Sometimes it seems like there are as many definitions of poetry as there are poems Coleridge defined poetry as the best words in the best order St Augustine called it the Devil's wine For Shelley poetry was the record of the best & happiest moments of the happiest & best minds But no matter how you define it poetry has exercised a hold upon the hearts & minds of people for more than five millennia That's because for the attentive reader poetry has the power to send chills shooting down the spine & lightning bolts flashing in the brain
- to throw open the doors of perception & hone our sensibilities to a scalpel's edge Poetry For Dummies is a great guide to reading & writing poems not only for beginners but for anyone interested in verse From Homer to Basho Chaucer to Rumi Shelley to Ginsberg it introduces you to poetry's greatest practitioners It arms you with the tools you need to understand & appreciate poetry in all its forms & to explore your own talent as a poet Discover how to Understand poetic language & forms Interpret poems Get a handle on poetry through the ages Find poetry readings near you Write your own poems Shop your work around to publishers Don't know the difference between an iamb & a trochee? Worry not this friendly guide demystifies the jargon & it covers a lot more ground besides including Understanding subject tone narrative; & poetic language Mastering the three steps to interpretation Facing the challenges of older poetry Exploring 5000 years of verse from Mesopotamia to the global village Writing open-form poetry Working with traditional forms of verse Writing exercises for aspiring poets Getting published From Sappho to Clark Coolidge & just about everyone in between Poetry For Dummies puts you in touch with the greats of modern & ancient poetry Need guidance on composing a ghazal a tanka a sestina or a psalm? This is the book for you
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This ground-breaking study explores the structure & literary figures in the biblical Hebrew poetry of the Song of Songs These figures include simile metaphor paronomasia parallelism sensory cluster fertility language
- flowers spices & plants as well as animals & images of wealth
- & many other literary devices delineated but not limited to how they also appear in classical literature as defined by Aristotle Quintilian & others This biblical poetry is also compared to the Greek poetry of Sappho & Egyptian love poetry as well as to the Ramayana & the Kamasutra The Song of Songs is discreetly yet firmly interpreted as erotic literature

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Clive James is one of our finest critics & best-loved cultural voices He is also a prize-winning poet Since he was first enthralled by the mysterious power of poetry he has been a dedicated student In fact for Clive poetry has been nothing less than the occupation of a lifetime & in this book he presents a distillation of all he's learned about the art form that matters to him most With his customary wit delightfully lucid prose style & wide-ranging knowledge Clive explains the difference between the innocuous stuff that often passes for poetry today & a real poem the latter being a work of unity that insists on being heard entire & threatens never to leave the memory A committed formalist & an astute commentator Clive offers close & careful readings of individual poems & poets (from Shakespeare to Larkin Keats to Pound) & in some case second readings or re-readings late in life
- just to be sure he wasn't wrong the first time! Whether discussing technical details of metaphorical creativity or simply praising his five favourite collections of all time he is never less than captivating Filled with insight & written with an honest infectious enthusiasm Poetry Notebook is the product of over fifty years of writing reading translating & thinking about poetry
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The First World War was one of the deadliest conflicts in modern history & produced horrors undreamed of by the young men who cheerfully volunteered for a war that was supposed to be over by Christmas Whether in the patriotic enthusiasm of Rupert Brooke the disillusionment of Charles Hamilton Sorley or the bitter denunciations of Siegfried Sassoon & Wilfred Owen the war produced an astonishing outpouring of powerful poetry The major poets are all represented in this beautiful Macmillan Collector's Library anthology Poetry of the First World War alongside many others whose voices are less well known & their verse is accompanied by contemporary motifs Designed to appeal to the booklover the Macmillan Collector's Library is a series of beautiful special gift editions of much loved classic titles Macmillan Collector's Library are books to love & treasure This anthology is edited by author & editor Marcus Clapham ...

' What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?' The First World War produced an extraordinary flowering of poetic talent from poets whose words commemorate the conflict as enduringly as monuments in stone Their poems have come to express the feelings of a nation about the horrors & aftermath of war This new anthology provides a definitive record of the achievements of the Great War poets As well as offering generous selections from the celebrated soldier-poets including Wilfred Owen Siegfried Sassoon Rupert Brooke & Ivor Gurney it also incorporates less well-known writing by civilian & women poets Music hall & trench songs provide a further lyrical perspective on the War The work of each poet is prefaced with a biographical account that sets the poems in their historical context In addition Tim Kendall's introduction charts the history of the war poets' reception & challenges prevailing myths about their progress from idealism to bitterness ABOUT THE SERIES For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features including expert introductions by leading authorities helpful notes to clarify the text up-to-date bibliographies for further study & much more ...

BBC Radio 4's Poetry Please is the longest-running broadcast of verse anywhere in the world First aired in 1979 the programme a request show which broadcasts to two million listeners a week has become a unique record of the country's best-loved poems over the decades since its inception The BBC has looked back through its rich archive of recordings to produce a poll of the most asked for & most broadcast pieces ever it is those poems that this anthology brings together here A showcase in effect for the nation's favourite verse Poetry Please is a treasure trove for our most requested & most listened to poems of all time It is a compelling invitation for readers of all ages & backgrounds to celebrate the verse that we care so much about from new readers to old from schools to reading groups this a book for giving a book for cherishing ...

This new anthology of poems favourites from the nation's longest-running & best-loved request programme for verse moves with the seasons following the turning year from John Clare's 'pale splendour of the winter sun' to John Keats's ' Season of mists & mellow fruitfulness' by way of Larkin's 'young-leafed June' & Gerard Manley Hopkins' 'glassy peartree leaves & blooms' when ' Nothing is so beautiful as Spring' As the year changes so we change with it Since time out of mind our daily lives have been shaped & directed by the seasons & it is here that we find poems about harvest & hardship growth & new life the warmth of the life-giving sun Christmas & the closing of the year Poetry Please Seasonal Poems is a vital & generous gathering to treasure ...

For decades poetry therapy has been formally recognized as a valuable form of treatment & it has been proven effective worldwide with a diverse group of clients The second edition of Poetry Therapy written by a pioneer & leader in the field updates the only integrated poetry therapy practice model with a host of contemporary issues including the use of social media & slamperformance poetry It's a truly invaluable resource for any serious practitioner educator or researcher interested in poetry therapy bibliotherapy writing & healing or the broader area of creativeexpressive arts therapies ...

The world's greatest poetry resides in the Bible yet these major poets are traditionally rendered into prose In this pioneering volume Willis Barnstone's translations restore the lyricism & power of the poets' voices in both the New & the Old Testaments In the Hebrew Bible we hear Solomon rhapsodise in Song of Songs; David chant in Psalms; God & Job debate in grand rhetoric; & prophet-poet Isaiah plead for peace Jesus speaks in wisdom verse in the Gospel Paul is a philosopher of love & John of Patmos roars majestically in Revelation the Bible's epic poem This ground-breaking volume

Includes:: every major biblical poem from Genesis & Adam & Eve in the Garden to the last pages of Alpha & Omega in Paradise

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Tracklist A1 Dancing On Broken Glass A2 My Dark Disquiet A3 False Kings A4 Fool's Paradise A5 Standstill B1 The Sweet Escape B2 Moments Before The Storm B3 In A Perfect World B4 Angel B5 Choir Of Cicadas ...