Breath Lines - by Jan Schreiber

About the Book

"Breath Lines features accessible, approachable essays by Jan Schreiber on poetry and poetics, with an emphasis on modeling critical strategies for reading and understanding poems. The essays address four general subject areas: the content of poems, including the voices of the author or characters, subjects, and narrative techniques; structural issues, such as verse lines in relation to content and problems encountered in the translation of metrical poems; challenges of interpretation, which include deciphering complex philosophies and parsing difficult or obscure references; and directions for the future, with thoughts on navigating various conflicting currents among contemporary writers. Each essay contains pertinent examples to illustrate metrical, rhetorical, and stylistic issues. Schreiber's commentaries explain how a reader's careful attention can be rewarded with a deeper understanding of the multiple meanings embedded in apparently simple poems-and through that process, readers can access an emotional impact not always perceptible on a first reading. Designed for writers, students, and passionate readers, Breath Lines: How Poems Work and Why They Matter offers guidance into some of the art form's more arcane mysteries, written by a well respected poet and critic"--

Book Synopsis

Breath Lines takes a fresh and down-to-earth approach to encounters with poetry. In these accessible, non-technical essays, Jan Schreiber offers insightful strategies for reading and understanding works that many people have found challenging. The essays address critical areas of poetic craft and interpretation: the content of poems, including narrative techniques and the voices a poet creates; the character and power of verse lines and the problems attending the translation of metrical poems; challenges of interpretation, including complex philosophies and obscure references; and a look at the future of the art, hinted by the competing styles and allegiances of contemporary writers.

Each essay offers pertinent verse examples to illustrate metrical, rhetorical, and stylistic issues. Schreiber's commentaries explain how a reader's careful attention can be rewarded with a deeper understanding of the multiple meanings embedded in apparently simple poems--and how readers can thereby experience an emotional impact not always perceived on a first reading.

Designed for writers, students, and passionate readers, Breath Lines: How Poems Work and Why They Matter offers guidance into some of the art form's more arcane mysteries, written by a distinguished poet and critic.

About the Author

Jan Schreiber is a poet, translator, and prolific writer about poetry. His previous books include Sparring with the Sun (criticism), Peccadilloes and Bay Leaves (poetry), and Poems of Paul Valéry (translation). An advisory editor of Think journal, he teaches in the BOLLI program at Brandeis University and runs The Critical Path, an annual symposium on poetry criticism.