Paula Kerns' Non-fiction Review of Rules for the Dance, A Handbook for Writing and Reading Metrical Verse, by Mary Oliver

      Mary Oliver says she had three reasons to write this book.  First was to think about metrical prosody (the patterns of rhythm and sound used in poetry).  The second was to develop an informational text giving the basic rules of scansion(the rhythm of a line of verse and determining it) along with a collection of metrical poems for immediate example and enjoyment.  The third was to value the reader as much as the poets.  She expresses that every poem is a statement and a form of music that hopefully is a felt experience of "sound-pleasure" and "rhythm-pleasure."  Oliver illuminates the elements of metrical poetry chapter by chapter: breath, patterns, line length, release of energy, design and its forms, image making and more.  She illustrates why these parts of the art matter though examples of great poetry.
        This can be used to teach poetry technique beyond the more simplistic ones such as acrostic and haiku.  The image making section was particularly helpful in guiding the process.  This is an excellent resource for both enjoying the art of poetry and learning to create it.  It could be used with third graders and up.