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Writing Poems
Robert Wallace & Michelle Boisseau
*Writing Poems* by Robert Wallace and Michelle Boisseau is one of the most widely used guides to the craft of poetry - often called the gold standard among poetry-writing textbooks. Published by Addison Wesley Longman and revised across many editions, it walks the beginning poet through the whole process, from the first spark of an idea to the hard work of revision, treating technique (line, image, meter, form) with clarity and without condescension. What sets it apart is its generous anthology of classic and contemporary poems used as working examples, plus quotation boxes of advice from practicing poets. It is practical, example-rich, and grounded in the conviction that poems are made, not merely felt. For anyone learning to write verse - or teaching it - it remains an unusually reliable companion.
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The authors
Robert Wallace (1932-1999) was an American poet and long a professor at Case Western Reserve University, known for his advocacy of craft and of free verse's roots in traditional technique. Michelle Boisseau (1955-2017) was an award-winning poet and professor whose revisions carried the book forward; later editions added the poet Hadara Bar-Nadav.
The book
Writing Poems is a textbook and practical guide that treats poetry as a learnable craft. It moves from generating material through image, rhythm, line, and form to revision, illustrating every point with an ample anthology of poems and quotations from working poets.
How to read it
Use it as a workbook rather than a text to read straight through: its strength is the pairing of clear instruction with example poems and exercises. Its longevity across editions speaks to how well it teaches.
For more context
Compare Mary Oliver's A Poetry Handbook or Stephen Fry's The Ode Less Travelled for other routes into the same craft.
Sources
- Type
- Book
- Author / Maker
- Robert Wallace & Michelle Boisseau
- Publisher
- Addison Wesley Longman
- Place of publication
- New York
- ISBN
- None
- Shelf
- Craft & How-to
- Location
- Maine