Cultural Writing. Poet and teacher Mark Statman not only presents practical ideas and assignments from his experience as a creative writing teacher; he also tells how he develops such ideas and how other teachers can too. In Statman's classroom, the question mark becomes the Muse. His approach is first to ask questions in a state of inspired wondering, followed by a study of relevant model poems from literature, and finishing with the generation of students' own writing. In one of the two valuable appendices, Statman describes in detail his approach towards teaching revision. The strength of the book lies in Statman's clarifying of the often unexamined connections between the personal and professional lives of the teacher, and how, when integrated, the two can enrich and energize each other.

Author City: Brooklyn, NY USA

TOURIST AT A MIRACLE is Mark Statman's first full collection of poetry. His poems, translations, and criticism have appeared in many anthologies and in such publications as American Poetry Review, THE HAT, HANGING LOOSE, Tin House, and Florida Review. His translation of Federico Garcia Lorca's Poet in New York (with Pablo Medina) has been widely praised; John Ashbery called it "the definitive version." He is also the author of LISTENER IN THE SNOW: THE PRACTICE AND TEACHING OF POETRY (Kenneth Koch said teaching poetry may never be the same again); THE ALPHABET OF THE TREES: A GUIDE TO NATURE WRITING (with Christian McEwen); and The Red Skyline: Poems, A Chapbook. His awards include a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship. Statman is an associate professor of Literary Studies at Eugene Lang College of The New School and also taught for many years for Teachers & Writers Collaborative. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Katherine, and their son, Jesse.