Ecco Rules for the Dance: Handbook for Writing and Reading Metrical Verse

Lovely

I am a new reader of poetry, and before reading Mary Oliver's handbook on metrical poetry, I was a complete newbie, clueless as to what I should look for in a good poem. Now, thanks to the careful and thoughtful explanations -- and the exercises, if I dare write poetry someday -- I can derive more pleasure from the poetry I read. As a student of literature, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Lots of useful information delivered in an engaging way

A complete joy from start to finish. Obviously, like tonal music and figurative painting, metrical poetry is an art form that is seen as hopelessly dated by most current practitioners. But if you want to understand what Julia Donaldson is doing (as well as every major poet before 1950), here is a great place to start.

This is a book for readers and writers.Mary Oliver wrote that when she intentionally chose to be a poet she decided not to do anything else that was interesting to her, especially teaching. Well, she was right, because she is the best teacher I have ever met!