The Necromancer’s Daughter Book Tour: Day 2

Welcome to Day 2 of The Necromancer’s Daughter’s Book Tour!

I hope that each tour stop offers something fresh and fun. Here’s what you can expect:

~ A lovely community of bloggers. My hosts are bloggers who are always willing to lend a hand, share a laugh, and build a friendship. Enjoy!

~ They’re talented too! Before I send you off to each tour stop, I’ll share my favorite book from my host’s list along with my review. There’s room in your chubby kindle, right?

~ Something to make you smile. I’ve been collecting memes and images to leave you with a grin.

~ You’ll find something short and different about The Necromancer’s Daughter: today, a short note about the inspiration for the book and the title. (Follow the link below).

~ And last but not least, if you comment on my host’s site, your name will be entered in an end-of-tour drawing for a $50 Amazon gift certificate. Multiply your chances by leaving a comment on each post of the tour.

Day 2, here we go!

Colleen Chesebro’s Wordcraft Poetry Blog

Colleen is one of those writers, poets, editors, and bloggers that makes me wonder where she finds time to sleep. Her poetry blog is ranked among the top ten at RankedBlogs.com!

Wordcraft Poetry is how I know her best. “Colleen created Word Craft Poetry as an uplifting community where poets can learn the basics of writing Japanese and American syllabic poetry by sharing their own poetic inspiration within a weekly poetry challenge.” It’s super fun to learn about the forms and participate in Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday challenges. And that’s only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what she offers. Check out her site for book recommendations and flash fiction too.

I’ve read all of her books as well as the anthologies that she’s created with her Tanka Tuesday participants. Her work includes poetry, short stories, a YA novel, and a “must have” book for poets wishing to craft syllabic poetry, which I’ll share here:

Word Craft: Prose & Poetry: The Art of Crafting Syllabic Poetry by Colleen Chesebro

My Review: This book is a must-have for writers of syllabic poetry. Chesebro has the experience and credentials to have crafted this easy-to-follow and detailed look at twelve forms of Japanese and American syllabic poetry, as well as their variations. Styles range from the well-known haiku and tanka to the less familiar gogyohka and etheree. Though written for poets beginning their exploration of these beautiful forms, I learned quite a lot (and I’ve been writing several of the forms for years).

Chesebro’s explanations not only include the technical aspects of each poetic form, but a quick history, the style’s creative intent, and tips for finding inspiration and for writing. These aspects of each poetic form are conveyed in a concise manner, and each section is followed by examples of her poetry and the poetry of authors I’ve enjoyed for years. The poems not only illustrate the preceding lesson but are beautiful in their own right.

The quality of this book and its citations make it useful as a “textbook” on the craft of writing syllabic poetry, appropriate for academic settings. Chesebro’s conversational style, easy-to-understand explanations, and poetic selections also make it accessible to a wide range of learners. The book’s format lends itself to lesson planning for young poets.

Highly recommended to poets who are just starting out or who’ve been writing for years. An excellent learning tool filled with wonderful examples of the forms.

***