For many prose writers, being asked to critique a poem is almost a terrifying experience. “What if I don’t understand the poem?” they worry. “Of what if I get it wrong, whatever that means? I can’t tell the difference between an iamb and a troche. I don’t even know what they are! What am I supposed to say?”
In Poetry Critique for Prose Writers, long-time critique group leader and poet Ross Lampert (a.k.a. The Critique Doctor) provides detailed, practical articles on how to help you and your critique partners improve your:
• Understanding of the difference between critiquing a poem in development and analyzing a completed and published one
• Understanding of and comfort with the basic terms and concepts of poetry writing
• Knowledge of how to read a poem in development to find its strong and weak points and offer suggestions on how to address them
• Ability to enjoy reading poetry
Each article ends with questions you can ask yourself about the piece you’re reviewing to identify the exact problem you’re seeing and offer the author usable critique.