Asking the question "What Is Poetry?" these essays seek out the art of true poetry--differentiating between facile novelty and genuine originality; asserting the poet's ability to question and lay bare reality; and demonstrating the subtle power of language in the "fruitful ambiguities" of its most ordinary parts, such as the…

Fifteen poets have created this guide to teaching the work of Walt Whitman from kindergarten to college level. In essays based on the personal experience of these imaginative writers, the guide presents practical ideas for fresh ways to read Whitman and to write poetry and prose inspired by him. The guide also includes three pieces on education by…