How to Become a Poetry Book Reviewer

Near the end of 2017, I had an idea. I decided to create the newsletter, Sticks & Stones. Each issue would include a review I wrote of a book of poems. Sticks & Stones has been running since January 2018, with one hundred and three reviews so far.

I thought it would be useful to describe my thought process in this endeavor, as well as what writing so many reviews has brought me, both professionally and personally.

There’s a problem in the literary world: we don’t have enough good, thoughtful criticism from literary citizens. Anyone who enjoys reading poetry, including poets themselves, can and should write reviews. Writing reviews has added a new skill to my writer’s toolbox, improved my close reading abilities, and brought me new friends in the poetry world. It’s become an important part of my practice.

I write reviews for publications other than Sticks & Stones. My reviews appear in The Georgia Review, Epiphany, The Pedestal, Rain Taxi, Rattle, and others. I’ve published every review I’ve ever written, which is something I wish I could say about my other writing! 

Many journals, even those that charge submission fees, have fee-free (and even deadline-free) options for reviews. Quite a few will send you a selection from their list of books they’d like to have reviewed. Once you’ve proven yourself to a journal, you might become one of their regular review-writers, a position that definitely improves your visibility. In my experience, journals will respond sooner to a review submission, since they want to secure a review of a new book ahead of others. Some journals even pay for reviews.

Believe it or not, writing reviews is – yes – fun. Or, it should be. To keep it fun for me, I choose books that I enjoy. I want my review to convey that enjoyment to the reader, not turn them off from reading the book. I look at reviewing as a way to open the book for people who might enjoy it, not turn them off. I avoid the negative review whenever possible.

Most of the writers whose books I review respond positively, re-posting the newsletters on their websites and social media. This often results in more subscribers, but the best part is knowing I helped another writer feel good about their book. I can’t tell if my reviews have led to more book purchases, but at least I know I’m doing something positive for the literary world.

So how do you become a poetry book reviewer? I would start by finding a book that moves you and that you can write eloquently about. Then read lots of book reviews, taking notes about how the reviewers investigate themes throughout the book.

The type of review I usually write is one I call “the exploratory review.” As I wrote in “Erica Goss’s Guide to Writing Poetry Book Reviews,” this type of review “combines elements of narrative, description, and exposition. In the exploratory review, the book leads the way instead of the reviewer.” (You can get the guide free with a subscription to Sticks & Stones, which is also free.)

As critic David Ulin puts it, “In the best reviews, the book is just a starting point, which is not an argument for self-indulgence but for its opposite: the deep dive, the conversation on which all literature (and yes, book reviews are a form of literature, or should be) depends.” 

For more on these topics, see my blog post, How I Review a Poetry Collection.

I also wrote an article for the 2/3/24 issue of Funds for Writers: Expand Your Writing Practice With Book Reviews.

Happy reviewing!