"Becoming Poetry focuses on helping readers grasp how poetry works upon our understanding and our imagination. A model of practical criticism, this volume of essays by the poet Jay Rogoff prizes the specific example over theoretical generalization and performs close critical examination of texts from a diverse range of poets, classical and contemporary. "Formalities," the first section, deals with formal elements in works by poets ranging historically from Shakespeare and Emily Dickinson to contemporary writers such as Andrew Hudgins, Paul Muldoon, and Mary Jo Salter. The central section examines collections of new and selected poems that offer work from poets' entire careers. Rogoff considers how such volumes assemble a body of poetry that then, for readers, defines the essential character of each poet. The poets considered in this section include Philip Booth, Jane Cooper, Robert Dana, Eamonn Grennan, Rachel Hadas, Hafiz, James Henry, Edward Hirsch, Daniel Hoffman, Michael Jennings, Mary Oliver, Kay Ryan, Karl Shapiro, W. D. Snodgrass, Edward Thomas, and David Wojahn. Throughout, Rogoff discusses how the poetry operates, keeping in mind, to paraphrase the scholar Stephen Booth, that a poem is a sequence of actions upon the understanding of the reader. A briefer final section, "The Ear," explores the aural qualities of poetry and music, distinguishing between the experience of poetry on the ear and on the page. Designed as a guide for readers of poetry who want to understand more about what makes it tick, Becoming Poetry presents approachable discussions that show how poetry operates on us and how it creates a virtual, affective experience of lasting power and value"--