Ten years in the making, A Poet's Glossary (Harcourt, 2014) is a followup to Academy Chancellor Edward Hirsch’s best-selling book How to Read a Poem and Fall in Love with Poetry (Harcourt, 1999). Readers called for an expansion of the book's addendum of poetic terms, and Hirsch responded by creating an international and inclusive collection. With terms ranging from abededarian to zeugma, Hirsch brings us along on a journey across the world, introducing us to Bedouin women's ghinnawa (highly stylized verses conveying some hidden emotion—while leaving the excuse that "it was just a song") and picong, the style of gentle banter that originated as a sung verbal duel in the West Indies, reminding us along the way of terms that have stayed with us since elementary school.

Read excerpts from A Poet's Glossary here.