Examples of novels or novellas told through poems?
April 23, 2019 8:04 AM
What are some examples of book-length verse, preferably in chapters or sections, published in the last 15 years?
In a recent question, I asked, basically, how do I get published? And a big portion of the advice was to find the publishers and agents of works like mine.
I haven't seen works like mine, but I bet you have!
My work is about 90 pages, broken into 3 sections. Each section is a series of poems that, when read in order, tell a creative non-fiction story about challenge in romantic relationships.
Each of the 3 sections can stand alone, but are thematically linked and have some repeated phrasing that a person reading all three together would recognize.
Is there a genre or name for this type of writing?
What recent published works have a similar structure?
In a recent question, I asked, basically, how do I get published? And a big portion of the advice was to find the publishers and agents of works like mine.
I haven't seen works like mine, but I bet you have!
My work is about 90 pages, broken into 3 sections. Each section is a series of poems that, when read in order, tell a creative non-fiction story about challenge in romantic relationships.
Each of the 3 sections can stand alone, but are thematically linked and have some repeated phrasing that a person reading all three together would recognize.
Is there a genre or name for this type of writing?
What recent published works have a similar structure?
Kwame Alexander's book The Crossover and its sequels are massively successful recent examples of this, albeit aimed at younger readers.
posted by The Bellman at 8:12 AM on April 23, 2019
posted by The Bellman at 8:12 AM on April 23, 2019
Yes, this is a thing. Check out Ellen Hopkins. Crank is the title I'm familiar with, but I believe most or all of hers are done in verse.
posted by stormyteal at 8:13 AM on April 23, 2019
posted by stormyteal at 8:13 AM on April 23, 2019
Older than you are looking for, but Vikram Seth's first book, The Golden Gate, was a verse novel.
posted by tavegyl at 8:15 AM on April 23, 2019
posted by tavegyl at 8:15 AM on April 23, 2019
Love, Dishonor, Marry, Die; Cherish, Perish, a novel by David Rakoff seems like it might fit the bill.
posted by mskyle at 8:22 AM on April 23, 2019
posted by mskyle at 8:22 AM on April 23, 2019
I'll have to check some of these out. I'm not a huge fan of poems, but I do enjoy a good novel-in-verse.
posted by tobascodagama at 8:40 AM on April 23, 2019
posted by tobascodagama at 8:40 AM on April 23, 2019
Autobiography of Red by Ann Carson
The Same Sea by Amos Oz
posted by aka burlap at 8:52 AM on April 23, 2019
The Same Sea by Amos Oz
posted by aka burlap at 8:52 AM on April 23, 2019
I agree that The Poet X and The Golden Gate are wonderful examples of novels in verse, but I'm not convinced that what you've written is a novel in verse. You mention that your book (a) is non-fiction, and (b) consists of three distinct sections that (while thematically linked) are essentially independent. Either of those things would disqualify it from being a novel.
To me, it sounds like your book is at the intersection of "thematically linked poetry collection" and "creative non-fiction." In a perfect world, you'd find an editor or agent who specializes in that intersection -- but I have to imagine that's very rare. So, it might be more helpful to focus on one of those two areas.
Neither of these are my area of expertise, but I suspect you'll find it more productive to focus on poetry. For non-fiction, you generally need a "platform" -- a reason why the publisher can market you as an expert on the field. If you have a Ph. D in psychology or you hold the Guiness Record for Longest Romantic Relationship or you have some other verifiable, impressive-sounding qualification, then you have a good shot at selling a non-fiction book about romantic relationships. Otherwise, I think you will have an uphill battle, even without the non-traditional approach you're taking.
On the other hand, my sense is that your book isn't so unusual in the poetry world-- poetry collections are often thematically linked, and often have some basis in reality. If you happen to find a poetry book that has your exact structure, of course that's great! But in the likely event that you can't, I'd just look for poetry books that are roughly the same length and have a similar sensibility.
Once you find them, I suspect you will do better to query the book's editor directly than to look for an agent. There isn't a huge amount of money in poetry, which means there aren't many agents who specialize in it. (Again, that's not my area of expertise, so if somebody who knows a lot about poetry disagrees, you should listen to them and not me.)
posted by yankeefog at 9:20 AM on April 23, 2019
To me, it sounds like your book is at the intersection of "thematically linked poetry collection" and "creative non-fiction." In a perfect world, you'd find an editor or agent who specializes in that intersection -- but I have to imagine that's very rare. So, it might be more helpful to focus on one of those two areas.
Neither of these are my area of expertise, but I suspect you'll find it more productive to focus on poetry. For non-fiction, you generally need a "platform" -- a reason why the publisher can market you as an expert on the field. If you have a Ph. D in psychology or you hold the Guiness Record for Longest Romantic Relationship or you have some other verifiable, impressive-sounding qualification, then you have a good shot at selling a non-fiction book about romantic relationships. Otherwise, I think you will have an uphill battle, even without the non-traditional approach you're taking.
On the other hand, my sense is that your book isn't so unusual in the poetry world-- poetry collections are often thematically linked, and often have some basis in reality. If you happen to find a poetry book that has your exact structure, of course that's great! But in the likely event that you can't, I'd just look for poetry books that are roughly the same length and have a similar sensibility.
Once you find them, I suspect you will do better to query the book's editor directly than to look for an agent. There isn't a huge amount of money in poetry, which means there aren't many agents who specialize in it. (Again, that's not my area of expertise, so if somebody who knows a lot about poetry disagrees, you should listen to them and not me.)
posted by yankeefog at 9:20 AM on April 23, 2019
OUT OF THE DUST a beautiful YA book by Karen Hesse is a narrative poem.
posted by Elsie at 11:28 AM on April 23, 2019
posted by Elsie at 11:28 AM on April 23, 2019
Pink Mist by Owen Shears is a dramatic poem about the War in Afghanistan. It’s excellent!
posted by Middlemarch at 12:17 PM on April 23, 2019
posted by Middlemarch at 12:17 PM on April 23, 2019
Two books by Amanda Lovelace are narratives told through verse, the first of which is non-fiction (autobiographical). They are: The Princess Saves Herself In This One and The Witch Doesn’t Burn In This One.
posted by suri at 12:19 PM on April 23, 2019
posted by suri at 12:19 PM on April 23, 2019
Seconding Ann Carson. You might also check out Claudia Rankine's work, like Citizen or Don't Let Me Be Lonely. Solmaz Sharif's Look, Spencer Reese's The Road to Emmaus, Shannon by Campbell McGrath or 67 Mixed Messages by Ed Allen. If you want to get epic, there's Derek Walcott's Omeros.
posted by 6and12 at 6:08 PM on April 23, 2019
posted by 6and12 at 6:08 PM on April 23, 2019
Sharp Teeth
The Long Take
The Blue Clerk
Much, much older, but Autumn Journal is a classic of non-fiction verse.
posted by dobbs at 8:34 PM on April 23, 2019
The Long Take
The Blue Clerk
Much, much older, but Autumn Journal is a classic of non-fiction verse.
posted by dobbs at 8:34 PM on April 23, 2019
Fredy Neptune is a little outside your 15-year window (published 1998), but I have to mention it because it's a damn good book. A review.
posted by aws17576 at 10:55 PM on April 23, 2019
posted by aws17576 at 10:55 PM on April 23, 2019
The Monkey's Mask by Dorothy Porter, which is also a bit outside your 15 year window.
posted by kyrademon at 10:54 AM on April 24, 2019
posted by kyrademon at 10:54 AM on April 24, 2019
Wow - these are great! Amanda Lovelace's work is very similar to what I'm working on.
posted by jander03 at 9:16 AM on April 25, 2019
posted by jander03 at 9:16 AM on April 25, 2019
I have not read her work but Sonia Sones is a primarily YA author whose books are all written in verse. Many of her books are semi-autobiographical.
A disproportionate number of the recommendations above seem to be for YA books, I'd love to know if there's a good explanation for that.
posted by yeahlikethat at 11:54 AM on April 27, 2019
A disproportionate number of the recommendations above seem to be for YA books, I'd love to know if there's a good explanation for that.
posted by yeahlikethat at 11:54 AM on April 27, 2019
This thread is closed to new comments.
A lot of other YA and kids' ones--Inside Out and Back Again, Crossover, Long Way Down.
posted by gideonfrog at 8:12 AM on April 23, 2019