WILF: Mary Oliver’s ‘A Poetry Handbook’

In this episode, I’m explaining What I Learnt From: Mary Oliver’s ‘A Poetry Handbook’. This is the first in a hopefully long list of shows that sees me go through my annotations and notes for a book that explores an area of English teaching or leadership. This time, it is the unsurprisingly beautiful writing of Mary Oliver who shares with the reader her thoughts and considerations after a lifetime of writing and teaching poetry.

Expect to hear:

1. What is the best way to begin reading and writing poetry

2. The distinctions between free verse and metrical poems

3. The function of sound in poetry

4. The functions of a line in poetry

5. Wider considerations of structure such as the stanza and its function

6. How tone and content have changed in poetry

7. The role of imagery or figurative language in poetry

If you want to be kept up to date on when educational chat like this happens, then be sure to subscribe to the podcast and/or follow me on Twitter @chrisjordanhk

Links:

Mary Oliver - A Poetry Handbook