Contemporary Poetry (adapted from OWL at Purdue: In your first two papers for this class, you were asked to make arguments based on the content, formal, and tonal effects of various poems. This paper will instead ask you to evaluate one book of poetry by a living poet. A book review of a work of poetry generally offers a brief description of the book’s key points (thematic, formal, and tonal) and then provides a short appraisal of the strengths and weaknesses of the work. You can find examples of book reviews at the following websites: Book Slut: www.bookslut.com (under the œreviews tab) Rain Taxi Review of Books: www.raintaxi.com (under the œonline edition tab) The New York Times: www.nytimes.com (under the œbooks then œSunday book review tabs) Before You Read Before you begin to read, consider these elements: Author: Who is the author? What else has s/he written? Has this author won any awards? Title: Where does the title fit in? How is it applied in the work? Does it adequately encapsulate the message of the text? Is it interesting? Uninteresting? Preface/Introduction/Table of Contents: Does the author provide any revealing information about the text in the preface/introduction? Does a œguest author provide the introduction? What judgments or preconceptions do the author and/or œguest author provide? How is the book arranged: for example, in numbered or titled sections? As You Read As you read, determine how you will structure the summary portion or background structure of your review. Themes/Motifs/Style: What themes or motifs stand out? How do they contribute to the work? Are they effective or not? How would you describe this author’s particular style? Is it accessible to all readers or just some? Key Ideas: What is the main theme(s) of the work? What makes it good, different, or groundbreaking? Quotes: What quotes stand out? How can you demonstrate the author’s talent or the feel of the book through a quote? When You Are Ready to Write The first section of your review will provide a short summary or background of the work. The final portion of your review will detail your opinion of the work. When you are ready to begin your review, consider the following: Establish a Background, Remember your Audience: Remember that your audience has not read the work. What kind of summary can you provide that will help your readers gauge their interest? Does the author’s text adequately reach the intended audience? Will some readers be lost or find the text too easy? Organize: The purpose of the review is to critically evaluate the text, not just inform the readers about it. Leave plenty room for your evaluation by ensuring that your summary is brief. Determine what kind of balance to strike between your summary information and your evaluation; a good guideline is 1/3 summary and 2/3 evaluation. Your Evaluation: Choose just a few points to discuss about the book. What worked well for you? How do the poems in this book compare with other poems you’ve read? What major themes, motifs, or forms does the book introduce, and how effective are they? Did the book appeal to you on an emotional or logical level? Identifying information: Your book reviews should include the book’s title, author, publisher, and year of publication. Remember that an essential feature of a good book review is the reviewer’s ability to write concisely so that a comprehensive evaluation of the book can be obtained from a brief reading. So, do not write more, write more concisely”find creative ways to communicate your critical evaluation of the book in a short essay. A successful book review will bewell and reasonably free of syntactical and grammatical errors that may impede meaning. This paper should be 3 pages long; please refer to the detailed rubric for grading guidelines and criteria.