Auden, W. H., ed., The Portable Romantic Poets: Blake to Poe, Penguin, 1977.

This collection provides ample material for an overview of English and American Romantic poets.

Hagedorn, Jessica, Burning Heat: A Portrait of the Philippines, Rizzoli, 1999.

Rick Barot was born in the Philippines. Addressing the topics of religion, culture, food, and lifestyles, Hagedorn, a published novelist also from the Philippines, takes her readers on an intimate trip through the country, exposing its contradictions as well as its beauty.

Kooser, Ted, The Poetry Home Repair Manual: Practical Advice for Beginning Poets, University of Nebraska Press, 2005.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and U.S. poet laureate (2004-2005) Kooser draws from the classes he was teaching at the University of Nebraska. His advice tends to be practical, suggesting that poetry should, above all, make sense. He takes his readers through poetic devices and forms and makes the writing of...