Camber Press' Recommended Reading

		`Recommended Reading` As a service to the many writers who contact us, Camber Press is happy to announce our always-in-progress list of third-party titles on poetry and fiction writing we’ve long admired. Where possible, we’ve attempted to choose books of value to both fiction writers and poets. In association with Amazon.com, most of these titles are still in print, and are highly recommended. If you purchase them through these links, you’ll help support Camber Press, enabling us to continue to bring you new titles of our own. Please check back often to see our list grow, and email us with your own suggestions. Thanks!

		The New Book of Forms: A Handbook of Poetics by Lewis Turco One of two or three indispensable books for the study of formal verse. Can’t be highly recommended enough. If you think you’ve mastered the villanelle and are ready to try a casbairdne or a terza rima sonnet, you’ll find out how with this book.

		Poetic Meter and Poetic Form by Paul Fussell Possibly no better book on the meter of verse. The section on scansion is worth the price of the entire volume. Detailed analysis of metrical variations and their effective uses. Can easily be applied by fiction writers looking to write more musical prose.

		Poetry Handbook: A Dictionary of Terms by Babette Deutsch First published in 1957 and praised by Auden, William Carlos Williams, Marianne Moore and Richard Wilbur all on the back cover, this is a classic. An excellent reference to almost any poetic term, this book is filled with brief but accurate definitions and helpful examples.

		The New Princeton Handbook of Poetic Terms Little brother to The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics, this reference book focuses on terms and devices in prosody and poetics, but also provides analysis of broader subjects such as the Lyric, Myth and Performance.

		The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics No book can be a sole source containing everything, but this is the closest one can come. From the obvious inclusions like Keats to Hungarian poetry written behind the Iron Curtain, this massive volume will most likely have an informative entry on the topic you’re looking for.

		Best Words, Best Order, 2nd Edition: Essays on Poetry by Stephen Dobyns We’re happy to report the wait is over, and the second edition of this seminal work is now available. In this book, Dobyns explains why poems made as “small machines of words” capable of recreating a poet’s emotional state for the reader is far superior to poems with their meaning incomprehensible to readers. Among these essays, he also devotes chapters to the work of Rilke, Mandelstam, Chekhov, and Ritsos. An invaluable book for both poets and fiction writers struggling with the burden of oblique writing.

		Triggering Town: Lectures and Essays on Poetry and Writing by Richard Hugo Back in print! Known almost as much for his teaching of writing as he was for his poetry, Hugo’s vision and experience in both subjects assures this book a place in most aspiring poets’ collections. A classic collection of Hugo’s essays and lectures, all with the goal of helping people write better poems. This book will also be of assistance to fiction writers.

		If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland We’re not big on “how to write” books, but this one stands alone. Born in 1891 to a judge and a suffrage leader, Brenda Ueland lived 93 years. Guess which parent she took after? Over a 110 years after her birth, she’s still ahead of her time. Not just about writing, this book is about you and your true core. Carl Sandburg praised this book. Paul Westerberg is a fan of this book. Enough said.

		The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers by John Gardner Another writer as famous for his teaching of creative writing as he was for his novels, Gardner was a heavyweight with sound advice for those choosing to become writers. A good eye opener with examples of literature that works and doesn’t work, plus detailed criticism of why. His description of the narrative dream is worth more than most literary lectures we’ve sat through.

		On Becoming a Novelist by John Gardner Published posthumously by Gardner’s family, there is no better book for someone who says and believes in the words, “I want to be a novelist.” Raymond Carver’s touching foreword on his experiences with Gardner as teacher will stay with you.

		On Moral Fiction by John Gardner Art and morality, moral fiction, criticism and the value of what we do as artists—Gardner takes off the gloves on these subjects and others. Replete with examples, one can substitute “moral” with “truth” in order to understand a basic Gardner tenet. Strongly opinionated, but Gardner gets you thinking for yourself. You’ll never think the same way before judging art; any art. Easily applicable to poets, also.

		The Practice of Poetry: Writing Exercises from Poets Who Teach edited by Robin Behn and Chase Twichell If you’re thinking of getting an MFA in Creative Writing, or just need some new exercises to help you through a slump, this is an excellent place to see what serious poets and teachers of poetry are doing. Again, most exercises are beneficial to prose writers, too.

		The Castle of Indolence by Thomas Disch Thomas Disch was a dear friend of ours. Instrumental with his encouragement and guidance, Tom was always there to put in a positive word when we needed a morale boost or illumination on a new undertaking. This book is full of wise essays on poetry written with the gloves off. It's tough, opinionated, and full of his honest voice. We miss him and will hear him in our heads as we reread and learn in the years to come.