Haiku: How To Write It in Minutes is the perfect guide for the would-be Haiku writer. This enduring Japanese form comes to life in poet and teacher Robert McDowell's crisp and inspiring poetry manual, one of several in his Forms of Poetry Series. Beginning with the case for writing poetry in traditional form, McDowell wastes no time introducing the reader to the specific requirements of Haiku. He follows this with a variety of excellent examples that lead to playful writing exercises desig...

"[When we read and write poetry,] it is as if a long-settled cloud in our mind suddenly dissipates, and we are divine once again." -- from the IntroductionPoetry is the language of devotion in prayer, chant, and song. Reading and writing poetry creates clarity, deepens and expands spiritual inquiry, and cultivates wisdom, compassion, self-confidence, patience, and love. In author Robert McDowell's words, poetry makes you into a tuning fork of the Divine.But...

Robert McDowell's poems over the last 35 years are widely recognized as major achievements in reviving narrative and consistently striving to cre-ate, as poet and critic Chad Abushanab writes in his Introduction, "the song in the story". McDow-ell in poetry also embraces Emily Dickinson's call to engage "Internal difference/Where the mean-ings, are". McDowell's poems appear widely in magazines, journals, newspapers, anthologies and earlier collections.

The poet’s first full-length collection, Quiet Money's New Edition consists almost exclusively of longer narrative poems, including the title poem about a bootlegger/pilot who flew the Atlantic solo before Charles Lindbergh. This piece is often cited as one of the most important poems of the 1980s and the movement to revive storytelling in verse.

A book-length poem that brilliantly reinvents narrative poetry, The Diviners is a single poem divided into five chapters, each a different decade. McDowell relates the most crucial developments in each decade spanning from the 1950s through 1990s, of the shared lives of Al, Eleanor, and their son, Tom. The Diviners records in blank verse the family’s beginnings, their growth, their problems, their separation, and their ultimate reunion. The events that follow the intertwi...

Mark Twain said, "The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex, overwhelming tasks into small, manageable tasks, and then starting on that first one." That's exactly what poet and teacher Robert McDowell does for readers of this terrific Guide to solving the problem of writer's block once and for all. He does this with ten easy steps and fun exercises that are effective, charming and readily understandable. If you want to write, if ...

Sonnets are among the most admired and daunting poems in the English language. In his Sonnets: How To Write Them in Minutes, noted poet and teacher Robert McDowell flawlessly explains and demonstrates the characteristics of the English, Italian and Spenserian sonnets and provides excellent examples of each one. His insightful, playful exercises, or writing prompts, encourage reader/writer participation in the most positive ways. In very little time, the diligent reader will be creating her...

Before I Pray, the first book in the Kevin Killgallen Mystery Series, introduces a spiritual gumshoe with street smarts and sass still intact. Born of the traditions of Chandler, Hammett, Spillane, Sayers, Gardner and Leonard, Los Angeles P.I. Kevin Killgallen seeks to find in his torrid life of adventure, danger and self-destructive choices the seeds of a spiritual practice that can bring him peace and greater balance. Yet, even as he enrolls and participates in classes in Tibetan Buddhis...

This is a coming-of-age novel in which Emily Dickinson & Virginia Woolf return to this world and join forces to protect & assist a young woman artist, Lily, as she grows into her full power in love & work. Artfully written to appeal to adults and younger readers of serious literary fiction, the story takes place almost entirely in Ashland, Oregon and features appearances by several of the leg-endary Bloomsbury group, including Virginia's sister, Vanessa Bell and husband, Leonard, as well a...

From the nuts and bolts of craft to the sources of inspiration, this book is for anyone who wants to write poetry-and do it well.In this fortuitous collaboration, two spirited poets, themselves teachers of poetry, offer guidance to aspiring beginners and those who have already published. Brief essays on the elements of poetry, technique, and suggested subjects for writing are each followed by distinctive writing exercises. ("Compare an actual family photograph with one that was nev...

'Poetry is what gets lost in translation.' --Robert FrostGiving voice to ''what gets lost in translation'' is the challenge every poet faces. With The Everything Writing Poetry Book, that challenge just got easier. Featuring examples from works of celebrated poets and instruction on communicating your ideas, this clear and accessible reference helps you gain confidence as you find your own voice. Written by a team who each hold a master’s degree a...

A collection of 108 haiku poems to heighten awareness and deepen our appreciation for the ordinary in everyday lifeHaiku, the Japanese form of poetry written in just three lines, can be miraculous in its power to articulate the profundity of the simplest moment—and for that reason haiku can be a useful tool for bringing us to a heightened awareness of our lives.Here, the poet Patricia Donegan shares her experience of the haiku form as a way of insight that ...