Robin Behn
Author of The Practice of Poetry: Writing Exercises from Poets Who Teach
About the Author
Robin Behn is a graduate of Oberlin College, the University of Missouri at Columbia, and the University of Iowa. She is a noted poet, a professor of English, and the director of the M.F.A. Program in Creative Writing at the University of Alabama. Behn's poems have appeared in a variety of literary show more journals, and she has published two collections of her poems, Paper Bird and The Red Hour. Behn's poetry has earned her numerous awards, including the Associated Writings Program Award Series in Poetry for Paper Bird, the New England Review narrative poetry prize, and a Pushcart Prize. Her poem French Horn appears in the Pushcart Prize, XVIII Best of the Small Presses, 1993-94; Midwestern Villanelle was published in the 1992 edition of Best American Poetry. Behn has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and from arts councils in Illinois and Alabama. Behn is the coeditor of The Practice of Poetry Writing: Exercises from Poets Who Teach, a book about creative writing. Aimed at both making writing enjoyable and stimulating creative, flexible thinking, the book has become a favorite resource for both teachers and students of poetry. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: University of Alabama
Works by Robin Behn
The Practice of Poetry: Writing Exercises from Poets Who Teach (1992) — Editor — 774 copies, 8 reviews
Associated Works
When She Named Fire: An Anthology of Contemporary Poetry by American Women (2008) — Contributor — 15 copies
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Reviews
This book is just chock full of useful exercises to get a poet's pen moving. Some of them are more useful than others, some of them are downright annoying (but not as annoying as the hot-potato exercise that Eric Maisel recommends in "Fearless Creating"--*there's* a book I don't recommend).
I'd say that if you're a severely blocked poet, this book might be of use to you, but only if you're prepared to experiment with exercises that may feel very uncomfortable at first, sometimes even show more trite.
Overcoming writer's block is different than honing your craft. If there's one positive thing to say about this book, it is that it works well for either issue, and is probably worth owning if you're serious about the writing process, or about *teaching*, as it provides useful exercises for the classroom. show less
I'd say that if you're a severely blocked poet, this book might be of use to you, but only if you're prepared to experiment with exercises that may feel very uncomfortable at first, sometimes even show more trite.
Overcoming writer's block is different than honing your craft. If there's one positive thing to say about this book, it is that it works well for either issue, and is probably worth owning if you're serious about the writing process, or about *teaching*, as it provides useful exercises for the classroom. show less
This book is just chock full of useful exercises to get a poet's pen moving. Some of them are more useful than others, some of them are downright annoying (but not as annoying as the hot-potato exercise that Eric Maisel recommends in "Fearless Creating"--*there's* a book I don't recommend).
I'd say that if you're a severely blocked poet, this book might be of use to you, but only if you're prepared to experiment with exercises that may feel very uncomfortable at first, sometimes even show more trite.
Overcoming writer's block is different than honing your craft. If there's one positive thing to say about this book, it is that it works well for either issue, and is probably worth owning if you're serious about the writing process, or about *teaching*, as it provides useful exercises for the classroom. show less
I'd say that if you're a severely blocked poet, this book might be of use to you, but only if you're prepared to experiment with exercises that may feel very uncomfortable at first, sometimes even show more trite.
Overcoming writer's block is different than honing your craft. If there's one positive thing to say about this book, it is that it works well for either issue, and is probably worth owning if you're serious about the writing process, or about *teaching*, as it provides useful exercises for the classroom. show less
Definitely a book that has encouraged me to play and experiment. I like to keep it in my writing space and open it at random until I find an exercise that catches me, and I would say that some of my coolest poems in terms of artistic growth have come out of these exercises. They have challenged me, but also broken me out of a few writing funks. No pressure from this book, just fun and writing.
This book has found a permanent place in my life. The exercises in it have inspired about half of the poems I have written since I bought it. Every time I pick it up, it is like attending a poetry seminar held just for me.
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Statistics
- Works
- 7
- Also by
- 3
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- 828
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- #30,824
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 8
- ISBNs
- 14