Ordinary Genius: A Guide for the Poet Within by Kim Addonizio

From the Publisher

Inspired by the gratifying success of Companion, Kim Addonizio presents exciting new insights into the creative process, craft, and the lessons of her own creative subjects—love, loss, identity, community—are here, along with a heady variety of writing exercises (and innovative ways to use the Internet). Chapters on gender, race, and class challenge readers to explore their creative vision more deeply, Addonizio, hailed for her passionate, award-winning poetry, shares her breakthroughs and frustrations frankly, including samples of rejection slips. She offers not only encouragement but also a wealth of knowledge about form and structure, metaphor and rhythm, revision, and that elusive goal: publishing.

"Poetry is not a means to an end," Addonizio maintains, "but a continuing engagement with being alive." Her generous guide is for beginners and experienced poets, for groups and in the classroom—indeed for anyone eager to glimpse the angel of poetry.

Nedra Crowe-Evers - Library Journal

"Poetry isn't what we think of as the ordinary, but what we feel and sense is underneath the ordinary," writes Addonizio (coauthor, The Poet's Companion), who is anything but ordinary, as her previous works of poetry and fiction (e.g., Tell Me; Little Beauties; What Is This Thing Called Love?) attest. Here, she offers a way in for new poets struggling to unfold the images and phrases inside their heads and a way out for waylaid poets suffering through unwanted extended hiatuses. She stresses journal writing, of course, and mandates that poets read works from established poets to help jump-start their own poems. In addition, Addonizio suggests numerous instructive and fun exercises to trigger ideas for poetry-e.g., creating poems about photos one missed taking; exaggerating the features of common objects; writing a celebration about sex (yes, she loves Whitman); playing with riddles and extended metaphors; and injecting humor into serious poems and vice versa. These exercises traverse the entire text, each chapter highlighting a different facet of poetry. Appendixes list recommended readings and online poetry resources. For poet-patrons of both public and academic libraries.

Product Details

• Table of Contents

Table of Contents