Master Poetry Forms is the first [book] I’ve come across that focuses so consistently on helping a reader get a sense of the forest and the trees – i.e. how individual forms relate to the larger tradition. 

… even if I wasn’t interested in poetry, the map itself is so beautiful I want to put them in all of our treehouses.

The Master Map lays out pretty well all conceivable poetic forms on a single sheet, so we can take them in at a glance, and orient ourselves as we explore.

It offers chops that any veteran poet wants, succor that every quaking novice needs, and ease-of-entry every teacher of poetry has longed for.

Whenever the book gets a little boring there’s a little funny thing that keeps you learning. It’s hard to get bored unless you have no sense of humor – in which case, you should read some other book!

... so warm and inviting as an introduction and so clearly organized as a reference that people may miss its deeper accomplishment: While it reads like a travel guide for poets, it's also something of a Grand Unified Theory for poetry forms. I have never seen anything like it. The book is not only beautiful, it's sneaky. And audacious.

Visual thinking is what links the book and the map – the diagrams in the book correspond to sections of the map. Once you ‘get’ it, it’s like the Duck/Rabbit illusion – playful, memorable and mesmerising.