Inspirational Because Useful April 17, 2011by
Stanley
Richard Hugo's a bit in eclipse now, maybe because he died way too young, but the Triggering Town remains a book all poets and poetry teachers read. If you want to read a textbook on how to write poetry, maybe this isn't for you, but if you want to read the mind of a poet, of his thought, ideas, creative processes and his experiences of life, then this textbook could be for you. Maybe this textbook is more for teachers or working writers than the general public, but I think that if you approach this great collection with an open mind you will see that it is a book-length poem worthy of its own reading. I ordered this textbook from ecampus and I'm glad to receive it in time.
The Triggering Town: Lectures and Essays on Poetry and Writing:
5 out of
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“I don’t know why we do it. We must be crazy./Welcome, fellow poet.”—Richard Hugo
Richard Hugo, whom Carolyn Kizer called “one of the most passionate, energetic and honest poets living,” was that rare phenomenon—a distinguished poet who was also an inspiring teacher.
The Triggering Town is Hugo’s classic collection of lectures, essays, and reflections, all “directed toward helping with that silly, absurd, maddening, futile, enormously rewarding activity: writing poems.”
From pieces that include “Writing off the Subject” and “How Poets Make a Living,” anyone, from the beginning poet to the mature writer to the lover of literature, will benefit greatly from Hugo’s playful and profound insights into the mysteries of literary creation.
''Richard Hugo’s free-swinging, go-for-it remarks on poetry and the teaching of poetry are exactly what are needed in classrooms and in the world.'' James Dickey, author of Deliverance
''Richard Hugo taught me that anyone with a desire to write, and an ear for language, and a bit of imagination could become a writer.'' James Welch, author of Fools Crow
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