The Ode Less Travelled: Unlocking the Poet Within by Stephen Fry

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Anything Stephen Fry writes is bound to be a joyous experience, but this one has to rank among his best (possibly only beaten by his autobiography and "The Hippopotamus", my absolute favorite.)

In this peon to poetry, Stephen Fry shows the rules and rhythms of how to construct a poem, allowing you to see the many intriguing details and quite possibly get on with writing some yourself. I knew about trochees and jambs and so on, but had no idea about the villanelle, for instance – an intriguing and rhythmic poetic form.

Stephen Fry has a loving relationship to language, and manages to convey both his feelings and knowledge about it. Highly recommended if you like to read already and would like to read or possible write some poetry with a likable, humorous and extremely knowledgeable advisor at your side.

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