The Ode Less Travelled

"Finding two hendecasyllables in a row in Paradise Lost is like looking for a condom machine in the Vatican"

If you are one of those people who love poetry and would like to give it a go yourself, but don't dare to, there is a book for you. Likewise, if you're one of those 'Bah, how hard can it be, writing a few lines of poetry' philistines, you should definitely try it - it's not easy at all.
Well, it's not easy, but Stephen Fry's The Ode Less Travelled will make it seem at least achievable - and, most importantly, will show you that writing poetry is not intimidating, but great fun!

 With his typical wit, Fry leads the reader through Metre, Rhyme, Form and Diction And Poetics Today. The chapters are well-structured, he doesn't overwhelm you with pretentious terminology (but you do learn all the terms, well-explained and - should you ever be lost - again collected and explained at the end). At the end of each chapter is an Exercise for the reader to do before he/she proceeds to the next chapter, to practice what has just been learned. The whole process is broken down into understandable and achievable bits and Mr. Fry always humbly provides his own (always witty and entertaining) examples. He also urges the reader to read out loud the examples he gives from classic and famous poets, which really helps getting an ear for rhythm. Still, writing good poetry is far from easy, but with this book learning and developing is guaranteed to be neither discouraging nor embarrassing, but fun - poetry is there to give us pleasure!

So, if you're even remotely interested in poetry and want to a) try it for yourself and b) get a new sense of admiration for those who actually do write successful poems, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Buy it!