Tweetspeak Poetry

  • Home
  • FREE prompts
  • Earth Song
  • Every Day Poems—Subscribe! ✨
  • Teaching Tools
  • Books, Etc.
  • Patron Love

How to Write a Poetry Review

By Glynn Young 16 Comments

Horse Shoes How to Write a Poetry Review

How to Write a Poetry Review

We had considerable conversation, and a little controversy, around my post two weeks ago, The 6 Most Overused Words in Poetry Reviews. I didn’t realize poetry reviews were such a hot topic.

A common question arose: “OK, so you have six overused words in poetry reviews and three more that are contenders for the list of most overused. Just how do you go about writing a poetry review?”

I consider poetry and book reviews highly subjective endeavors. It is someone’s opinion, after all, of someone else’s creative work. There’s no textbook approach I could cite that would meet all conditions and situations.

But I can explain how to write a poetry review by describing how I do poetry reviews myself.

Tweetspeak Poetry How to Write a Poetry Review - Walter Lippmann (1889-1974)

Walter Lippmann (1889-1974)

And you can blame Walter Lippmann (1889 – 1974).

Lippmann wrote a book entitled Public Opinion (1922) that was likely the most influential book on journalism until Marshall McLuhan came along more than 40 years later with Understanding Media (1964). Lippmann was a modernist, strongly influenced by science and the scientific method, and saw journalists as a key link between government and the public. He recognized that people bring preconceived ideas with them (we call them worldviews today) and it was critical to present the facts before those preconceived ideas could harden.

What flowed from Lippmann’s ideas was the notion of objectivity in journalism. What also developed was a journalistic approach known as “The Five Ws” or “The Five Ws and One H”—who, what, when, where, why and how. This is what I learned in journalism school in college, even as the ideas were becoming much more fluid with the impact of television (McLuhan) and the Watergate scandal. A decade later, the influence of post-modernism would begin to make an impact as well.

As an aside, Lippmann was a co-founder of The New Republic; won two Pulitzer Prizes for journalism and reporting; helped Woodrow Wilson draft the Fourteen Points speech; coined the phrase Cold War; feuded with Lyndon Johnson over the Vietnam War; and is considered today to be the father of modern journalism.

 
How to Write a Form Poem-A Guided Tour of 10 Fabulous Forms-poetry writing book

BUY ‘HOW TO WRITE A FORM POEM’ NOW!

5 star

5 Ws and One H

Those “Five Ws and One H”—that’s generally how I write poetry reviews. It was how I learned to write news stories in college, and how I learned to write first music and fiction reviews and later poetry reviews.

Who: I like to know who the poet is, what (if anything) has been previously published, if they have a website and how they describe themselves, and, if available, to see a photo. This is information that helps shape a review, and it’s important for a reader to know. The “who, ” even if brief, places a personality around the poems under consideration.

What: What kind of poetry is it? What form does it follow (or does it have a form)? What is the subject of the poems in the collection?

When: Is this the poet’s first collection? A chapbook? Where does it fall in the poet’s writing career? Does the collection make use of childhood or old-age themes and ideas? Is time an important factor in the poems?

Where: Does the volume have a geography? Robert Frost has New England, Carl Sandburg had Chicago, Walt Whitman had the Civil War hospitals of Washington and his home in New York, and Emily Dickinson had Amherst, Massachusetts. Is geography or a sense of place a strong element in the collection being reviewed?

Why: What is the poet trying to accomplish? What are the themes and ideas the poet is attempting to communicate?

How: How does the poet use language? What are the key metaphors (and there are almost always key metaphors)? What images are employed? What does all of this tell us about what’s going on in these poems?

While I always believe in providing context for a review, the fact is that a book of poetry can be evaluated simply on the basis of itself. It can also be evaluated by focusing solely on any one (or two) of the Five Ws and One H.

I’m not sure if Walter Lippmann ever thought his influence would extend to the writing of poetry reviews, but I don’t think he would be surprised.

Photo by Mike Locke, Creative Commons, via Flickr. Post by Glynn Young, author of the novels Dancing Priest and A Light Shining, and Poetry at Work.

How to Write a Poem 283 high

Buy How to Write a Poem Now!

5 star

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Glynn Young
Glynn Young
Editor and Twitter-Party-Cool-Poem-Weaver at Tweetspeak Poetry
Glynn Young lives in St. Louis where he retired as the team leader for Online Strategy & Communications for a Fortune 500 company. Glynn writes poetry, short stories and fiction, and he loves to bike. He is the author of the Civil War romance Brookhaven, as well as Poetry at Work and the Dancing Priest Series. Find Glynn at Faith, Fiction, Friends.
Glynn Young
Latest posts by Glynn Young (see all)
  • A History of Children’s Stories: “The Haunted Wood” by Sam Leith - May 20, 2025
  • World War II Had Its Poets, Too - May 15, 2025
  • Czeslaw Milosz, 1946-1953: “Poet in the New World” - May 13, 2025

Filed Under: Blog, book reviews, How to Write a Review, poetry reviews, poetry teaching resources

Try Every Day Poems...

Comments

  1. Megan Willome says

    July 21, 2015 at 9:50 am

    See? Journalism!

    Reply
  2. Mary Sayler says

    July 21, 2015 at 11:16 am

    Timely again, Glynn. I have a bilingual edition to review, and your article helped. I suspect other poets and writers will gain much from your suggestions too, so I’ll highlight your post on the Christian Poets & Writers blog – http://www.christianpoetsandwriters.com

    Reply
  3. Charity Singleton Craig says

    July 22, 2015 at 5:34 pm

    Glynn – This is enormously helpful for reviews of all types. It’s also a good way just to enter into literature of all types, to find the context and the meaning of words others write. Thanks so much!

    Reply
  4. Violet N. says

    July 25, 2015 at 9:28 am

    “Objectivity in journalism…” what a novel concept!

    Great article. As Charity said above, helpful for all review. I’m going to file this one.

    Reply
  5. Grant Clauser says

    August 4, 2015 at 9:14 am

    The last one, the “how” is the most important, and the one that gets most neglected in reviews. So often the reviewer focuses on the subject and themes in poems, and not the craft or style, but it’s the craft that set the great poems apart from the rest.

    Reply
  6. Koona Smith says

    September 27, 2016 at 3:22 pm

    thank you so much. you helped me with my problem. God bless.

    Reply
  7. Garima says

    March 11, 2017 at 6:55 am

    It was an immensely helpful read. Thank you!

    Reply
  8. Smitha says

    July 9, 2019 at 5:22 am

    This post is extremely helpful. Have a few books to write a review on and had no idea of how to go about it. Thank you for this.

    Reply
  9. Lalawmpuii Ralte says

    September 2, 2019 at 11:02 pm

    I find this post really helpful. I have to write a review on my sister’s collection of poems and I didn’t know how to begin. Now at least I can try

    Reply
  10. Mary says

    June 17, 2020 at 4:18 am

    Hi Glynn – very humorous and true. I wondered what all the luminosity was about!!! I was comforted by again finding myself grounded, as in any state of learning, by the Who, What, Where, When, Why and How. I agree that one has to start with oneself before reading any other review. I have used these 6 word-tools in the Learning and Development profession for years. I don’t suppose one can invent a sequencing of words but by attaching oneself to their usefulness and by sharing learning, they can transform into way-marker posts. Thanks for reminding me and for being Lippman-like … for sharing, for being a guide 🙂

    Reply
    • Glynn says

      June 17, 2020 at 6:55 am

      The six words are tried and true – but they still work just fine. Thanks for the comment, Mary.

      Reply
  11. I. Mónica del P says

    August 31, 2020 at 5:05 pm

    Greetiengs from Bogotá!
    Hi Glynn:)
    Just last night I got to know this space. Recently I began to read poetry “judiciously” and with this article you have helped me a lot to improve my approach with the genre (and to enjoy it more).
    Have you read Raul Gómez Jattin? I recommend it to you. I would like to know your opinion.

    Reply
    • Glynn says

      August 31, 2020 at 5:54 pm

      Thanks for the comment! I looked into Gomez Jattin. On Amazon, his works are available only in Spanish. I checked two other sites, and all they had were Spanish versions as well. If you come across an English translation, please let me know!

      Reply
      • I. Mónica del P says

        August 31, 2020 at 6:14 pm

        Thanks to you, you are very generous with knowledge.
        Of course, I will tell you.:)

        Reply
  12. J'Naye Wise says

    April 5, 2021 at 7:32 pm

    Hello Glynn, it’s a great article with tons of insights to learn from. It’ll be very useful to me since I’m planning to start my second book of poems already.

    Reply
  13. Anita Warrington says

    April 5, 2021 at 7:36 pm

    Keep up the good work Glynn, you are a great help especially to the poetry community and new writers who are just starting.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Take How to Read a Poem

Get the Introduction, the Billy Collins poem, and Chapter 1

get the sample now

Welcome to Tweetspeak

New to Tweetspeak Poetry? Start here, in The Mischief Café. You're a regular? Check out our May Menu

Patron Love

❤️

Welcome a little patron love, when you help keep the world poetic.

The Graphic Novel

"Stunning, heartbreaking, and relevant illustrations"

Callie Feyen, teacher

read a summary of The Yellow Wallpaper

meet The Yellow Wallpaper characters

How to Write Poetry

Your Comments

  • Glynn on World War II Had Its Poets, Too
  • Sandra Fox Murphy on World War II Had Its Poets, Too
  • Glynn on Poets and Poems: Kelly Belmonte and “The Mother of All Words”
  • Bethany R. on Poets and Poems: Kelly Belmonte and “The Mother of All Words”

Featured In

We're happy to have been featured in...

The Huffington Post

The Paris Review

The New York Observer

Tumblr Book News

Stay in Touch With Us

Categories

Learn to Write Form Poems

How to Write an Acrostic

How to Write a Ballad

How to Write a Catalog Poem

How to Write a Ghazal

How to Write a Haiku

How to Write an Ode

How to Write a Pantoum

How to Write a Rondeau

How to Write a Sestina

How to Write a Sonnet

How to Write a Villanelle

5 FREE POETRY PROMPTS

Get 5 FREE inbox poetry prompts from the popular book How to Write a Poem

Shakespeare Resources

Poetry Classroom: Sonnet 18

Common Core Picture Poems: Sonnet 73

Sonnet 104 Annotated

Sonnet 116 Annotated

Character Analysis: Romeo and Juliet

Character Analysis: Was Hamlet Sane or Insane?

Why Does Hamlet Wait to Kill the King?

10 Fun Shakespeare Resources

About Shakespeare: Poet and Playwright

Top 10 Shakespeare Sonnets

See all 154 Shakespeare sonnets in our Shakespeare Library!

Explore Work From Black Poets

About Us

  • • A Blessing for Writers
  • • Our Story
  • • Meet Our Team
  • • Literary Citizenship
  • • Poet Laura
  • • Poetry for Life: The 5 Vital Approaches
  • • T. S. Poetry Press – All Books
  • • Contact Us

Write With Us

  • • 5 FREE Poetry Prompts-Inbox Delivery
  • • 30 Days to Richer Writing Workshop
  • • Poetry Prompts
  • • Submissions
  • • The Write to Poetry

Read With Us

  • • All Our Books
  • • Book Club
  • • Every Day Poems—Subscribe! ✨
  • • Literacy Extras
  • • Poems to Listen By: Audio Series
  • • Poet-a-Day
  • • Poets and Poems
  • • 50 States Projects
  • • Charlotte Perkins Gilman Poems Library
  • • Edgar Allan Poe Poems Arts & Experience Library
  • • William Blake Poems Arts & Experience Library
  • • William Shakespeare Sonnet Library

Celebrate With Us

  • • Poem on Your Pillow Day
  • • Poetic Earth Month
  • • Poet in a Cupcake Day
  • • Poetry at Work Day
  • • Random Acts of Poetry Day
  • • Take Your Poet to School Week
  • • Take Your Poet to Work Day

Gift Ideas

  • • Every Day Poems
  • • Our Shop
  • • Everybody Loves a Book!

Connect

  • • Donate
  • • Blog Buttons
  • • By Heart
  • • Shop for Tweetspeak Fun Stuff

Copyright © 2025 Tweetspeak Poetry · FAQ, Disclosure & Privacy Policy