Poemcrazy: Freeing Your Life with Words

by Susan G. Wooldridge

Paperback, 1997

Status

Available

Call number

808.1

Collection

Publication

Broadway Books (1997), Edition: 1st Pbk. Ed, 210 pages

Description

Following the success of several recent inspirational and practical books for would-be writers, Poemcrazy is a perfect guide for everyone who ever wanted to write a poem but was afraid to try. Writing workshop leader Susan Wooldridge shows how to think, use one's senses, and practice exercises that will make poems more likely to happen.

User reviews

LibraryThing member dragonchasers
This book was so saccharine and fluffy and downright insipid that it actually made me angry to read it! Seriously, this woman lives in some kind of fantasy land, and I simply couldn’t stomach it.

Its full of advice like “Cut words out of magazines and paste them to cardboard. Label things around
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you! Label your refridgerator “Some pig�€?! And she goes on to regale us with stories of how much her children loved cutting out words and labeling things around the house. It was like a Captain Kangaroo flashback.

Gaah, that’s just one example and already I feel the need to take a shower. But I can’t judge the book because for some fluffy little bunnies who want to write poems about children playing in the rain and flowers and home baked cookies, its probably a fine book. I just prefer my poetry to have some depth…
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LibraryThing member lizabethy
This book is terrific for anyone who wants to have fun with poetry; it is particularly good for beginners. This woman is in love with the art of word manipulation. It is NOT A BOOK FOR THOSE WHO TAKE POETRY SERIOUSLY EVERY MINUTE OF EVERY DAY.

Though that should be obvious from the woman doing a
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leap on the cover, not to mention the title.

Introduce your kids (and yourself) to poetry that is not all sonnets and forced "depth." It's remarkable what sort of depth you can find from found words, random bits of paper, and a walk.
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LibraryThing member birdmaddgirl
i can't decide how i felt about this book. something about the author's tone put me off. maybe it's the way she refers to everyone she knows by first name as if we're all buddies from way back. but there were some good points in it. shrug.
LibraryThing member NativeRoses
Wonderful ideas that create momentum. i used this book to teach poetry writing to junior high and HS students.
LibraryThing member realbigcat
This could be a useful book for the beginning poet. A lot of great ideas for stimulating the thought process towards poetry. Some may seem rather silly to a less then serious or enthusiastic poet. I tried the part where you wrote down your dreams as soon as you woke up. Neon Texas, if you read the
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part on your dreams you'll know what I mean.
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LibraryThing member liblor
Good book about not taking poetry too seriously. I plan to recommend it in my workshops on children's poetry.
LibraryThing member annmariegamble
My goal is to write novels, not poems, but this book (and others) help me focus on word, mood, and scene. Wooldridge helped me disengage my Inner Editor and revel in the words.
LibraryThing member Greymowser
A great book to get the juices flowing.
LibraryThing member LoriFox
I bought this book, poemcrazy, by Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge, at The Bookstore in Chico, California, whole visiting my daughter who is going to college there at Chico State University. I picked it up because of both the title and the photo on the cover, never having heard of the book or the author
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before. It was truly a hidden little gem that day in a room full of possibilities. Part way through reading the book, I searched for and found the author on goodreads and Facebook. I sent her a friend request and a message telling her how much I was loving her book and how inspiring it is. She accepted my friend request and wrote back. We’ve since corresponded, and I’ve signed up for a poetry through art writing workshop with her.

This book has become my all-time favorite book about poetry and how to write it, and it’s also in my top two books about writing in general. My copy is now lovingly highlighted and annotated, and I can’t wait to start using some of Susan’s ideas in my creative writing class. Not only does this book inspire creativity and new ways of playing with words, but also it is wonderfully written and just plain fun to read. It has taken its place among my top 20 books of all time.
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LibraryThing member daplz
Still my favorite book about words.

Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

1996

Physical description

210 p.; 5.13 inches

ISBN

0609800981 / 9780609800980
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