Ecstatic Occasions, Expedient Forms: 85 Leading Contemporary Poets Select and Comment on Their Poems

by David Lehman

Book Overview

This unique anthology has as its focus the notion of form in contemporary poetry. No subject has attracted more vigorous discussion within the community of poets and critics in the past ten years. If we are to understand what form is and how it shapes poetic expression, we must turn to the poems themselves for clues. And if we are very lucky, we can listen to the voice of the poets who wrote them.
In Ecstatic Occasions, Expedient Forms, ...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0472066331
• ISBN13: 9780472066339
• Release Date: September 1996
• Publisher: University of Michigan Press
• Length: 228 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.9" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Lovers of poetry -- and wannabe poets -- should read this.

This is really a fun book. The structure of it is original and ingenious; 85 poets print one of their poems, and then write a short essay about the process of writing the poem. More than any book I've ever read about "the poet's journey" or "the process of writing poetry" or anything else, this offers insight into the process of writing and the evolution of a work. And it offers 85 different perspectives. I love this book.