Perrine's Sound and Sense: An Introduction to Poetry

A best-selling introduction to poetry for more than fifty years, PERRINE'S SOUND AND SENSE: AN INTRODUCTION TO POETRY succinctly covers the basics of poetry with detailed chapters on the elements of poetry, unique chapters on evaluating poetry, exemplary selections, and exercises and study questions that invite students into careful study. Thomas R. Arp and Greg Johnson have assiduously continued the Perrine tradition over several recent editions. Every chapter introduction in this compact and concise anthology bears the mark of Laurence Perrine's crisp, clean, and descriptive prose, and every poem selected as an example is not only a perfect illustration of the concept at hand but also a remarkable work in its own right.

Thomas R. Arp received a B.A. in English from the University of Michigan (1954) and a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship to Stanford University. In 1955-1956, he produced educational television for the University of Michigan. He received an M.A. in 1960 and a Ph.D. in 1962 -- both from Stanford. He taught at Bowdoin College, Princeton University, University of California at Berkeley, Hull University (England), and Southern Methodist University. Macmillan published his volume THE FORM OF POETRY in 1966, and he received a Fulbright lectureship at University of Bucharest (Romania) in 1969-1970. Arp joined Laurence Perrine in preparing revised editions of SOUND AND SENSE, STORY AND STRUCTURE, and LITERATURE: STRUCTURE, SOUND, AND SENSE beginning in 1982. He became sole author of the books in 1997 and was joined by Greg Johnson in 2002. Dr. Arp passed away in 2015.

Greg Johnson received an M.A. in English from Southern Methodist University and a Ph.D. in English from Emory University. Dr. Johnson is the author of 12 books of fiction, poetry, criticism, and biography, including LAST ENCOUNTER WITH THE ENEMY (Johns Hopkins, 2004), WOMEN I'VE KNOWN: NEW AND SELECTED STORIES (Ontario Review, 2007), the novel STICKY KISSES (Alyson Books, 2001), and several books on Joyce Carol Oates, including INVISIBLE WRITER: A BIOGRAPHY OF JOYCE CAROL OATES (Dutton, 1998) and JOYCE CAROL OATES: CONVERSATIONS 1970-2006 (Ontario Review, 2006). He joined the author team of PERRINE'S LITERATURE in 2002 and has been the sole author since Thomas Arp's passing in 2015.