Real Toads, Imaginary Gardens

An innovative and accessible guide to writing and reading poetry by an acclaimed poet and beloved professor of poetry.What makes reading a poem unlike reading anything else? In Real Toads, Imaginary Gardens, acclaimed poet and teacher Paisley Rekdal demonstrates how to observe the building blocks of a poemincluding its diction, form, imagery, and rhythmand construct an interpretation of its meaning. Using guided close readings and nearly 40 creative and critical experiments, this book shows how a poem takes shape through the intersection of all its lyric elements. Drawing on the work of poets from William Shakespeare to Jericho Brown, Real Toads, Imaginary Gardens reveals how to read and write critically, and how to appreciateand achievethe exhilarating craft of poetry.