Poetic style grows from repeated choices. Line length, syntax, rhythm, rhyme, diction, imagery, stanza shape, tone, and the kinds of subjects a poet returns to gradually form a recognizable pattern. Poetic voice is the characteristic presence created by those choices:...
Sad poetry books give grief, heartbreak, mortality, loneliness, and melancholy a formal shape. A strong collection can hold sorrow inside rhyme, free verse, elegy, image, sequence, dramatic voice, or narrative pressure, allowing readers to follow how an emotion...
