Reviews for Poems, Poets, Poetry: An Introduction and Anthology

The average rating for Poems, Poets, Poetry: An Introduction and Anthology based on 25 reviews is 3.84 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-02-25 00:00:00 Randall Pyke Helen Vendler is a longtime literary critic, writer, and professor of poetry. This very voluminous book is part of the introductory to poetry class she teaches at Harvard. It is an excellent and straightforward and wide-casting look at poetry. The book solely concentrates on the poems themselves. You don't need to know the background or historical period of a particular poet. All you need is the poem on the page accompanied by Professor Vendler illuminating narratives on the poem. A book for som Helen Vendler is a longtime literary critic, writer, and professor of poetry. This very voluminous book is part of the introductory to poetry class she teaches at Harvard. It is an excellent and straightforward and wide-casting look at poetry. The book solely concentrates on the poems themselves. You don't need to know the background or historical period of a particular poet. All you need is the poem on the page accompanied by Professor Vendler illuminating narratives on the poem. A book for someone starting out with poetry, but very much helpful for those familiar with poetry but wishing to take a deeper look and have a clearer understanding of what poems do.

Review # 2 was written on 2012-09-12 00:00:00 Roi Boyd Vendler's introduction is intended for novices; but her sagacious and analytic approach manages to achieve accessibility without forfeiting depth. Each chapter explains a particular way of looking at a poem'whether as an arranged life, or as an exploration of language, and so on. And then, after you're armed with a toolbox of interpretive techniques, Vendler pits you against a truly marvelous selection of poems. For anyone who is literary-minded, but whose knowledge of poetry is lacking, this introduction will be indispensable.

Review # 3 was written on 2007-07-04 00:00:00 Michael Brown This is, by far, the best textbook on the subject that I've seen. And it's not just for undergrads; I still haven't fully absorbed all her insights. But the book still gets only four stars, because Vendler doesn't say much about the intuitive and emotional aspect of poetry. Granted, that might be hard to speak of in a textbook, but it's still necessary to try. Poetry isn't just about words; there is something else present, and without that something else there is no poetry.

Review # 4 was written on 2010-11-06 00:00:00 Edward Agnew I feel that this textbook is a guide on how to completely and totally destroy and annihilate of a work of poetry. it turns the analysis of poetry into a science and takes interpretation way too far, thus unravelling everything to poem originally stood for and making it into some sort of mathematical equation. i'm temporarily scarred--it will take me a little bit to like poetry again. >:[ on the other hand, it has a good anthology in the back so that's how it got it's second star.

Review # 5 was written on 2009-03-28 00:00:00 Mark Singer A very good introduction to poetry. Gives readers the basic tools and frame of reference needed to begin understanding and developing their own interpretations of poetry in general. I read this in a class as a college freshman, and it was through that class that I truly developed my appreciation for poetry--and this book was definitely part of the process.

Review # 6 was written on 2008-08-25 00:00:00 Drahoslav Reznicek This is an intelligent and detailed look at how to understand and talk about poetry, with lots of solid suggestions for making poetry less formidable. I came to new insights about familiar poems and feel better prepared to talk about poetry with my students. Highly recommended for teachers.

Review # 7 was written on 2010-03-27 00:00:00 William Brooke Assigned for an Intro to Writing Poetry course in college. We didn't use it much, and I haven't felt compelled to go back to it since.

Review # 8 was written on 2011-02-01 00:00:00 John Paul Using this for my ENLT class this semester. And more intro to poetry classes.

Review # 9 was written on 2012-05-16 00:00:00 Timothy Bauer Just can't stand the rules that go along with poetry, and this anthology is chalk full of rules. Arhjgdhfgjsdf.

Review # 10 was written on 2017-11-15 00:00:00 Debbie Maxedon Though I have only read the first four chapters (and that is probably the most I will read unless Mr. Zeoli assigns more) I appreciate Vendler's wisdom and insight on Poetry. Her dedication and passion towards her craft is demonstrated through something Mr. Zeoli said in class one day when we were discussing Vendler (and his literary crush on her): She memorized all of Shakespeare's sonnets (of which there are 154. 126 are addressed to a young man, and the other 28 towards a woman). To be cont..

Review # 11 was written on 2018-09-06 00:00:00 Brian Claeys I have yet to go through the anthology at the end of the book, but the first part is excellent. It isn't hard to see why Vender is widely considered one of the most important critics of her generation.

Review # 12 was written on 2019-03-04 00:00:00 Laura Delarato Some of the sections are overly simplistic, others are really rewarding. The selection of poems is great, and provided me with a bunch of poets to check out. Overall this was a good intro and helpful, but a little bit lower level than I would have liked.

Review # 13 was written on 2017-12-31 00:00:00 Ryan Copenhaver A better than average intro to poetry textbook.

Review # 14 was written on 2018-03-17 00:00:00 Michael Grossi Poetry is hit and miss for me, but this book has a wide selection.

Review # 15 was written on 2020-10-25 00:00:00 Kim Pickrell The text is excellent, 5 stars. I didn't care for the anthology.

Review # 16 was written on 2012-08-02 00:00:00 Robert Nadeau Helen Vendler makes poetry comprehendible and enjoyable. First of all, she covers all the major structural terminology, which is convenient. On top of that, she provides useful strategies for breaking down and examining poems. Yes, it's a style of New Criticism and thereby likely to be criticized for destroying the 'aura' of the poem, or something. Personally, however, I enjoy the approach of examining why/how a piece of work makes you feel a certain way; an understanding of the relation between a work's form and content heightens my sense of appreciation. Recommended to anyone who has wanted to give poetry a try but doesn't know how to begin. I had read a couple chapters of this for class this past fall, and so I finished up what hadn't been assigned in the main portion (though not the writing about poetry section) as well as the useful appendices. I haven't finished going through the anthology section yet, but I've finished Vendler's text proper.

Review # 17 was written on 2014-04-02 00:00:00 Barry Vankleeck Vendler's genius is in the way she talks about poetry and the way she works through poems. This is a fantastic book for anyone who wants to become a better reader of poetry. If you want to engage in a deeper, more introspective and thoroughly insightful relationship with poetry, this is a great book. So many people resist poetry because they want it to be thoroughly available in one reading; working at learning how to interpret poetry is one of the most richly rewarding enterprises I can think of and this book is a superb "vade mecum". I give it five stars for the way Vendler tries to open up a relationship with her readers; certainly I lamented the lack of many a great poem, but you cannot have everything.

Review # 18 was written on 2013-06-27 00:00:00 Rose De I read this book with Helen Vendler during a NEH institute at Harvard in 2008. It would take a small book to review this textbook in a way that might pay it justice. Suffice it to say that Dr. Vendler, the "grande dame" of American poetry, suffuses each poem she treats with power and a grace that commands the reader to pay better attention to the poem, the poet, and the act of creation itself. Had we all the good fortune of learning to read poetry from Dr. Vendler, the place of poetry in our society--and perhaps literacy itself--would be in a far better state.

Review # 19 was written on 2008-10-20 00:00:00 Marina Maniatis I think that this book would be helpful in any high school English class during a poetry unit. It provides information on various aspects of poetry and it also provides a large variety of poems. Each part is broken up into different sections, such as poetic kinds, narrative versus lyric, and content genres. It is a really long anthology, so I could only see certain sections being used during the unit.

Review # 20 was written on 2012-10-18 00:00:00 Leonard Freitas Vendler does a great job of deconstructing poems. However, it should only be read for the purpose of practicing deconstructing different poems and poets. I personally skipped to the anthology in the back when my class was done, as it is a great anthology. Recommended for literary theory scholars and students, particularly those into comparing Old styles with more Modern styles. Only complaint: Only ONE poem by Edgar Allen Poe in the anthology!!!!

Review # 21 was written on 2015-03-25 00:00:00 Duncan Fleming Probably the foremost authority in teaching poetry, Vendler's book is a must for those studying poetry. While poetry for most is a prose expression with revolving rhyme schemes, Vendler goes into expert detail on the craft of the genre and the many tools used by poets to master the art. If you are writing or thinking about writing poetry, do yourself a huge favor and read this book. It will change the way you understand the art.

Review # 22 was written on 2016-02-03 00:00:00 Randall Pulver Poems, Poets, and Poetry contained many of my favorite pieces of poetry. This collection of poetry I read for a class, however, the class and the book changed my life. Literary works such as Vendlers Poetry collection will be "go-to" poems I read my entire life for pleasure. I find myself talking and sharing some of these works of hers 6 years later.

Review # 23 was written on 2017-12-18 00:00:00 Joby Mathews Helen, the strange but astute critic, is forever in our hearts (or, for M, forever an object of hatred). Always gratitude to G for leading us through this one, and showing me how to talk about lyric's nuts and bolts...And grateful to Vendler for this pretty good, easy-to-use manual to the magic engine parts that allow us to be charioted away on the (otherwise) viewless wings of poesy.

Review # 24 was written on 2008-07-23 00:00:00 Raymond Goldstein A textbook for a writing class I took in college, I found this at my mom's and have been making notes in it so I can use it with my students this fall. The anthology is awesome. Explanations of devices are authenticated with interesting examples. It's a really good guide!

Review # 25 was written on 2010-09-14 00:00:00 Sandra G Fitzgerald Wonderful resource for any high shool/college student seeking to better uderstand the complex and beautiful conventions of poetry; for that matter, a wonderful addition to any adult's home library who seeks to do the same.