De/compositions: 101 Good Poems Gone Wrong - Softcover

"[These] de/compositions [are] fascinating. They'd be a wonderful teaching tool." --J. D. McClatchey, Yale University "Terrific for teaching purposes . . . Not just for readers of poetry wishing to write it, but for students who don't know very much about reading poetry at all." --Debra Shostak, The College of Wooster (Wooster, OH) "I read [these] de/compositions with pleasure and profit. They provide a wonderful tool for teaching both literature and creative writing." --Thomas Lisk, North Carolina State University (Raleigh) "I think that every English teacher (literature and creative writing) should make [this] work mandatory. Up until reading [this book], I thought it was not really possible to 'explain' to students why great poetry is great." --Diane Goodman, Ransom Everglades School (Miami Beach, FL) "[These de/compositions] are gruesomely revealing . . . They point toward, if not in all cases right into the heart of, the mystery of power in a poem. And what a good way to teach. And to meditate. And to school oneself." --Rosanna Warren, author of Stained Glass: Poems "We looked at both [versions of] 'Richard Cory' in my creative writing class and the students were impressed . . . I think [they] learned a valuable lesson about showing over telling." --Sam Dodson, Tarleton State University (Stephenville, TX) "The poems, good beside bad, stand alone and teach their lessons. What will this book do for readers? Make them laugh maybe, but it will also show them what makes a good poem and possibly help them to write some." --Library Journal

How can we tell good poetry from bad? To illustrate why these 101 poems, many of them well-loved classics, are so remarkable, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet W.D. Snodgrass rewrites them - wrong. De/Composition presents these rewrites next to the originals - by poets from William Shakespeare to William Stafford.