Reading Poetry

(Hardback)

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Witty, direct and articulate, Peter Barry illustrates the key elements of poetry at work, covering many different kinds of verse, from traditional forms to innovative versions of the art, such as 'concrete' poetry, minimalism and word-free poems. The emphasis is on meanings rather than words, looking beyond technical devices like alliteration and assonance so that poems are understood as dynamic structures creating specific ends and effects. The three sections cover progressively expanding areas - 'Reading the lines' deals with such basics as imagery, diction and metre; 'Reading between the lines' concerns broader matters, such as poetry and context, and the reading of sequences of poems, while 'Reading beyond the lines' looks at 'theorised' readings and the 'textual genesis' of poems from manuscript to print. Reading poetry is for students, lecturers and teachers looking for new ways of discussing poetry, and all those seriously interested in poetry, whether as readers or writers. -- .

Reviews

Peter Barry's Reading poetry succeeds in the most difficult of tasks: it is at once introductory, sure to help novice students of poetry find their way through what may seem a bewildering maze of "poetic" features, and yet advanced enough to challenge the most sophisticated reader. It moves outward from the poetry building blocks - line, meter, image - to questions of poetry and visuality, poetry and space-time, poetry and theory. Commonsensical, wise, witty and open-minded, Reading poetry draws on an impressively wide set of examples, from Thomas Wyatt to such experimentalists as Tom Raworth. This wonderfully unpretentious book is a classic of its kind. Professor Marjorie Perloff, Stanford University 'Lingering over poems rather than excerpting them to define terms, Peter Barry's Reading poetry discusses a range of strategies for reading and interpreting poetry, quietly making a strong case for the value of reading poetry while leaving behind the methods and terminological overload that put off many readers. Reading poetry works as an introduction to poetry but has much to offer more practiced readers too. Barry's short chapters on diction, concrete poetry, text and context, reading with theory and other subjects probe poems beyond the standard fare, and the humility of his approach to his subjects will surely encourage readers.' Professor Keith Tuma, Miami University -- .

Author Bio

Peter Barry is Professor of English at Aberystwyth University