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An Introduction to Poetry
Kennedy/Gioia's An Introduction to Poetry, 12e, continues to inspire readers and writers with a rich collection of poems and engaging insights on reading, analyzing, and writing about poetry.Ìý This bestselling anthology includes more than 500 of the discipline's greatest poems, blending classic works and contemporary selections.Ìý Both noted poets themselves, the text's editors, X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia, write of their subject with wit and a contagious enthusiasm.Ìý Informative, accessible apparatus presents readable discussions of the literary devices, illustrated by apt works, and supported by interludes with the poets.Ìý This edition features more than 50 new poems, a new masterwork casebook on T. S. Eliot’s “The Love Songs of J. Alfred Prufrock," extensively revised and expanded chapters on writing, and a fresh new design.
669 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
June 21, 2016
An excellent resource for the serious poet who wishes to learn or return to the basics. Written in the format of a textbook, this 716 page book includes chapters on Poetry: Reading a Poem, Listening to a Voice, Words, Saying and Suggesting, Imagery, Figures of Speech, Song, Sound, Rhythm, Closed Form, Open Form, Symbol, Myth and Narrative, Poetry and Personal Identity, Translation, Recognizing Excellence, and What is Poetry? There is also a section on Writing: Writing About Literature, Writing About a Poem, and Critical Approaches to Literature. I particularly enjoyed the section on Poems for Further Reading, the biographies of several major poets, and a glossary of literary terms. For those who are ambitious (or are taking a poetry class), there are writing and reading assignments sprinkled throughout the book. If you are looking for something to read over the weekend or during the summer, this is NOT a book for you. This is a reference keeper, something to be read slowly, or referred to again and again. A global versus national or regional view of poetry. My only complaint would be that I would have enjoyed seeing more Canadian content. At least Margaret Atwood was included with two poems.
September 6, 2013
This classic first-year textbook of poetry is well-written and engaging so much that I read it cover to cover on my own time. While his choice of poetry is heavy on the classical and light on the modern, which, in my opinion, belies the poetry of the day, his selection is good and careful. My main criticism is, as hinted at, that teachers of poetry should be careful not to prioritize the formal poetry, which is by and large historical, and in doing so drive people away from the modern, which is more appealing to a contemporary audience and is the majority of what you'd find in any poetry journal today.
January 10, 2013
I've read and studied this text in a variety of editions. This newer edition co-edited with Dana Gioia is too long. I like better than earlier editions that are about half the length. If I were to teach an introductory poetry class in college, I wouldn't use it. The book is just too long. I can't imagine getting through half this tome in a semester. That said, I like Mr. Kennedy's choice of poems and the in-depth discussion of folk ballad traditions and modern music lyrics.
February 9, 2017
Am putting this aside for now. It is an excellent introduction to poetry and explores in great depth the elements of poetry and how different poets have either broken or used them. I recommend that beginning poets purchase a copy. As a textbook, there are many editions, so just buy whichever secondhand copy comes your way. There's something enjoyable about these discussions. It will whet your appetite for poetry rather than kill it with boredom.
February 6, 2024
Fascinating stuff, I doubt I'll remember half of it but it will be kept on the shelf as an essential reference book.
August 30, 2022
Some of the poems included were enjoyable, I didn’t read any of the parts teaching about how to read poetry and question it to death, so I cannot speak to those portions.
April 23, 2019
An Introduction to Poetry is a book chalked full of poems that shows the basics of poetry. From poetic devices to basic flow of poems, this book has it all. The book overall is very inspiring and really encourages the reader to write poems over the course of reading this book. The book has poems from the classic era all the way to modern, with lots of really great poems that give an example about the poetic device that the book explains.
There was almost every single figurative device in this book, really teaching me more deeply about the poetic devices and how to form together a good poem. On that stood out to me was the almost obsessive amount of rhyming.
This book was very eye-opening and while it did explain lots of the poetry very well, it lacked any fun and I got bored of the book really quick. It almost seemed to drag on like a thesis and used words that could have been removed and had the same meaning.
There was almost every single figurative device in this book, really teaching me more deeply about the poetic devices and how to form together a good poem. On that stood out to me was the almost obsessive amount of rhyming.
This book was very eye-opening and while it did explain lots of the poetry very well, it lacked any fun and I got bored of the book really quick. It almost seemed to drag on like a thesis and used words that could have been removed and had the same meaning.
April 2, 2010
Will probably be on the "currently reading" shelf for ever, even longer than the stuff I'm supposedly reading for work. I still have my copy of the first edition that I've had since high school, that I studied and read and studied and learned to write poetry from; but Grandma gave me this one when she moved last fall and I'm glad to have it. Quite a lot different. I'm reading it to learn more.
One of the several advantages of the ex-bf is that he publishes a small quarterly poetry journal, in which I've published a few things; this has got me writing again after about 15 years of not doing much. Grateful for that.
One of the several advantages of the ex-bf is that he publishes a small quarterly poetry journal, in which I've published a few things; this has got me writing again after about 15 years of not doing much. Grateful for that.
November 4, 2023
When I was younger, I didn't know much about poetry (beyond epic poetry like that of Homer and Virgil). But sometime in my forties, I decided I should read a bit. I found some poems I really liked (Tennyson's Ulysses remains my favorite poem), but others I just bounced off of. But over the years, I've from time to time tried to learn more. There are far more poets and poems that I like and appreciate now than I did twenty five years ago. But I'm still trying to learn more so from time to time I pick up a book aimed at those wanting to learn more. An Introduction to Poetry by X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia is a good one.
It starts with several chapters on the types of poetry -- lyric, narrative, dramatic (it mentions epic, but the great epics are beyond the scope of this volume) -- to tone, person, literal vs. symbolic meaning, word choice and order, imagery, rhythm, meter, and other topics. It even spends some time on poetry and personal identity, looking at topics like race, ethnicity, and gender in poetry. Finally, it has a nice section on evaluating poetry, and telling good from bad.
Each section has a number of poems as examples, and the final quarter of the book has an anthology of other poems to read, a section of articles of criticism, and short bios of poets. Overall, a good book for those who don't know much about poetry but want to learn more.
It starts with several chapters on the types of poetry -- lyric, narrative, dramatic (it mentions epic, but the great epics are beyond the scope of this volume) -- to tone, person, literal vs. symbolic meaning, word choice and order, imagery, rhythm, meter, and other topics. It even spends some time on poetry and personal identity, looking at topics like race, ethnicity, and gender in poetry. Finally, it has a nice section on evaluating poetry, and telling good from bad.
Each section has a number of poems as examples, and the final quarter of the book has an anthology of other poems to read, a section of articles of criticism, and short bios of poets. Overall, a good book for those who don't know much about poetry but want to learn more.
June 12, 2020
It's a nice overview. I don't like the editors' refusal to use "rhyme." I'm not going to quibble with the etymologists, but "rime" is just distracting. I also don't like that untitled poetry (Dickinson, Shakespeare, etc.) is given a title (usually the first line). I understand you want your formatting to look pretty, but it's not right. But it's a good introduction. I read an old edition, so I got the added entertainment of a very dated "Writing and Researching on the Computer" chapter.
October 28, 2017
669 pages of poems.
Notable:
Embrace by: Billy Collins
Con Los Ojos Cerrados by: Octavio Paz
Care and Feeding by: Billy Collins
Résumé by: Dorthy Parker
We Real Cool by: Gwendolyn Brooks
Rough Weather by: James Reeves
The Suitor by: Jane Kenyon
Fire and Ice by: Robert Frost
..and so many more that I didn't write down.
Notable:
Embrace by: Billy Collins
Con Los Ojos Cerrados by: Octavio Paz
Care and Feeding by: Billy Collins
Résumé by: Dorthy Parker
We Real Cool by: Gwendolyn Brooks
Rough Weather by: James Reeves
The Suitor by: Jane Kenyon
Fire and Ice by: Robert Frost
..and so many more that I didn't write down.
November 24, 2023
This is book I would have wanted when I studied English Language and Literature. It has a wide variety of poems, discusses all the basic concepts of poetic analysis, discusses the different kinds of criticisms (historic, deconstructionist, etc.)., and tells the reader how to write proper essays. This book is a gem to have for anyone who would like to know more about analysing poetry.
July 25, 2018
Back in college, I used the ninth edition of this textbook and enjoyed it a lot.
(I even kept my copy.) Excellent intro to poetry!
(I even kept my copy.) Excellent intro to poetry!
August 15, 2018
Excellent overview with a wonderful selection of poems to mirror the text.
January 24, 2022
A great go to famous textbook for every student.
August 22, 2022
I know this is a textbook. I enjoyed the discussion. I enjoyed the poems offered. I enjoyed the tips for writing.
December 8, 2023
One of my favorites. I have a well-worn second edition that I return to now and again for inspiration.
August 30, 2021
I came across a much earlier edition (2nd vs. 12th) and started realizing it without at first remembering my previous encounter. Judging from my original review (below), the two editions are extremely different. I also think I appreciated it a lot more this time around, now that I’m actually teaching poetry. I’m also curious to reread the other edition now from this perspective. Anyway, as a teacher, I like the approach and it’s a very good reference book
- - - (original review) - - -
This is a textbook on reading poetry and writing about poetry, but actually writing poetry is not covered. Still, what it does cover is pretty good. It includes lots of sources ranging from poets and critics writing about poetry, historians and biographers writing about poets, etc. There are more in-depth chapters on a couple specific poets (Emily Dickinson and Langston Hughes), and one specific poem (The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock). There are sample student papers, and an overview of different styles of literary criticism. So it's a pretty well-rounded offering. The large section of "poems for further reading" includes the interesting feature of a "compare this with..." poem listed at the end of each one, so you can leapfrog through the collection that way instead of sequentially, if you want. The main fault to my mind was the relative lack of emphasis on the formal elements of poetry -- rhyme schemes, specific forms, etc. I think those deserved more than the sideways glance they got, but if you prefer the "fuzzier" topics of tone and imagery and things like that, then it might be up your alley. There's even an ambitious chapter on "recognizing excellence." Most of this was done by comparing obviously better and worse poems against each other, but it worked well enough for as far as they took it. As for the chapters on writing different types of college essays, I mostly just skimmed and skipped.
- - - (original review) - - -
This is a textbook on reading poetry and writing about poetry, but actually writing poetry is not covered. Still, what it does cover is pretty good. It includes lots of sources ranging from poets and critics writing about poetry, historians and biographers writing about poets, etc. There are more in-depth chapters on a couple specific poets (Emily Dickinson and Langston Hughes), and one specific poem (The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock). There are sample student papers, and an overview of different styles of literary criticism. So it's a pretty well-rounded offering. The large section of "poems for further reading" includes the interesting feature of a "compare this with..." poem listed at the end of each one, so you can leapfrog through the collection that way instead of sequentially, if you want. The main fault to my mind was the relative lack of emphasis on the formal elements of poetry -- rhyme schemes, specific forms, etc. I think those deserved more than the sideways glance they got, but if you prefer the "fuzzier" topics of tone and imagery and things like that, then it might be up your alley. There's even an ambitious chapter on "recognizing excellence." Most of this was done by comparing obviously better and worse poems against each other, but it worked well enough for as far as they took it. As for the chapters on writing different types of college essays, I mostly just skimmed and skipped.
October 30, 2016
On the positive side, the ninth edition does have a fair number of female authors besides the usual Dickinson and Bishop. On the downside, I found this to be a rather bland collection of primarily Caucasian poets. There are a couple of native American poems, balanced by two poems written by white folks observing Native Americans--like they're animals in a zoo! I wish I was joking. There were a couple poems by African-Americans, Hispanics, and Asians. Just a few each. Poets of color were the usual suspects, Erdrich, Neruda, Hughes, Basho, etc. It didn't seem like there was any real effort to branch out and look for a more well-rounded collection. There is so much good poetry that doesn't have a wasp stamped on its forehead. Herrera? Ortiz? Lee? You get the point. I think it is especially important, in a book tailored for students, to have a well-rounded collection, assuming you do want to get non-white students interested in poetry? The whitewashing of poetry was most apparent in the haiku section. I could not believe that most of the haiku were from white authors! OK, whitewashing the haiku section probably took some effort. A more appropriate name for this compilation would be "An Introduction to White Poetry." Because that's what it is. I bought this book secondhand, and the student survey in the back was filled in. For the question, "Which chapters did you find least interesting," the student wrote, "1 through 24."For the question, "Were there any poems you particularly disliked," the student wrote, "Over 500 of them."
April 1, 2008
This is a textbook someone gave me but it did open my eyes to poetry. It contains great examples of the good and the not-so-good.
November 8, 2008
Great contemporary overview of poetry.
Read
November 6, 2011Excellent. Introduced me to the amazing poem by Emily Grosholz, "Letter from Germany".
Read
March 13, 2018amazing book
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