How to Think Like a Poet - by Dai George

About the Book

How did the greatest poets in history make the world anew? And what can we learn from the magic, the wisdom and the humour that is the gift of the greatest poets of our human civilization? From the genius of the Greeks and Romans to love and metaphysics of the Middle Ages, to the concrete wonder of New York and the Beat Poets of San Francisco, this is the ultimate guide to the greatest writers of the human age, and what their extraordinary lives can teach us about how to see the world.

Book Synopsis

An entertaining guide to history's most influential and inspiring poets - from Homer and Sappho to Shakespeare and Frank O'Hara - and how they can teach us to better understand the world around us.

How did the greatest poets in history make the world anew? And what can we learn from the magic, wisdom and humour of their poetry? From the genius of the Ancient Greeks through to the love poetry and metaphysics of the Renaissance, through to the New York poets of the 20th century, this is the ultimate guide to the greatest writers of the human age.

Through short, biographical portraits, poet and writer Dai George provides an entertaining introduction to the great works of poetry, and a welcoming guide to how we can read them. He addresses questions poets have grappled with: How can we truly describe the world? How can we express love, grief or friendship? How can poetry help us to understand justice, dreams or anger?

This book paints vivid pictures of a global selection of renowned poets throughout history: from Sappho, Li Bai and Rumi, to William Shakespeare and John Donne, to Frank O Hara, Pablo Neruda and Sylvia Plath. George also seeks to re-examine the canon, traditionally dominated by Western, white and male poets, and bring to light major figures from other important cultures and communities, including China, India and the Caribbean.

Review Quotes

"An entertaining guide to the rhyme and reason of poetry... capacious and curious. George has an admirable ability to get to the heart of things in just a few lines. Dai George distils a lifetime's poetic thinking and reading into this warm, accessible book." --The Idler

"This is a wonderfully lucid and compelling account of how poetry works and why it matters. In 24 exhilarating chapters, George guides us from Homer's Iliad to the Instapoetry of today. A triumph in both concept and execution, How to Think Like a Poet fizzes almost audibly with intellectual energy and excitement. " --Mark Ford, Professor of English Literature, University College London

"With an infectious delight in his material, Dai George is a sure and skilful guide through some of poetry's most significant waters, opening our eyes to its everyday wonders. Thanks to its consciously global canvas, How to Think Like a Poet does something rather different to your usual poetic history or handbook, opening up fresh connections and avenues of thought across its chapters. George's agile, luminous, refreshing readings of individual poets down the centuries reveal just how much they have to offer us today." --Sarah Howe, British poet and lecturer in poetry at King's College, London

"Poetry haters will fall in love with poetry and the poetry lover will walk away refreshed after reading just a few pages of this authoritative, wide-ranging and witty book that is persistently fascinating and always an easy read!" --Daljit Nagra, British poet and author of Indiom

About the Author

Dai George is a poet, novelist, critic and academic. His first poetry collection, The Claims Office, was an Evening Standard book of the year. He is the former reviews editor of Poetry London and has taught creative writing for many years at various universities. He is currently Lecturer in Creative Arts and Humanities at UCL.

His poetry has appeared widely in magazines and anthologies. His criticism and non-fiction features in popular and academic forums including the Guardian, The White Review, and Cambridge Quarterly.