The Craft is an indispensable guide to both the ?how?
and ?why? of poetic craft in the 21st century, and essential writing-desk
companion for poets at all stages. The book covers practical techniques ? the nuts of bolts of
putting poems together, mastering poetic forms such as sonnets, sestinas, prose
poems and golden shovels, how to choose titles for your poems and the art of
long sequences. It also explores the
idea of ?craft? itself - knowing how
pentameters dance is important, but by no way is it the only dimension of
?craft? that the poet starting out today has to consider. What about sound and
the skills involved in performing your work? What about truth and fabrication,
and the ethics of using real life in your work? What about the politics of the
word ?craft? itself? With
essays on poetry from Moniza Alvi, Dean Atta, Liz Berry, Caroline Bird, Malika
Booker, Debjani Chatterjee, Jane Commane, Rishi Dastidar, Carrie Etter, Will
Harris, Tania Hershman, Peter Kahn, Gregory Leadbetter, Karen McCarthy Woolf, Roy
McFarlane, Harry Man, Claire Pollard, Peter Raynard, Roger Robinson, Jacqueline
Saphra, Joelle Taylor, Marvin Thompson, Julia Webb, and Antosh Wojcik.