Explore the mystique, power, and beauty of poetry with this easy-to-read guide

Poetry For Dummies, 2nd Edition is an easy-to-follow and insightful guide to poetry designed to unlock your innate ability to understand and appreciate this powerful art form. The authors offer clear discussions of the fundamentals of poetry – including common poetic techniques, key styles of poetry, and effective interpretation strategies – and useful tools and exercises you can use today to improve the ways you write and read poetry.

You’ll explore the rich history of poetry and find out what genres and styles of this oldest form of literature speak directly to you. You’ll also discover how to understand the themes, metaphors, and meanings that animate all sorts of poetry and help you uncover new depths of substance in your favorite writings.

Inside:

• Expert instruction on how to work with traditional forms of verse, write poetry, and understand how different genres and eras of poetry relate to each other
• Hands-on exercises to help you write your first – or next – poem
• A comprehensive discussion of common poetry terminology, complete with definitions of everything from iambs to trochees, tankas, and psalms

An eye-opening and exciting guide for anyone interested in poetry, Poetry For Dummies, 2nd Edition is also a must-read for aspiring poets, practicing writers, people who already love poetry, and English teachers everywhere.

John Timpane, PhD, is a freelance writer, poet, and former Books Editor for the Philadelphia Inquirer. His poetry has appeared in Sequoia, North of Oxford, Apiary, Painted Bride Quarterly, Schuylkill Valley Journal, and elsewhere. His latest chapbook is Buck in the Piano Room.

The Poetry Center at San Francisco State University, founded in 1954 at the height of the San Francisco Renaissance, organizes and stores poetry readings by nationally prom­inent poets.

Marina Watts is involved in the poetry and literary community.