A Look Inside

  Writing Reader-Friendly Poems
  Plus Writing Exercises

   by Susan Ioannou

About the Book

This compact guide shares how to master the art of "reader-friendly poetry"—writing that reaches beyond confession, shrugs off literary fashion, and bypasses the esoteric and avant-garde, to put the reader first. With more than 50 rules of thumb, writers learn to select, expand, rearrange, and edit raw inspiration into poems that are clear and engaging, that touch emotions, mind, and senses. Numerous writing exercises provide lots of practice in these techniques. The book also includes pointers on finding inspiration, as well as on submitting work for publication. The advice has been honed through Susan Ioannou's many years as a widely published Canadian poet, creative writing teacher, and literary editor..

Table of Contents

Part 1 – Warming Up 2 The Poetic Impulse 2 Two Hemispheres 5 Cut the Cop-out 6 Motive 8 The Bridge Part 2 – Craft in a Nutshell 11 Reader-Friendly Poetry 12 Facts 12 Evocative Detail 13 Language 15 Imagery 19 Point of View 20 Sequence 22 Shape 23 Leaps 24 Movement 25 Rhythm

29 Sound Devices 31 Rhyme 32 Vision 33 Endings 34 Titles Part 3 – Afterwards 36 Finding Markets 38 Preparing Your Submission 40 Coping with Rejection 41 Relativity 42 A Last Word Part 4 – Writing Exercises 44 Introduction About the Author 66 Susan Ioannou

Critics Praise

"Even experienced writers will benefit from Ioannou's concrete suggestions, but her conversational style and good use of illustrative examples make this a work particularly well suited to the novice poet.... Aspiring poets will find this compendium of advice a useful aid to personal blue-pencilling. Public and school libraries with heavily used creative writing collections may want to consider this volume for purchase."—CM: Canadian Materials for Schools and Libraries

"She gets right to the point, telling the author exactly what to do. Using examples sparingly, but effectively, this is the kind of book that a writer would actually use because it is so concise. However, this is not a book for a beginning poet.... It would be very suitable, though, for a reminder guide to someone already familiar with much of the information, or for a teacher using this as a guide with students."—In Search of Canadian Materials