The Ode Less Travelled：Unlocking the Poet Within

Ihaveadarkanddreadfulsecret.Iwritepoetry...Ibelievepoetryisaprimalimpulsewithinallofus.Ibelieveweareallcapableofitandfurthermorethatasmall，oftenignoredcornerofuspositivelyyearnstotryit.
—StephenFry，TheOdeLessTravelled

StephenFrybelievesthatifonecanspeakandreadEnglish，onecanwritepoetry.Manyofushaveneverbeentaughttoreadorwritepoetryandthinkofitasamysteriousandintimidatingform.Or，ifwehavebeentaught，werememberuncomfortablesilencewhenanEnglishteacherinvitedtheclassto"respond"toapoem.InTheOdeLessTravelled，Frysetsouttocorrectthisproblembygivingaspiringpoetsthetoolsandconfidencetheyneedtowritepoetryforpleasure.Fryisawonderfullyengagingteacherandwriterofpoetryhimself，andheexplainsthevariouselementsofpoetryinsimpleterms，withoutcondescension.HisenjoyableexercisesandwittyinsightsintroducetheconceptsofMetre，Rhyme，Form，Diction，andPoetics.Aspiringpoetswilllearntowriteasonnet，onode，avillanelle，aballad，andahaiku，amongothers.Alongtheway，heintroducesustopoetswe'veheardof，butneverread.TheOdeLessTravelledisalivelycelebrationofpoetrythatmakeseventhemostreluctantreaderwanttopickupapencilandgiveitatry.BACKCOVER：AdvancedPraise：
“Delightfullyerudite，charmingandsoundlypedagogicalguidetopoeticform…Fryhascreatedaninvaluableandhighlyenjoyablereferencebook.”
—PublishersWeekly

“Asmart，saneandentertainingreturntothebasics…IfyoulikeFryÂ'scomicmanner…thisbookhasalotofcharm…Peopleentirelyfreshtothesubjectcoulddoworsethanstickwithhischeerfulleadership.”
—TheTelegraph(UK)

“…intelligentandinformative，aworthyenterprisewellexecuted.”
—Observer(UK)

"Ifyoulearnhowtowriteasonnet，andFryshowsyouhow，youmayormaynotmakeapoem.Butyouwillunlockthestoredwisdomoftheformitself."
—GreyGowrie，TheSpectator(UK)

“…intelligentandinformative，aworthyenterprisewellexecuted.”
—Observer(UK)，Aguidetowritingpoetrycoversdifferentpoeticforms，structuresandtechniques.，Thebest-sellingnovelist，actor，andcomedianoffersawittyguidetowritingandunderstandingpoetry，providinganentertainingseriesofexercises，insights，andstep-by-stepadvicethatintroducestheconceptsofmetre，rhyme，form，diction，andpoeticsandexploresthevariousformsofpoetry，includinghaiku，ballad，andsonnet，amongothers.