The definition of formal poetry developed for the editing of this book-that formal poems are "structured by the conspicuous repetition of any language element"- encompasses blues forms and sonnets, sapphics and chants, and the book includes poets from Rita Dove and Marilyn Hacker to Sonia Sanchez, May Sarton, and Anne Waldman. Each of the 60 poets introduces her poems with a brief essay on the role of form in her work.
"Conspicuous Repetition and the Multiplicity of Forms,"
an essay about the process of compiling A Formal Feeling Comes.
Includes links to excerpts from the book, by Honor Moore, Sonia Sanchez, and Anne Waldman