Writing Personal Poetry: Creating Poems from Your Life Experiences

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Summary: Poetry Primer
Review: I found this book very useful to help get the creative juices flowing. The exercises provided by Ms. Bender produced the inspiration needed by beginning poets (like myself).

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Summary: Comprehensive overwhelming and lack substance
Review: This is a book of contradictions. In some parts, it is very comprehensive. Go on to the next chapter and it shows you nothing (merely tell you what other books to read). Then the next chapter, you will be overwhelmed since it is in a language that only seasoned poets know. Each chapter seems like they were written by different people. The inconsistency and the lack of unity destroys this book.

Rating:
Summary: Writing Personal Poetry
Review: Writing Personal Poetry is a journey into self-discovery. Written by Sheila Bender, the book explores how you can create poems based on your life experiences. A successful poet herself, she begins with a look at why we write, followed by steps for empowerment. One of the most insightful chapters, "Practice With Tools For Poetry Writing" provides exercises as well as useful suggestions. Unlike many instructional writing books, Writing personal Poetry is clear and easy to read. It contains many specific examples to illustrate the author's lessons. A companionable volume, it invites highlighting and underlining for use as a reference for many years.