The Blind Man's Elephant: Essays On The Craft Of Poetry

The Blind Man’s Elephant is a collection of essays and reviews written during the many years author and poet Kurt Brown taught craft classes. It is for writers who want to hone their craft and for readers with an interest in understanding how poetry works at a deeper level. The uniqueness of this book lies in its broadening the idea of craft—it takes a more wide-ranging approach to the subject than most, including historical context and perennial poetic issues along with special technical considerations. The book is divided into two parts: “Analysis,” which comprises the craft essays; and “Assessment” which comprises a number of reviews on notable contemporary poets and their books. What is said in the reviews both reflects and reinforces points made about craft in the essays, demonstrating how thinking about craft, and practicing it in one’s own poems, might be made of further use when considering the work of others.