The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Prose Poetry: Contemporary Poets in Discussion and Practice

This book (along with all of the Rose Metal Press Field Guides, most of which I own) is not only a great companion for established writers; it’s also my #1 recommendation to friends who “want to write” but don’t know what direction to begin.The jump from run-of-the-mill stream of consciousness writing that many of us do casually, be it in journals or Instagram captions, is easily adapted to prose poetry with the ~write~ technique. I’m of the camp that anyone can be a writer, and that the only difference between you and most any published author is practice and dedication.Prose poetry, especially attempted in the instructional style of this book, is in my opinion one of the easiest but most profound writing genres to hone in on and develop skill in. Don’t have the patience to outline a whole novel, but don’t have the discipline to craft poems in strict meter? Here you go, friend.Even established writers will, I think, take great joy in and possibly even pick up a new tip (or five) from the books format. It mostly consists of an almost textbook style interview/presentation, analysis, and prompt. And when I say prompts, I mean anything but the cheesy thoughtless “who was your childhood hero?” drivel that makes up most basic instructional books and guided journals. Come prepared to dig deep, leave with buried treasure, and learn to polish it until it gleams.

I should have given this five stars, but I wished that the essays pulled from a wider pool of scholars and writers. Still, there is not any other guide to compare it to. This is an inspired collection of essays, many written in a lyrical style about prose poetry as a form. Each essay is followed by a prose poem. An exemplary and varied collection that will give new writers a readers a sense of characteristics that define a prose poem. Like flash fiction, prose poetry is an evolving form so an exact definition can be elusive. Do not expect a how to. Just enjoy the language and learn by osmosis.

Having just reviewed two other books of prose poetry (Great American Prose Poems and Models of the Universe) and seeing the previous reviews here (with which I agree), I almost didn't bother to comment, except that I wanted to say I highly recommend this book.As mentioned in the above reviews, this somewhat slender volume offers ample material for an in-depth college course on the appreciation and practice of prose poetry. Since I have no such campus courses near me, however, I thought that other potential readers might encounter this problem too. So I wanted to let you all know that, if you're also an isolated poet, poetry lover, or poetry student who must study informally on your own or at home, you will most likely find this book to be helpful with enticing examples and diverse explications of the genre.Regardless of your personal tastes in poetry, this delicious assortment of prose poems and essays will guide you into a rich appreciation and (quite possibly) ongoing appetite for prose poetry. What most surprises me, though, is that I'm now finding prose poems suddenly coming to me, unbidden and waiting to be written in a genre I had never before taken seriously but now love.

This book inspired me to write again. Now I am published, on Amazon. Thanks Amazon for giving me my faith back. Absorb this book and blossom. Great read.

I didn't know much about prose poetry when I bought this book and it has lived up to all my expectations, and exceeded them! A highly entertaining and enlightening collection of essays about poets' personal approaches to the prose poem, why they love it, what it is for them, as well as a showcase for a myriad different prose poems. It has showed me what a prose poem can be and given me many ideas as to how it might different from either prose or poetry. I bought one of the contributors' collections, and it is absolutely stunning. I highly recommend this book!

This book isn't going to teach you how to write poetry, but it will introduce you to the mindset/heartset of prose poetry, suggest some of the leading figures writing this genre, offer some prompts, provide some examples from seasoned writers. I've enjoyed working with it.

I bought this book for a Prose Poetry course I was taking at UCR, and I wasn't expecting this to be a great book honestly. However, I was very surprised to find at how easy it is to get into the book. The book is comprised of short essays from prose poets and followed by a couple of their own works. The essays (no longer than a few pages) are more like opinion pieces about the artist's perspective on their art and how it works. They usually highlight something about their work that you are able to see later on when you get to read their poems. It's like going to an event and getting to listen in on short panels for each of these artists.If you're curious about the writing process and prose poetry, I think that this is a great book to pick up. Everything in this book is fully digestible in bite-sized portions, and the artists are mostly fun to listen to!

This excellent guide to the prose poem presents explication by thirty-four different poets as to exactly what makes a prose poem a poem, as opposed to simply particularly lovely prose. It discusses the different forms prose poems may take: from the questionnaire to the surreal. Not all of the poets agree, which makes for interesting and enlightening reading. The examples also show the great diversity present in this form. Perhaps, the most revealing comment on the difference between prose poetry and flash fiction was expressed as (and I paraphrase) if the writer considers it a poem, it's a poem. Not quite as readily accepted was the alternate: if the reader considers it a poem, it's a poem.