Reddit mentions of The Ode Less Travelled: Unlocking the Poet Within

A much less serious but still worthy book is The Ode Less Traveled.
https://www.amazon.com/Ode-Less-Travelled-Unlocking-Within/dp/1592403115

It only really covers meter and classic forms, but it's very fun, has great examples and exercises to try at the end of every chapter. Plus you can get it for less than 10usd.

My MFA in Creative Writing is for poetry, so I apologize for the bias here.

One of my favorite books from my MFA program was Stephen Fry's The Ode Less Traveled. I highly recommend it as a primer for poetry. It's very approachable, has great examples, and includes exercises. Plus, it's Stephen Fry, so it has an enthusiasm and charisma that you don't always see in reference books like this.

I'd also recommend having both "free weeks" and structured writing prompts. Especially for people who aren't already comfortable with poetry, having a prompt of some kind can do wonders for getting started. You're likely to have students on both sides of the spectrum, so having a mix of free writing and prompts should be helpful. There are loads of prompts online if you get stumped.

Here are a couple of my favorite exercises:

1. Once they've written a poem (and workshopped it, if you're going that route), have them cut it down to 100 words. Poetry is very much an art form that relies on compression and economy, and this exercise should help them understand just how much they can say in a few words.
   
   
2. This would work for poetry and fiction: When you discuss imagery, pick an object and have them write down as many adjectives as they can for it in a couple of minutes. I usually pick "grass," but any object would work. Then ask what they came up with. In my example, the first words out of their mouths is almost always "green"...and that's the point. This is another compression exercise to a degree, but stress the fact that a reader can supply certain information on their own. Grass is green. Fire trucks are red. The sky is blue. Those adjectives are obvious and therefore not especially interesting.
   
   
3. This would also work for both: Print out a bunch nouns and adjectives (enough that each student can have one set of each), but use "odd" words. Put each group of words in a separate envelope, and then have the students draw one word from each envelope and write a poem or scene with the resulting word pair. They could end up with "forested aardvark" or "celestial palm tree," and hopefully seeing words/concepts combined in new ways will spark some creativity. My poetry "guru" from undergrad said something that always stuck with me: "What you say will not be new, but how you say it should be." It is highly unlikely, nigh impossible, for your students to have an original idea for a poem simply because poetry has a long history...however, they can approach the idea from a different angle, with interesting images and diction, with an apt structure, and convey their ideas in a way that reflects their personalities.
   
   Have fun!

I've yet to see that title, though I'll check it out. Gonna drop these here for posterity, as the're generally regarded as wonderful books on the various forms, mechanics and techniques of writing poetry. The more resources, the better, aye?

The Poet's Companion: A Guide to the Pleasures of Writing Poetry, Kim Addonizio

The Ode Less Travelled: Unlocking the Poet Within, Stephen Fry

A Poetry Hanbook, Mary Oliver

Having read some of the comments below here are some TV and book suggestions if you're interested in exploring some of Mr. Fry's work.

TV

A Bit of Fry and Laurie a sketch comedy show he did with his friend Hugh Laurie (Dr. House on TV's House. Yes, he's English.)

Jeeves and Wooster Television adaptations of P.G. Wodehouse books. (Wodehouse is definitely worth reading.)

Kingdom A typical quaint village TV show that's not particularly exceptional but is entertaining (if you like British TV).

Stephen Fry in America A really great series in which Mr. Fry drives through the United States in a London style cab meeting locals and making observations.

Also worth seeing: Last Chance To See and Black Adder.

BOOKS

The Liar I recommend this if you like clever writing and unusual stories but I read it well over 10 years ago and can't sum up the plot.

Hippopotamus An odd and humorous tale of a not exactly friendly middle aged man who is asked by an old friend to investigate some unusual goings on at a country estate.

Revenge A clever retelling of a classic story. (I won't name the classic as I wasn't aware it was a retelling until a ways into the book I realized the plot was similar to the classic. So, if you're interested in making your own discovery skip the jacket notes and site reviews.)

Moab Is My Washpot The first of Mr. Fry's autobiographies, this one covers his childhood and teen years. He's completely honest about growing up gay and also about the less than ideal fellow he was.

The Fry Chronicles Mr. Fry's second autobiography which covers his college years and the beginning of his professional career.

The Ode Less Travelled: Unlocking the Poet Within A surprisingly interesting and informative book about writing poetry.

INTERNET

The New Adventures of Mr. Stephen Fry Mr. Fry's website.

Stephen Fry on Twitter

Stephen Fry on Tumblr

And for something really interesting and easy to access, watch (or listen to) a video free-form talk he did for a magazine or website. He makes some great observations and points about modern times, life in general, and how to be a happy and decent person.

I've been working through The Ode Less Traveled, a book about writing poetry by Stephen Fry. I'm not sure if it's helping, but it's just as delightful to read as you'd imagine a book on writing poetry by Stephen Fry would be.

Oh and read these.
http://www.amazon.com/Poems-Poets-Poetry-Introduction-Anthology/dp/0312463197

http://www.amazon.com/Ode-Less-Travelled-Unlocking-Within/dp/1592403115/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1348630139&sr=1-1&keywords=the+ode+less+traveled

I would recommend The Ode Less Travelled by Stephen Fry. It might not strike you as college level but it works through all the techniques used by poets and serves as a solid intro while remaining accessible.

I believe the poster 0HAO is referring to this course from Open Yale: Modern Poetry. I would recommend this as a good intro to the modern period along with many of the key poets, though the video lectures alone teach you little about how poems are made up. Langdon Hammer is also great at reading poetry IMO.

Stephen Fry wrote a very very good book about poetry and how to write it..

A good place to start.

He wrote a book about it.

David Copperfield will teach you just how long a sentence can be; The Old Man and the Sea will teach you just how short. A seven- or eight-word description can be just as vivid as a flowery paragraph, while a long sequence can be just as emotionally hard-hitting as a blunt fragment.

Something like Gulliver's Travels or Don Quixote will introduce you to archaic syntax and idioms, while Catch-22 and The Sound and the Fury will introduce you to non-linear and stream-of-consciousness structures. All of this will expand your appreciation of what can be done with the language.

Some novels have messages: 1984, To Kill a Mockingbird, Lord of the Flies, The Great Gatsby, Brave New World, etc. These can be good for familiarizing yourself with the origin of many references in popular culture, such as allusions to Big Brother.

Explore beyond the novel as well: read Shakespeare and go see it performed, read poetry and have a go at writing some, and read in-depth essays.

Since I adore Stephen Fry, I'd love [this] (http://www.amazon.com/Hippopotamus-Stephen-Fry/dp/1569470545/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=38RR1FSXRXUC7&coliid=I4EKZ76DS17OZ0) or [this] (http://www.amazon.com/The-Ode-Less-Travelled-Unlocking/dp/1592403115/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=38RR1FSXRXUC7&coliid=I1FOCNKX8TRHR2). Thanks!

I'm just leaving this here.

No problem! It certainly is ambitious for a first-time attempt, but for what it's worth I think you're doing great so far!

For a quick-and-dirty guide you can check out this quick meter explanation. If you've got a little bit of spending money, I highly reccomend The Ode Less Travelled by the disgustingly talented Stephen Fry. Again, poetry isn't really my forte, but hopefully these will give you enough information to know what to google!

>"Scrierea unei poezii este precum prepararea unei cafele [...] nu oricine poate face asta"

Am invatat sa folosesc un espressor din cela mare, de restaurant, in cateva ore. De scris pozii? Nici dupa ce am citit "The Ode Less Travelled" nu imi iese ceva la fel de bun precum o cafea.

Dar faina initiativa!