Book cover of The Art of Voice

Book description

In this accessible and distilled craft guide, acclaimed poet Tony Hoagland approaches poetry through the frame of poetic voice, that mysterious connective element that binds the speaker and reader together. A poem strong in the dimension of voice is an animate thing of shifting balances, tones, and temperatures, by turns…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked The Art of Voice as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

The poet Tony Hagland celebrates the colloquial voice—an approach that is liberating for poets—but also for fiction writers.

He describes voice as being “like a womb around an embryo” that does the crucial work of connecting the writer and the reader. I admired the way this book demystifies the notion that the voice occupies a cerebral realm. Hoagland uses slang and street talk—showing writers a rich and complex palette.

This book is useful for fiction writers as well as poets. It will liberate your adherence to “literary language” and push you right out into the street.

If you love The Art of Voice...

Ad

Book cover of Aggressor

Aggressor by FX Holden,

It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.

The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…

Want books like The Art of Voice?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 90 books like The Art of Voice.

Browse books like The Art of Voice

Book cover of Craft in the Real World: Rethinking Fiction Writing and Workshopping
Book cover of Meander, Spiral, Explode: Design and Pattern in Narrative
Book cover of Becoming a Writer

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,211

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

📚 If you like The Art of Voice, you might also like...

Book cover of Pinned

Pinned by Liz Faraim,

“Rowdy” Randy Cox, a woman staring down the barrel of retirement, is a curmudgeonly blue-collar butch lesbian who has been single for twenty years and is trying to date again.

At the end of a long, exhausting shift, Randy finds her supervisor, Bryant, pinned and near death at the warehouse…

Book cover of Reddy

Reddy by J L Wilson,

This is for those readers who like unusual settings and independent female characters in mid-life.

5 book lists we think you will like!