On Poetry: 1 (Oberon Masters Series) - Hardcover

"The most compelling, original, charismatic and poetic guide to poetry that I can remember. A handbook written from the heart by one of the true modern masters of the craft." - Simon Armitage "It really is a tremendously good book, and should be read by anyone who writes poetry and anyone who's interested in how and why poetry is written... this is the best book about poetry I've ever read." - Adam Newey, "Guardian" "Glyn Maxwell's "On Poetry," on the execution and philosophy of the art, is probably going to be a modern classic." - "Spectator" "A cogent, engaging, elegantly structured, and, at times, inspiring account and defence of the poet's art and calling." - "Times Literary Review" "There are a handful of books about writing that I count among my indispensible texts: by Guy Davenport, Randall Jarrell, Durs Grunbein, Keats, Pound, Brodsky, Virginia Woolf, Fanny Burney, Eliot. I knew on about page two that this book was one of them." - Katy Evans-Bush, "Poetry Review"

"On Poetry, the latest addition to the Oberon Masters series, is a collection of short essays and reflections on poetry from the acclaimed British poet Glyn Maxwell. These essays illustrate Maxwell's poetic philosophy, that the greatest verse arises from a harmony of mind and body, and that poetic forms originate in human necessities - breath, heartbeat, footstep, posture. He speaks of his inspirations, his models, and takes us inside the strange world of the Creative Writing Class, where four young hopefuls grapple with love, sex, cheap wine and hard work. Illustrated with examples from canonical poets, this is a beautiful and accessible guide to the most ancient and sublime of the realms of literature."