Why read The Art of Voice?

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…

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Poets

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Poetry

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Why read it?

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

Thaisa Frank

Author

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.

From Thaisa's list on The best books for discovering your distinctive path as a writer.