My Shouting, Shattered, Whispering Voice

“Patrice Vecchione’s My Shouting, Shattered, Whispering Voice is a light on the path of poetry. Written for everyone including beginners and teachers of poetry, this volume speaks back to institutions of power that hold verse captive in its ivory tower. Readers are admonished to resist and survive. The way is demystified by the deft, nurturing, precise voice in its pages. Vecchione’s thoughtful development of craft, close readings, and writing exercises, chart and distill the possibilities that writing poetry offers to its readers.”

– Rajiv Mohabir, author of The Cowherd’s Son and The Taxidermist’s Cut

“Patrice Vecchione’s My Shouting, Shattered, Whispering Voice is more than a guide to writing poetry. It is an act of generosity and empathy, a helping hand to anyone who dreams of telling their truth through words on a page. Vecchione offers inspiration, wisdom and down-to-earth advice, covering everything from writer’s block to adjectives and stanzas. My Shouting, Shattered, Whispering Voice is an invaluable resource, a book that honors and fosters what Adrienne Rich called “the necessity of poetry."”

– Ellen Bass, author of Indigo

“As both a published poet and a teacher of high school English, I am beyond thrilled with this book! In particular, [My Shouting, Shattered, Whispering Voice] mirrors (and does an even better job than) all of the information I've spent years curating from various sources to provide support and inspiration for my students to push themselves creatively.”

– Megan Neville, English Teacher and Department Coordinator at Cuyahoga Heights High School, and author of Rust Belt Love Song

“A middle- to high school-grades primer on finding one's poetic voice.Seasoned poet and anthologist Vecchione here crafts a guide for would-be poets. Pitched toward teens inclined to pursue writing, Vecchione's book makes the argument for poetry from a romantic, personal perspective, describing how she came to be a writer as a way of coping with emotional turmoil at home and feelings of isolation at school. The empirical advice is divided into five sections, each consisting of easily digested short chapters covering both the why and how of creating verse. Excerpts from various poets demonstrate a range of poetic styles. The backmatter includes a brief bibliography and online platforms for listening to poetry and submitting work for publication. The author incorporates numerous inspirational quotations about writing from famous writers throughout, including Ursula K. LeGuin and Toni Morrison. Perhaps the work's strongest section is the one offering 25 provocative, creative prompts, such as being inspired by Pablo Neruda's question poems and writing unanswerable questions of one's own or writing a love poem without using the word "love." Vecchione also offers helpful pointers for editing one's work and knowing when to quash one's inner critic. While this volume contains much sound advice, it is more likely to be used by individual teen writers who wish to cultivate their poetry skills than to become a classroom staple. At once impassioned and practical poetic advice.”

– Kirkus Reviews