Such an amazing and interesting concept and it works so well and I really enjoyed the whole thing! I will say at the beginning I was a bit disheartened to find that each technique,, form etc wasn’t explained literally but as examples for each one. As someone who knows nothing at all about poetry I would’ve liked at least a sentence or two for each one. Overall still very enjoyable and well written!

This review has been made possible thanks to NetGalley and Yale University Publishing for providing me with an Advance Reader's Copy in exchange for an honest review.

I liked the way this book demonstrates different parts of a poem as a poem itself. I feel that Newlyn did an excellent job in showing and not telling, and this could definitely be used as a poetry bible for past, present and future creative writing students. This would be the most useful poetry anthology, almost a bible. I am expecting many to have tags flying out from all sides.

I look forward to picking up a physical copy!

This book blew my mind away. It is so articulate, so demonstrative and yet so wonderfully warm that i think every school library must have a dozen of these and every child who loves writing poems should receive this on Christmas (or Eid or Diwali)

What a wonderful job! I'm looking forward to more from the writer in hopes that they will find ways of absolutely blowing my mind again.

P.S. I know, oh-so-nerdy and deliciously so!

I love the concept of this collection of nature poetry. This book actually teaches you to read poetry as you go through the poems. There are groupings with titles like foundations, techniques, and form. While it does help to have some understanding of the headings before you get started, I think you really can learn from this collection no matter your poetry background. The poetry is also enjoyable even if you have no interest in learning the techniques.

I chose The Craft of Poetry mostly looking to learn a little more about poetry in order to make my reading of it a bit more informed. I did not, however, expect that I would enjoy reading this as much as I did.

It's such a novel and unique way to learn and really allows the user to learn from experience rather than just fact. I have found poetry to be impenetrable in the past and this not only informed me on the craft but did it in such an accessible and digestible format. I would really encourage using it in the classroom.

This book takes you by the hand and shows you the beauty of poetry instead of just professing it, and I would highly recommend it!

An essential book on poetry, with many examples to whet your appetite. If you’re looking for a book to help you with your prose, this is it!

Who would've thought that this city girl would so deeply enjoy a book of pastoral poetry? This collection of poems is a clever work of art that also doubles as an educational tool for poets. Each poem illustrates a particular poetic foundation, figure, technique, form or concept. Rather than boring us with instructional explanations, Newlyn lets her poetry do the talking.

Bursting with vivid imagery, Newlyn's crafty poems serve as a hospitable guide, gently leading the reader through the landscape of her hometown village of Appersett. Newlyn shows us how one place can be seen and then re-seen and then seen all over again from a totally different perspective. Newlyn gave a grandiose life to a place that at first glance would seem small and mundane. There are many lessons between these pages, and they aren't all about how to craft a poem.

Even when I wasn't particularly too fond of a particular poem itself, I appreciated the poem's purpose, which forced me to give it a deeper look than I would've otherwise. I wanted to pick apart exactly what Newlyn was trying to illustrate. I enjoyed the many little "Ahh, I see what you did there!" moments.

Newlyn presents herself not just as teacher but also as mentor.  I appreciated the not-so-subtle urgings to the reader to try their hand at certain techniques, to resist hesitation, and to just go ahead and write. By the end of this collection, I wanted to begin taking on the challenge of taking the new tools and techniques that I'd learned to create my own world, to tell my own story.

While I did appreciate the lead-by-example style of the book, I think I might have preferred if there were also brief descriptions for each particular tool. I think it would increase the accessibility of the book as it may not always be convenient to have to look up anything that isn't understood through the poem alone. There were definitely a few concepts that I had to google to better understand.

This collection was quite an undertaking, and it was beautifully, brilliantly done. I can absolutely see myself using it as a reference and a source of inspiration again and again.

I have to admit that I don't understand poetry. That's really weird because I have a MA in English Literature. But, I want to understand poetry so I undertook Lucy Newlyn book, The Craft of Poetry, to help me recognize what I didn't absorb in seven years of undergraduate and graduate work.

She shows us more forms of poetry than I ever knew existed. Each form is illustrated by one of her poems written in the style she's presenting. All the poems revolve around a beck, a local word for a stream. Even though I'm not much of a poetry reader, these are some lovely pastoral poems. They made me feel like I was walking or dreaming beside the beck and the surrounding countryside. Some poems are hopeful, some sad (lost lambs) some are funny. All are appealing.

I write short stories but I haven't tried writing poetry since high school. Yes, I avoided poetry classes in college. I can see me buying The Craft of Poetry as a reference book because I'll try my hand at poetry. Her examples are easier to understand than are some of the "how-to" poetry books out there.

I felt like this was a little simplistic for the target audience, dumbing down concepts that anyone can understand if they wanted to, etc. But loved the cover and still enjoyed revising thee knowledge

I really was expecting like explanation of poetry and poetic forms. But this is all written in poetry or verse and comes together really well.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I loved this. Not what I was expecting at all, but I found it entertaining and educational.

This book would make a brilliant gift.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a delightful surprise! A book about reading and writing poetry written in verse! Genius! I decided to read this entire book out loud and even shared several of the poems with my children during our homeschool writing lessons. We all throughly enjoyed reading through this expertly crafted book. What better way to learn about the beat and flow of poetry than to write a poem about just that? Poetry is often meant to be enjoyed over and over again and I can see this being an excellent primer for budding writers everywhere. I hope to grab a print copy when it comes out. Wonderful work from the author Lucy Newlyn on a fanciful take on teaching by illustration.

I received an advanced copy in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks NetGalley!

This is definitely an interesting concept. I wasn't expecting the entire book to be poetry. I thought it was going to be more educational with poetry interwoven, but this book uses poetry to explain different poetic forms and techniques. It's quite clever.