Elements and Styles of Poetry: with Rules and Examples

Not very good for beginning poetry writing. I would like a little more explanation and maybe a formula for each style of poem.

As a lover of poetry, I found Sally Yocom's book to be a treasure and a "must have" on the bookshelf of new and advanced poets. The rules are short, easy to understand, and well researched. The comprehensiveness of the poetic forms covered (325 pages and descriptions of 106 poetic forms) is ambitious and impressive. You will be motivated to write forms you might not have discovered before (I found lots!). The examples (all written by this gifted poet) are excellent. The book is also beautiful and invitational, a work in progress as there is a place for you to write your own poems, making this book a future family keepsake. Forget about online sites. This book is one you will use over and over again with no need for other references.

I purchased this book a few weeks ago and have not closed it since. The book is laid out with an brief history of where the style originated, the rules of that particular style, and a beautiful example of that style on the right side of the page. The left side of the page is open space giving the reader a place to write their own version of the same style. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves to write poetry and wants to learn and improve. I'm sure I will treasure this book for a long time to come.

I have had this book for about 3 months now. It is a beautiful book with over 200 poetry styles and examples. It also has a place to include your own writing. Anyone interested in formal poetry should have this book. It is so wonderful I bought a copy for a dear friend also. This would make a lovely Christmas gift for an up and budding young poet or an any day gift for yourself. It looks as though it would cost much more, but is a real bargain on Amazon!!! Debbie

Sally Yocom's "Elements and Styles of Poetry..." sets the bar high for those wishing a return to the neatly rhymed and artistically metered verse we used to find in magazines and journals until the early 1920's, and high is where it should be. Only poets read much of what poets write today, and that is a very small and steadily dwindling audience. This book would inspire (if not shame) today's poets into publishing more of the same finely crafted and very interesting verse.

I write poetry and so I ADORE this book. It's simple to read for the novice or expert poet, alike and includes every kind of poem stile you could ever think of in a practical, simple layout. BUY IT!

This is a very well written book and very helpful to anyone who loves to write poetry and would like to learn how to write different styles of poetry. It has many different types of poetry and examples for each type. Then I think it's very clever because it has a page for you to write your own poem for each type of poetry. I highly recommend it.

If you plan on increasing your poetry skills while Learning all types of new styles then this is your book

I have been privileged to read Sally's poetry on a writer's site and exchange chats with her through reviews. She is an incredibly talented poet. My favorite of her styles is her own creation - the octogram. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading and writing poetry. It's easy to read and understand, and all her examples are her own poems.

I had hoped for a little more information per style of poetry, but all you get per style is a short definition and an example.Also a smaller size of book would have been more convenient to fit in the bookcase. Now it looks like a lot of book while the actual information in it is disproportionately little. On the positive side the book covers a large number of different styles.