Reviews

Three Genres: The Writing of Poetry, Fiction, and Drama by Stephen Minot

josiahdegraaf's review against another edition

3.0

This book had many good things to say about writing, but it was a lot of basic material that felt rather introductory to me. Granted, it was good introductory material. But it was still introductory. The first two sections on prose and poetry were pretty fair with good examples and some solid advice. The last section on drama seemed like it was way too driven by postmodernist tendencies and apart from that, it was rather basic. Overall, I gleaned some helpful stuff from this book, but not enough to really justify its length.

Rating: 2.5-3 Stars (Okay).

kairin16's review

4.0

Although, the author takes at times a rather posh and holier-than-though tone, especially when talking about poetry, this is a genuinely very pleasant and useful ready who I would recommend to anyone trying to apply to apply their talents to creative writing. I've ever only dabbled in poetry and drama, but all three sections of the book were a fascinating read that makes one write, write, write.

whimsicalmeerkat's review

3.0

I found this interesting, in part because of how well he breaks down the elements of writing.