“The Art of the Novel” uses a lot of imagery—an eroding building, a mirror, a highway, numerous fictional characters, woods, and more. Create a multimedia presentation pairing images with the text of the poem. You may choose to do a PowerPoint presentation, for example, or create a sequence with video-editing software. The presentation should reflect not only the images of the poem but also the tone and emotional landscape of the speaker.

Choose one of the heroines named in the poem and write an essay relating the heroine's story to that of the poem's speaker. Look for similarities and differences between the heroine and the speaker and for compelling reasons why the poem's speaker has mentioned the character you chose.

Choose five people you know who enjoy reading fiction. Interview them about their personal histories with regard to reading and books...