Do you want to start reviewing poetry in Canada, but do not know where to start? I waited until I had published a couple of early books before I started reviewing on my own blog, but you should do what feels best for you. My recommendation is that you should be reading criticism, not all the criticism, but at lease some. Here are some books that helped shape my tastes and my thinking.

For Further Reading

Addonizio, Kim. Ordinary Genius: A Guide For The Poet Within . W. W. Norton, 2009.
Baker, David, and Ann Townsend, editors. Radiant Lyre: Essays on Lyric Poetry. Graywolf Press,
2007.
Biespiel, David. “David Biespiel’s Poetry Wire: The Poet’s Journey: Conclusion.” The Rumpus.net, 9 September 2014, https://therumpus.net/2014/09/09/david-biespiels-poetry-wire-the-poets-journeyconclusion/. Accessed 6 June 2023.
Carruth, Hayden. Selected Essays and Reviews . Copper Canyon Press, 1996.
Dobyns, Stephen. Best Words, Best Order. 2Nd Edition. Palgrave Macmillain, 2003.

Geary, James. I Is an Other: The Secret Life of Metaphor and How It Shapes the Way We See
the World. HarperCollins, 2012.

Guriel, Jason. The Pigheaded Soul: Essays and Reviews on Poetry and Culture. Porcupine’s Quill, 2013.

Hall, Donald. Breakfast Served Any Time All Day: Essays on Poetry New and Selected .
University of Michigan Press, 2004.
Hall, Donald. Claims for Poetry . Edited by Donald Hall, University of Michigan Press, 1982.
Hass, Robert. 20th Century Pleasures . HarperCollins, 1997.

Hoagland, Tony, and Kay Cosgrove. The Art of Voice: Poetic Principles and Practice. WW Norton, 2019.

Hugo, Richard. The Triggering Town: Lectures And Essays On Poetry And Writing . WW
Norton, 2010.
Lee, Dennis. Poetry and Knowing: Speculative Essays & Interviews. Ed. Tim Lilburn. Quarry
Press, 1995.
Levine, Philip. So Ask: Essays, Conversations, and Interviews (Poets on Poetry) . University of
Michigan Press, 2002.
Levis, Larry. The gazer within. Edited by James Marshall, et al., University of Michigan Press, 2001.
Levis, Larry, and Leslie Kelen. After The Obsession With Some Beloved Figure: An Interview
With Larry Levis . Summer 90 ed., vol. 48, Antioch Review. 3 vols.
Paz, Octavio. The Other Voice: Essays on Modern Poetry . Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1991.
Plumly, Stanley. Argument & Song: Sources & Silences in poetry . Hansel Books, 2003.
University Press, 2016.
Roethke, Theodore. On Poetry and Craft: Selected Prose of Theodore Roethke. Copper Canyon
Press, 2001.
Smith, Dave. Hunting Men: Reflections on a Life in American Poetry . LSU Press, 2006.
2000.
Sol. Adam. How A Poem Moves: A Field Guide To Reading Poetry. ECW Press, 2019.
Starnino. Carmine. A Lover’s Quarrel. Porcupine Quill, 2004.
Voigt, Ellen Bryant, and Gregory Orr, editors. Poets Teaching Poets: Self and the World.
University of Michigan Press, 1996.
Young, Dean. The Art of Recklessness: Poetry as Assertive Force and Contradiction . Graywolf
Press, 2010.

Here is a great article by Carleigh Baker called “How To Review: Starting Out & Pro Tips” hosted by Prism International: https://prismmagazine.ca/2017/09/20/how-to-review-a-guide-for-beginners-pro-tips-from-carleigh-baker/?fbclid=IwAR0UWEF0UM0jyk4f3LdFQHg4KDFULhgUhPIn1ai7CoLHFBQ1sveJNlcEYoU_aem_AX-RKICTA8BBxwLIHT8ADT3XQpfpFe-IZpdYB8BOUbAylD7BNXbAgSi7An097l-mUCvYgvlcO48uOW_O14pt-yy3