A Kick in the Head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms

I’m a great fan of Janeczko’s work, both the collections he edits and his writing on teaching poetry. He doesn’t disappoint with this selection of poetic forms. Illustrated by Raschka using ‘watercolour, ink and torn paper’ it’s a playful book that’s lovely to hold, read and admire. The book examines 29 poetic forms, explaining their rules, giving examples and sometimes breaking the rules. Each page also includes a wonderful little pictorial explanation that aids the understanding of some of the more obscure forms. As well as examining the forms, the book introduces young readers to a wide collection of mainly contemporary US poets and should whet their appetite to explore new writers and to look more closely at poems in a fun way.