Versification: A Short Introduction

Versification: A Short Introduction is written by one of Australia's most distinguished poets. The book discusses poetic meter, and may be the only source you need. McAuley devotes a short chapter to versification based on accent, syllable count, free verse and "classical" meters, but the book as a whole focuses on metrical verse and its constant reference back to stress in normal speech―it suceeds in showing meterical verse as a natural outgrowth of what we do naturally. This dispels quickly any sense of the esoteric―poetry is of and for people in general not for a special literati. After establishing meter in the normal sphere of speech, McAuley then discusses how abstract meterical patterns are actually applied and how variety is added to avoid a sing-song effect.

James Phillip McAuley was born in Autralia 1917 and died in his prime in 1976. At the University of Sydney he was the outstanding intellectual figure of his generation, distinguishing himself as a conversationalist, poet, jazz pianist, drinker, and bohemian. In 1956, he combined his interest in public affairs and art when he became the first editor of Quadrant, the Australian organ of the anti-communist Association for Cultural Freedom. His poetry continued to develop when he moved back into academia at the University of Tasmania.