A Magical Clockwork

The Art of Writing the Poem

by Susan Ioannou

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"I highly recommend" ~ "the classy educational tour"
"This is a good book by a good poet"
"a primer for almost any level"
"you'll come away impressed"
"a wonderful instructor"

From the Preface

"As another massive technological change begins the millennium, many wonder what the 'new' movement in Canadian poetry will be. Some even hoped this book might herald the revolution. On the contrary, A Magical Clockwork offers no manifesto, nor does it 'break new ground'. Believing a wrench is still useful in a digital age, it simply looks at the mechanics of the poet's art and the many ways the parts of a poem fit together.

"Much of the motivation is personal. For over four decades, I have tried to write poetry myself. As trial and error humbled me, I wondered why I dared to write at all: the words were slippery, and the result never quite what I dreamed. Oddly enough, frustration with craft kept me going. Little by little I learned questions to ask to find out what makes a poem tick.

"This book shares what long struggle has taught me—principles I hope will be helpful to others. Some were discovered in solving problems within my own poems; some from analysing why a colleague's lines read so brilliantly, or fell apart. The rest emerged here and there as I read articles, books, and reviews.

"The answers I needed were not the dictates of any one movement or school on what stance toward the world poetry should adopt. Like software, such theories go out of date every few years. Instead of high-tech priests, I searched for tinkerers and technicians—those who could take the hardware of a poem apart and expose its magical clockwork, share trade secrets and tools."

Chapters in the Book

Chapter 1 The Parallel World	Vladimir Nabokov likened the writer to a magician. Discover the artistic sleights of hand to create an imaginary world and draw the reader in.
Chapter 2 The Persona	Learn another way to lead the reader through the poem's imaginary world, using the intimate voice of a guide.
Chapter 3 The Image	Explore multiple forms of imagery (from a single word, through extended metaphor, to embedded symbolism) to enliven and unify the poem.
Chapter 4 Sound	From conversational free verse, through rhythm, metre, and rhyme, develop a full range of sound effects to make a poem dance in the ear.
Chapter 5 Vision	Delve into the rich sources of content that make a poem worthwhile, absorbing, and memorable reading.
Chapter 6 The Magic	Tap into the wellsprings of inspiration that lie behind all clockwork to create the finest poems.
And more	Understand the poetic impulse of yesterday, today, and tomorrow within the larger context of twentieth-century Canadian writing.

Reviewers Praise

• "I highly recommend [A Magical Clockwork] to anybody who writes. I think it's invaluable to read and also to have as a reference source to go back to when you're working. I know I will."—Nancy Jane Bullis, Host, HOWL, CIUT 89.5 FM, Toronto
  
  
• "I like it a lot, and would heartily endorse it as a primer for almost any level of poetry workshop: it's well thought-out and the reader gets lots of meat and potatoes, no inspirational fluff or flatus. . . . This is a good book by a good poet and perfectly priced for the financially strapped student."—Richard Stevenson, The Danforth Review
  
  
• ". . . it's the classy educational tour that encourages readers not to be page turners, but to go deep. . . . Here's a guarantee: you'll come away impressed from this tour. Read Ioannou's book and recommend it to all your friends, those who feel awkward and excluded by poetry and those who love and care about what makes a good poem."—Jannie Edwards, Poetry Spoken Here
  
  
• "She believes in the craft and in the importance of poetry itself in the world. This book is designed to help the reader appreciate and perfect the craft of poetry. It must be made clear that this is a technical book and not a self-helpy you-too-can-be-a-poet type treatise."—Jeffrey Mackie, Vallum Magazine
  
  
• "She is a wonderful instructor: her tone is familiar rather than academic, her analysis is fluid and clear, and examples are brief and apt. And these are just a few of the book's virtues. Ioannou also draws almost exclusively upon Canadian examples. . . . Perhaps most importantly, Ioannou lives up to her own principle— inherited from the Imagist tradition—that 'Precise, concrete language is the foundation of vivid writing . . .' A Magical Clockwork includes one of the clearest explanations of rhythm and poetic metre that I have ever come across"—Rob Thomas, WORD
  
  
• "I highly recommend this book. A Magical Clockwork is a clear analysis of the structure of a poem. Ioannou illustrates her arguments with excellent examples. Most of the excerpts are by Canadian poets and would be very useful for classroom study. I also appreciated the brief historical context she provided to illustrate her points. Especially interesting was her discussion of contemporary Canadian poetry: how it evolved and speculations about future forms. Every teacher of English/Language Arts in Canada should have easy access to A Magical Clockwork."—Terry Vatrt, CM: Canadian Review of Materials
  
  
• "Susan Ioannou appreciates all kinds of poetry . . . many good suggestions for various aspects of use of rhythm, rhyme, image, and all those basic kind of things that we're concerned with when we're trying to think specifically about poetry. A unique book. Especially if you are not Canadian, you'll learn a little extra."—Charlie Rossiter, Charlie Says, PoetryPoetry.com
  
  
• "the book presents a workable framework that not only respects the craft of poetry-writing but also illuminates what makes people so passionate about it. . . . The high quotient of contemporary reference all by itself would make the book of real value in high school English classrooms. As well as analysis of how these poems achieve particular effects, she offers herself as a generous and informed model of how to be a reader of contemporary poetry and why it matters."—Margaret Mackey, Resource Links
  
  
• "A Magical Clockwork succeeds at examining the fundamental elements of a poem, making it an ideal read for anyone who is just beginning to delve into the world of poetry. I would also recommend it to established writers as a valuable reminder that there are still many lessons to be learned from reading other people's work."—Leila S. Goldberger, Writer's Block
  
  
• "In communicating what she knows about poetry, Ioannou presents herself not as an expert but as a fellow traveller on an ever-changing journey. Her easy conversational tone is extremely readable and a welcome relief from the jargon typical of books which attempt to educate teachers. Ioannou has written this book as a gift to those of us who appreciate good poetry, are curious about what makes it good, and would like to write some ourselves and perhaps help others with their writing. . . . One characteristic that really sets A Magical Clockwork apart from other books about writing poetry is its 'Canadian-ness' . . . Reading this book really opened my eyes to the richness and diversity of Canadian poetry. . . . Any teacher who wants to get serious about poetry writing, or has students who are serious about it, should take a look at this book."—Heather Crawford, BCTELA Update

• Recommended under Teacher Resources, Ontario Curriculum Centre Course Profile, English, Grade 11, University Preparation, ENG3U (PDF file), Spring 2001, page 26
  

Canadian Poets Quoted

Milton Acorn Margaret Atwood Margaret Avison Shaunt Basmajian E.D. Blodgett Elizabeth Brewster Robert Bringhurst Fred Candelaria Fred Cogswell Tony Cosier Lorna Crozier James Deahl David Donnell Gwladys Downes Louis Dudek Chris Faiers Robert Flanagan R.A.D. Ford Leona Gom Eldon Grier Ralph Gustafson Jeanne Harrison Susan Ioannou

Kevin Irie Paulette Jiles George Johnston D.G. Jones Lionel Kearns W.J. Keith Wayne Keon Archibald Lampman M. Travis Lane Patrick Lane Irving Layton Charles Lillard Dorothy Livesay Pat Lowther Gwendolyn MacEwen Jay Macpherson Anne Marriott Mary Melfi Sparling Mills A.F. Moritz Daniel David Moses Susan Musgrave Roger Nash

Ted Plantos Al Purdy Jean Royer D.C. Scott F.R. Scott Goran Simic Robin Skelton Kathleen V. Skene Glen Sorestad Raymond Souster Ken Stange Susan McMaster George Swede Colleen Thibaudeau John Thompson Ian Douglas Trowell Peter Van Toorn Miriam Waddington Tom Wayman George Whipple Anne Wilkinson Andrew Wreggitt

For More . . .

About the Author
Ordering Information
Printable Announcement
Lessons in Writing the Poem

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Updated November 2009