Robin Behn's The Practice of Poetry: Writing Exercises from Poets Who Teach (1992) is a portable, self-contained work that aspiring poets may use to gain insight and guidance from numerous writing teachers. The book contains ninety exercises, along with essays to help the reader hone his or her craft.

In Brave Dames and Wimpettes: What Women Are Really Doing on Page and Screen (1999), the author Susan Isaacs lines up female characters like Jo March (from Louisa May Alcott's Little Women), Elizabeth Bennett (from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice), and the actress Katherine Hepburn (who played Jo March on-screen) to illustrate what makes a woman truly strong and independent. She contrasts this type of woman with characters such as Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary and the television character Ally McBeal, who are termed “wimpettes.” By drawing from past and modern literature, film, and...