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The Art of Description

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Mark Doty

August 2010

C.J. Opperthauser

Celebrated poet Mark Doty's how-to guide of writing poetry, The Art of Description: World into Word, is a book on writing that stands out among many of its kind. From the very beginning we see a passion for the language and a romanticism in it, making the word-loving reminisce and the non-word-loving fall in love. The book serves as a microscopic view of poetry, detailed and scientific. Doty skillfully picks apart the language into its most simple and primal qualities and shows the reader how to utilize them. In sections, he uses established poems and poets to function as a sort of body for dissection and observation. For one in particular, Elizabeth Bishop's “The Fish,” Doty devotes an entire chapter in which he breaks down the poem piece by piece and describes to the reader why the poem works so well. This happens a few more times in the book, as well, and they all benefit the reader greatly.

Celebrated poet Mark Doty's how-to guide of writing poetry, The Art of Description: World into Word, is a book on writing that stands out among many of its kind. From the very beginning we see a passion for the language and a romanticism in it, making the word-loving reminisce and the non-word-loving fall in love. The book serves as a microscopic view of poetry, detailed and scientific. Doty skillfully picks apart the language into its most simple and primal qualities and shows the reader how to utilize them. In sections, he uses established poems and poets to function as a sort of body for dissection and observation. For one in particular, Elizabeth Bishop's “The Fish,” Doty devotes an entire chapter in which he breaks down the poem piece by piece and describes to the reader why the poem works so well. This happens a few more times in the book, as well, and they all benefit the reader greatly.

Doty's ability to describe the art of writing is from a voice of experience and know-how. He uses poetry lingo quite often but he also goes out of his way to make clear what these words mean to those who are unfamiliar. He even goes so far as to compare the use of adjectives and adverbs to spices: They can zest up a poem but too much can deter from the real taste. Instead of merely telling about writing, he makes the reader think about writing, making the journey through the book more involved and exciting. This is an element void in most books on writing. He also discusses topics absent in many books of this kind, including the use of technology and computers in poetry today.

The latter part of the book is an alphabetic collection of statements Doty has to make about the craft, a section he calls “Description's Alphabet.” From “BEAUTY” to “YIELD,” the reader has a chance to explore the jargon and the general guidelines of the art of writing. However, the reader should not expect to finish up this book and suddenly possess the ability to describe everything to perfection. “What we say about things can't ever be conclusive,” Doty says, and he is absolutely right.

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