How to Write a Poem

Many people have given advice on how to write poetry - the books penned on this topic could fill several shelves (and in our library, they do). But few have formed an ethos as succinct and beautiful as the one Kwame Alexander and Deanna Nikaido have given us with How to Write a Poem.

Their story does not outline various poetic forms or supply you with detailed writing prompts. It merely suggests you ask a question, and listen (to the world and to yourself) for the answers. It is a poem, in and of itself. A blank page need not be daunting, they say - let the words rain down upon you, then “write them into your paper boat and row, row, row across the white expanse.” A poem is plunging “into the silent sea of your imagination” and discovering your voice. A poem is unearthing the word that’s “at the tip of your heart where the light shines through.” A poem is showing us what you’ve found.

How to Write a Poem is a celebration of imagination on every page, aided by illustrator Melissa Sweet’s vivid collages. Sweet has forged a whole world, brimming with color and light, out of mere scraps of paper, showing us that art and beauty can spring from anywhere, no matter how humble the origins. This is especially fitting, as Alexander created this book to remind readers young and old that poetry does not need to be feared. He writes in his author’s note, “For so long, we’ve been taught that poetry is staid, complicated, and unfamiliar, and now many of us believe it. How did this happen?... When did poetry become something intimidating and inaccessible? We have forgotten its power, forgotten that many of the essential joys of poetry are the first ones we experienced as kids discovering the rhythm of language.” Poetry is power, but it does not belong exclusively to the elite, the old, the rich, or the few. Poetry belongs to all of us.

Now go write a poem!