Poems' Progress

Wendy Barker's POEM'S PROGRESS is exceptional in two ways. First, as professor of intro, advanced, and graduate level poetry writing, I find the book a remarkable teaching tool. Barker is a widely honored poet whose poems have appeared in too many journals to name, not to mention her three full-length collections (and counting). With ruthless honesty, she provides the published form of twenty different poems, then earlier drafts (including facsimile reproductions of them complete with her scribbled revisions), and then a narrative about the development of each poem. We find out why early choices often can't work. We understand the relationship between voice and shape. Her considerations of contemporary notions of form are deeply informative and accessible. The discussion of "Black Sheep, White Stars," is nearly a short story in itself. Students benefit enormously from seeing not simply the labor of the process but the tender attention to the human and artistic requirements of writing poetry.Second and more importantly, as a poet I find the book an excellent window into the poetic processes that can at times seem impossibly overgrown with doubt and confusion. All writers experience the down times. Sometimes when I'm feeling hesitant, I can pick up POEM'S PROGRESS and read one or two of the discussions and feel myself relax. Though I write in a considerably different voice than Barker does, her strategies help me not only to address the blank page but trust in my own creative intuitions. This sense of reawakened surety is worth far more than the book's modest price. I can't recommend it enough.

This is witty book and offerd me many insights on the creative process, I loved following the making of a poem. And then seeing the final result. Barker is a funny and very very gifted poet. Loved it.

Now that I've found it, I can't imagine teaching creative writing without this book. Not only is Barker a brilliant and highly regarded poet, she has written a book that gives students compelling and intimate insights into the process of creativity. Barker's brave voice comes through not only in her poetry, but now also in her clear and honest examination of the true process of creativity. The book is an invaluable addition to any curriculum that takes creativity and good writing seriously.

This latest of Wendy Barker's offerings gifts us not only with the poet's clear and often stunning language, but also with the working life of a poet. This is a good read as a book of poems, and it is one I would most highly recommend to anyone curious about the art and craft of writing.