“Wooldridge wants each of us to connect with our inner poet. Savvy . . . optimistic, warm, unpretentious.”

“Loving your book poem crazy here in London. It is a delight and a daily inspiration. it is a chef’s spice cabinet. A bunch of flowers. A box of chocolates. A curly curly. Thank you.”

“This is a wonderful book—smart, wide-eyed, joyful, helpful, inspiring. You’re going to love it, and love writing poetry more for having read it.”

“Written with exuberance and great heart, Poemcrazy is a collection of high-spirited meditations and strategies which provide both writing teachers and students a wealth of approaches to poetry.”

“Jubilant . . . More than an instruction book for tapping the creative and beginning to write, Poemcrazy is also about being alertly alive. It is a field guide to imagination.”

I purchased this just because I love poemcrazy so much. A lot of grief was processed in Foolsgold - divorce & the death of a parent. Having experienced neither of those things, I was impressed and touched by the way Wooldridge chronicled them and made her emotions tangible. Once again she spilled her soul across the page & left me stunned. Drink this one with a mug of tea or glass of wine or both, because it's intense and had me in tears at times! Shipped well, high quality hardback. I took the bookflap off because I destroy them quickly & actually like the simple golden tones of the book cover itself better than the busy image on the flap.

"Poemcrazy: Freeing Your Life With Words" is a fitting title for Susan Wooldridge's delightful, liberating book on the writing of poems and the teaching of writing poetry. More than a poet, Susan Wooldridge is an amazing poetry teacher. Her book is full of fun and, for me, fruitful poetry exercises. Above all else, her book cultivates a sense of play in the writing of poems.

In order to reach a "poem-drenched state of mind," Wooldridge advocates tapping into one's unconscious mind. To this end, Wooldridge recommends keeping a notebook by your bed to jot down details from your dreams before you forget them. I actually tried this, but my groggy morning-self kept forgetting to write about my dreams before they evaporated. What did work well for me, however was her suggestion of writing interesting words down on bits of paper, then picking handfuls of words out of a "wordpool" to sort into poems. Sometimes, the desire to be a good poet can be stifling. Wooldridge's free-spirited approach to poetry gave me license to write with a playful heart.

Wooldridge's teaching philosophy is summarized quite well in her introduction: "in a safe, free setting anyone of any age can gather words, play with language and write poems." (xii) I love her non-elitist attitude. It is all too common for published poets and poetry critics to complain about the excessive amount of "talentless" amateur poets. I believe that anyone interested in writing poems should be encouraged to do so . . . and be given a copy of "Poemcrazy".

Foolsgold: Making Something from Nothing and Freeing Your Creative Process is a sweet read. I think combining it with another book, poemcrazy, freeing your life with words by the same author would get many on the road to writing poetry..I use parts of both book now to do some public speaking - stirring the sub-conscious of others to write. A primer of sorts. Lots of how-to books out there but this isn't one..it's the authors way of giving of herself and yet teaching us to try. [Both] good books.

Susan Wooldridge is my favorite poetry book writer. This one is just as good as Poemcrazy.