Roar on the Other Side: Guide Student Poets

Just as words are a gift from God, so the skillful poet has gifts for readers. This slight paraphrase of what Suzanne Clark says in the introduction to her book is an insight as to how she approaches poetry. She begins with God, the source of all language from the first, and an ideal place to launch ourselves into the world of poetry. The first two chapters of her book look at noticing and naming the sights, sounds and smells around you. Each chapter builds on the last as you progress through metaphors and other figures of speech; sound and rhythm; sonnets, stanzas, white space and planned freefalls; types of poems or genres; voice and diction; and reading, writing and revising. Poets see things with a different eye; they do more than observe details. The exercises throughout the book help to instill that concept in budding poets and encourage it in those poets who already have some experience. They teach how to "hear the roar on the other side of silence." Exercises also contain the more down-to-earth side of poetry: rhyme and rhythm, meter, stresses, diction, experiments with different genres, and, of course, revising. A teacher's section has more exercises and writing projects to promote creative thinking. Examples of poetry and poetic style are taken from writers such as Shakespeare, Dickinson, Dante and Frost, with some writings from the author's own students. The final chapter is a compilation of poems, some of which appeared as examples in the text, and can be used for more practice in analyzing or simply for your own enjoyment. As one chapter title says, with a tongue-in-cheek Star Wars reference, "Metaphors be with you!" ~ Zach