Anthology

Mentor and Muse: Essays from Poets to Poets

Edited by Blas Falconer, Beth Martinelli, and Helena Mesa, Mentor and Muse:  Essays from Poets to Poets  (Southern Illinois University Press, 2010) is a collection of twenty-nine insightful essays that draw upon both established and emerging poets to create a one-of-a-kind resource and unlock the secrets of writing and revising poetry.  Each author examines in detail a particular poetic element, shedding new light on the endless possibilities of poetic forms, such as imagery, the duality of myth and the personal, and the versatility of traditional poetic forms. The essays include the full text of the poems discussed, and detailed, relevant writing exercises that allow students the opportunity to directly implement the strategies they have learned. While many advanced topics such as authenticity, discordant music, and prosody are covered, this highly readable volume is as user-friendly as it is informative. Essayists include Phillis Levin, Patricia Clark, Stanley Plumly, Claire Kageyama-Ramakrishnan, Michael Waters, Victoria Chang, Kevin Prufer, Shara McCallum, David Keplinger, Nancy Eimers, and others.

For a sample essay, please see Phillis Levin’s essay, “Recording Mortal Sight:  The Drama of Prosody,” posted on Poetry Daily.

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Praise for Mentor and Muse:  Essays from Poets to Poets:

“Mentor and Muse is perhaps the most complete recounting of the various ways poets find themselves elected and pursued by their art.  While many of the essays focus on elements of craft, their real subjects are inspiration and how poetry casts its mysterious spell.” —Michael Collier, author of Dark Wild Realm

“Anyone who has ever wondered about the importance to poets of the placement of a single punctuation mark, or why they grow so excited about the feel of a word in the mouth or the shape of an image in the mind’s eye, will find the answer in this generous collection of essays.” —Kate Daniels, author of A Walk in Victoria’s Secret

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Mentor and Muse: Essays for Poets to Poets is available at your local, independent bookstore and at Amazon.