In this Book
- Next Line, Please: Prompts to Inspire Poets and Writers
- Book
- 2018
- Published by: Cornell University Press
In this book, David Lehman, the longtime series editor of the Best American Poetry, offers a masterclass in writing in form and collaborative composition. An inspired compilation of his weekly column on the American Scholar website, Next Line, Please makes the case for poetry open to all. Next Line, Please gathers in one place the popular column’s plethora of exercises and prompts that Lehman designed to unlock the imaginations of poets and creative writers. He offers his generous and playful mentorship on forms such as the sonnet, haiku, tanka, sestina, limerick, and the cento and shares strategies for how to build one line from the last. This groundbreaking book shows how pop-up crowds of poets can inspire one another, making art, with what poet and guest editor Angela Ball refers to as "spontaneous feats of language."
How can poetry thrive in the digital age? Next Line, Please shows the way. Lehman writes, "There is something magical about poetry, and though we think of the poet as working alone, working in the dark, it is all the better when a community of like-minded individuals emerges, sharing their joy in the written word."
Table of Contents
- Title Page, Copyright
- pp. i-iv
- Acknowledgments
- pp. ix-x
- Introduction
- pp. 1-6
- Help Us Write a Sonnet: Line Two
- pp. 9-10
- Help Us Write a Sonnet: Line Four
- pp. 12-13
- Help Us Write a Sonnet: Line Five
- pp. 14-15
- Help Us Write a Sonnet: Line Six
- pp. 16-17
- Help Us Write a Sonnet: Line Seven
- pp. 18-19
- Help Us Write a Sonnet: Line Ten
- pp. 22-24
- Help Us Write a Sonnet: Line Eleven
- pp. 25-26
- Help Us Write a Sonnet: Line Twelve
- pp. 27-28
- Help Us Write a Sonnet: The Title
- pp. 35-37
- The August Haiku
- pp. 38-39
- This Week’s Haiku, Next Week’s Tanka
- pp. 40-42
- The Tanka in Toto
- pp. 43-44
- The Couplet
- p. 45
- Tara’s Theme
- pp. 49-50
- Finish What Dickinson Started
- pp. 51-52
- Of Ciphers—in the Brain
- pp. 53-54
- Rhyme Sandwich
- p. 57
- Airport Buoyancy
- pp. 61-62
- Let’s Write a Sestina
- pp. 63-64
- Winning Stanza Refuses to Cave
- pp. 65-66
- “Her Winsome Style”
- pp. 69-71
- Sestina: Stanza Four
- pp. 72-74
- Stanza Five: “Six Options”
- pp. 75-78
- Stanza Six: Mary’s Tip
- pp. 79-80
- Envoi: Melodious Song
- pp. 81-84
- The Two-Line Poem
- pp. 88-89
- Wind and Ice
- pp. 90-91
- Let’s Assemble a Cento
- pp. 92-93
- “Nobody Heard Him”
- pp. 99-101
- Ashes, Ashes, All Fall Down . . .
- pp. 102-103
- Similes Are Like Detours—or Shortcuts
- pp. 104-105
- Like Dancing down the Aisle
- pp. 106-107
- “In my end is my beginning”
- pp. 108-109
- “Homage to Auden”
- pp. 110-112
- “Conscience versus Consequence”
- pp. 114-116
- Becoming an Obstructionist
- pp. 117-118
- Unfinished Business
- pp. 119-120
- Product Placement
- pp. 121-124
- Making Groceries
- pp. 125-127
- The Trip Begins
- pp. 128-130
- Antipodal Star
- pp. 131-133
- Appaloosa Sky
- pp. 134-136
- Legato Dreams
- pp. 137-140
- Beautiful Land
- pp. 141-144
- Humbling Back
- pp. 145-150
- A Hand of Frightening Lies
- pp. 154-155
- Philosophy of Clothes
- pp. 156-157
- Clothwebs and Cobwebs
- pp. 158-160
- Three-Piece Cento with Extra Pants
- pp. 161-163
- Uniformity
- pp. 165-166
- Wouldn’t It Be Loverly?
- pp. 167-168
- Midnight Champagne
- p. 169
- Darkness Visible
- pp. 170-171
- Caged but Free . . .
- p. 172
- The Key That Confirms the Lock
- pp. 173-174
- From Bouquet to Wreath
- pp. 177-179
- Terms of Interment
- pp. 180-181
- Bliss Is Momentary in the Mind
- pp. 182-183
- The Rules of Engagement
- pp. 184-185
- Looking Ahead
- pp. 186-187
- A Plot Twist—or Two
- pp. 188-189
- The Unmasking
- pp. 190-192
- Erase and Change
- p. 193
- The Mood of Doom, Where Guns Are Snug
- pp. 194-195
- A Break with Tradition
- pp. 196-197
- Ruby Tuesday
- pp. 198-199
- Blues in the Night
- pp. 200-201
- Papa Joins Mama
- pp. 202-203
- Galloping Ghosts
- pp. 205-206
- Spring Forward
- p. 207
- Let the Renga Reign
- pp. 211-213
- “April Is the Cruelest Month, [Because]”
- pp. 214-215
- T.S. Eliot: Still Undefeated
- pp. 216-217
- Behind the Curtain
- pp. 218-219
- The Pen Name Is Mightier Than the Word
- pp. 220-222
- Walt Whitman’s Manly Diet
- pp. 223-224
- A Familiar Public Place
- pp. 225-226
- The Judgment of Paris
- pp. 227-228
- Prompting a Poem, Dreaming of a Drink
- pp. 229-230
- You Must Get Drunk
- pp. 231-232
- Reasons to Live
- pp. 233-234
- Young Lycidas
- pp. 235-238
- The Fake Apology
- pp. 239-242
- I Stop Somewhere Waiting for You
- pp. 243-246
- Under the Dark Marquee
- pp. 247-249
- Leaves of Presence
- pp. 250-252
- Honor Role of Weekly Winners
- pp. 261-264