice, line, stanza, title, meter and rhyme. At the end of each chapter you'll write a draft of a poem, focusing on skills learned in that chapter. Formats and Forms: In this section you'll learn about modes and methods of expression, from narrative, lyric and dramatic verse (the traditional formats) to poems in fixed, free and sequence styles (the traditional forms). Here is where you begin work on your drafts, identifying which categories they fall into, studying them and then improving upon them. You'll find dozens of poems by some of the world's most talented contemporary writers. Many of these poets also provide comments about the craft of writing poetry, which adds yet another level of instruction. Also included are poems of great English and American writers, along with work by the author. By including his ownwork, Bugeja is able to illustrate the process of writing poetry in a unique, step-by-step format. What's more, three levels of exercises at the end of each chapter help you generate poems and, ultimately, chapbooks and books. Everything you need to put you on the path of becoming a