The Poetry Dictionary, Second Edition
A reference that delivers essential poetry terms all writers, students and teachers must know
Poetry Dictionary, Second Edition
by John Drury
Writer's Digest Books, 2005
ISBN 1-58297-329-6
$14.99 paperback, 368 pages
About the Book
Revised and updated, The Poetry Dictionary is the most comprehensive resource of poetry terms for any lover, teacher, or student of poetry. Author-poet John Drury gives clear, relevant definitions to the terms that all poets need to effectively discuss and learn the craft. In a friendly tone, with hundreds of classic and contemporary examples, Drury teaches concepts that will broaden and stimulate your creative processes.
More About the Book
What a relief to have this contemporized guide to what real poets really do in form, focus, and experiment. There’s so much for the learner and the writer to explore, and it’s wisely presented by a true artist of poetics. The Poetry Dictionary is my chosen text for undergraduate and graduate creative writing classes and for Introduction to Poetry courses.
—Sandra McPherson
The Poetry Dictionary is a wonderfully useful tool for poets, but it’s also sheer fun to read. I learn something new and exciting every time I pick it up because it’s loaded with terrific examples drawn widely and wisely from many languages, literatures, eras, and traditions. John Drury’s summaries are the deeply informed and practical comments of a poetry lover who is himself an extraordinarily accomplished poet.
—Andrew Hudgins
Inspired, intelligent, and always reliable, The Poetry Dictionary is an indispensable guide to poetry and the mysteries of its makings. John Drury’s comprehensive and friendly book can answer a casual question or lead a serious student to a genuine discovery. Every time I open it, I learn from it. Among the myriad poetry handbooks, this one is The One.
—Molly Peacock
About the Author
John Drury is the author of several volumes of poetry: The Disappearing Town (Miami University Press, 2000), Burning the Aspern Papers (Miami University Press, 2003), and The Refugee Camp (Zoo Press, 2006). He is also the author of Creating Poetry, published by Writer’s Digest Books. His poems have appeared in many literary magazines, including The American Poetry Review, The Hudson Review, The New Republic, The Paris Review, Ploughshares, Poetry, and The Southern Review. He has won the B.F. Conners Prize for Poetry and the Paris Review Prize, as well as the Dolly Cohen Award for Distinguished Teaching. He teaches poetry writing and poetics at the University of Cincinnati.
