Each chapter ends with exercises that appear simple and are designed to be so - but allow you to explore specific areas and concepts.

They have also selected sample poems to illustrate specific points (they are terrific poems to boot!).

My favorite chapters were the ones on rhyme, rythm and repetition. I was worried that since modern poetry has become so free form that there was no more place for rhyme, rythm or repetition and the authors do a fine job of explaining their role in today's poetry.

I fully expect to be using this wonderful book as a guide and inspiration for a long time to come.


My companion   March 31, 2006
 14 out of 16 found this review helpful

I love poetry, writing it and reading it, but I took a mysterious hiatus from the poetical life for about twenty years and have just come back into the fold. I bought this book, hoping it would stir my inner seas to write again. And it most assuredly has. The chapters focus on subjects for writing poetry and conventions of the craft itself. Each chapter has extensive examples of poems on that topic and gives many exercises to try, or not try, whatever pleases you at the moment. There are also "twenty minute" exercises in the back, but I've spent hours or days creating poems from that resource. For poets interested in publishing, there are a few chapters on this enterprise, but sadly, some of the web links are out of date, since the book was written in 1997. So much has changed on the Web since then. Although I've read the book from beginning to end, now I randomly open to any chapter, select an exercise to try and write away. There is so much material here that I can see myself using their exercises for years. So the price of the book is well worth it. I often experience "writer's block," hence the twenty year layoff, but because I am generally an agile writer, all I usually need is a gentle nudge in a certain direction. Some might argue that a "true" poet doesn't need some book to spur them into writing. Well that's possibly true or possibly not, but when my muse has flown, I need some tangible evidence that she still exists. Perhaps this book helps me with that issue, maybe it will help you too.

This is a great book for both beginners who know little about the stylistic concerns of poetry as well as veterans of the craft who need a resource to tap into once in a while. I also think this would be a great book for a poetry writing class or workshop. Anyone who wants to write good poetry should have this book, preferably on the desk within reach. You never know when your muse will call; you need to be ready when she does.


Practical, Useful, Down to Earth, Inspiring!   July 18, 2005
 13 out of 16 found this review helpful

I love this book. After reading the first chapter early one morning I went outside to feed and water my cats and came in and wrote a poem about flowing water, tangled morning glories and memories of my mother. It's one of the most inspiring, practical and encouraging books about writing poetry that I've ever read, and trust me, I've read them all. It has technical information and poems to illustrate each chapter, which is very helpful. The suggestions at the end of each chapter are down to earth and do-able, unlike some books that are just too high-minded for the average person. If you love to write poems and just need some inspiration and a little advice and encouragement, then definitely buy this book. It's worth its weight in gold!


Simply one of the best books in the field   November 14, 1998
 9 out of 9 found this review helpful

Laux and Addonizio have put together a supurb collection of essays, examples and ideas for poets and writers at all levels of accomplishment. The chapters are short, readable, written with ease and authority. The example poems they use are invariably superb and illustrative. Laux and Addonizio are particularly adept at demystifying the writing process for beginnners. The appendices in the back provide valuable information on a range of writing resources, such as literary internet sites, annotated lists of poetry anthologies and other books on writing. There are countless middle-of-the-road guidebooks on poetry writing, sometimes helpful, often cumbersome, lofty or skewed in their aesthetic toward the precious or the academic. The Poet's Companion is fresh, unpompous and sound through and through. As a veteran high school creative writing teacher, and a poet with two books of my own out, I speak from some experience. --Douglas Goetsch


No excuse not to write like a maniac   July 20, 1999
 8 out of 8 found this review helpful

This terrific handbook contains not only logical and stimulating discussions of the subjects and styles that make up poetry--it also has a treasuretrove of writing exercises, a la Hugo's "triggering town," that spur on even a poet in a lethargic phase to experiment in a wide range of poetic possibilities. The suggestions for writing are some of the best I've ever seen; I'll be using many of them in my teaching.

Functional AND entertaining. With this book by your side, there's no excuse not to Write On.