Daniel Brown's Subjects in Poetry is the first book to examine the broad and imposing topic of poetic subject matter, probing both what poems are about and how that influences their content. It comprises one poet's attempt to plumb the nature of his art, to ask how the selection of material remains a crucial yet unexplored area of poetic craft, and to suggest the vast range of possible subjects for poems.

The book begins by venturing a novel definition of "subject," derived from Robert Frost's dictum that poetry constitutes an "art of having something to say." Brown posits that a poem can say something by expressing, evoking, or addressing. He considers each of these ways-of-saying in turn, first defining it and then looking at poems in which it predominates. Brown next makes a wide-ranging case for the value of subjects to poems, poets, and the art of poetry, especially at a time when many poems appear subjectless. He concludes the book with practical guidance on finding subjects, improving them, and realizing their potential.

Replete with thoughtful readings of poems both classic and contemporary, Subjects in Poetry should appeal to poets across all levels and readers interested in understanding the art and practice of poetry.

Subjects in Poetry is a surprising, lively, and intelligent look at a "subject" I would have thought ungraspable. This wholly original book is the most enlivening look at poetry I've come across in a while. There are notable observations-insightful, funny, arresting-on every page; the writing is consistently instinct with wit. Brown is unafraid to state what may seem obvious but is a too often obscured truth: that what subjects give poetry is humanness. Nobody to my knowledge has written a book that so directly goes to this heart of things.

Daniel Brown is the author of the collections Taking the Occasion, winner of the New Criterion Poetry Prize, and What More? His poems have received a Pushcart Prize and appeared in many publications, including Poetry magazine, Partisan Review, and the Poetry 180 anthology (edited by Billy Collins).