In The Shapes of Our Singing, Robin Skelton presents all the major and most of the minor verse forms from the poetic traditions of the entire world. Skelton gives a synopsis and list of rules for each form, and brings each form to life with an original poem, making this not only an invaluable resource but a moving testament to the poetic impulse. Featuring over 300 verse forms, The Shapes of Our Singing is Robin Skelton's "magnus opus," the culmination of many years of research, study, and creative effort. -The first-ever true global description of verse forms. -Over 300 different forms described, demonstrated, and explained. -Sample cultures covered in this book: Classical Greek & Latin, Italian, English, Czech, Cornish, Ethiopian, Irish, French, German, Hebrew, Javanese, Korean, Japanese, Latvian, Mongolian, Old Norse, Persian, Sanskrit, Swahili, Sumerian, Spanish, Welsh, Thai, and Yiddish. - Full metrical explanations. - Concise, easy to understand descriptions of the verse forms. - Introduction, note on selection, and an explanation of terminology.