Ordering the Storm: How to Put Together a Book of Poems

Susan Grimm is the author of Lake Erie Blue (BkMk, 2004) and the chapbook Almost Home(Cleveland State University Poetry Center, 1997). Her writing has appeared in such publications as the Plain Dealer, Rattapallax, and Spoon River Poetry Review. From 2004-2007 she served as Series Editor for the Cleveland State University Poetry Center. Born and raised in Cleveland, Susan Grimm received an M.A. in English from Cleveland State University in 1992. In 1996 she was awarded an Individual Artist Fellowship from the Ohio Arts Council. “Susan Grimm’s Almost Home is a tightly weaved collection in celebration of the doggedness of life. Again and again, these poems offer a hand, insisting on seasons, on fevers, on dentist appointments, on the giddiness after lovemaking, ultimately on ‘the old names and their desires.’ With unabashed intimacy, her stunningly lyrical voice directs us away from the darkness, home.” –Claudia Rankine “Ordering the Storm empowers readers to see the poetry collection as an artistic medium in itself, and offers diverse perspectives on the subject. Experienced writers and beginners alike will find inspiration and encouragement in the words of exceptional poets such as Maggie Anderson, Wanda Coleman, and Beckian Fritz Goldberg. This book should be required reading for all graduate student poets, even those who are still in the process of writing their first collection, because it includes essential information on poetic sequencing and useful strategies for examining a manuscript’s possibilities. One of the most exciting aspects of the book is the sense of community that readers feel upon exploring each essay. Ordering the Storm transforms the task of arranging poems from a solitary undertaking to a collaborative adventure.” –Mary Biddinger More Information: Chagrin River Review Ohio Center for the Book Blackbirdhttps://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/clpc_bks/1050/thumbnail.jp