The Art of Revising Poetry: 21 U.S. Poets on Their Drafts, Craft, and Process

Using side-by-side pairings of first drafts and final versions, including full-page reproductions from the poets’ personal notebooks, as well as an insightful essay on each poem’s journey from start to finish, The Art of Revising Poetry tracks the creative process of twenty-one of the United States’ most influential poets as they struggle over a single word, line break, or thought. This behind-the-scenes look into the creative minds of working poets, including African American, Latino, Asian American, and Native poets from across the US, is an essential resource for students practicing poetry, and for instructors looking to enliven the classroom with real world examples. Students learn first-hand from the deft revisions working poets make, while poetry teachers can show in detail how experienced poets self-edit, tinker, cut, rearrange, and craft a poem. The Art of Revising Poetry is a must-have for aspiring poets and poetry teachers at all levels.

Kim Stafford is Emeritus Professor at Lewis & Clark College, Oregon, USA, where he founded the Northwest Writing Institute and taught for over 30 years. His 12 books of poetry and prose include, The Muses Among Us: Eloquent Listening and Other Pleasures of the Writer’s Craft (2003) and 100 Tricks Every Boy Can Do: How My Brother Disappeared (2012). His most recent book is the poetry collection Singer Come from Afar (2021). He has taught writing in the US, Scotland, Italy, Mexico, and Bhutan. In 2018 he was named Oregon’s 9th Poet Laureate for a two-year term.
Charles Finn is the former editor of the literary and fine arts magazine High Desert Journal and author of Wild Delicate Seconds: 29 Wildlife Encounters (2012) and On aBenediction of Wind: Poems and Photographs from the American West (2022). His essays, poems, and nonfiction have been published in a wide variety of journals, magazines, newspapers, and anthologies across the United States.