Poetry Recommendations

[GreenLucky]

I need to expand my knowledge of poets and poetry. Any recommendations where to start? (As little unrequited love, sunsets and flowers as possible.) Thank you, kindly.

[crusoe]

Check out the "Beats"...Norse, Ferlinghetti...ever heard of Ginsberg ?

[GreenLucky]

Thanks for the reply. I have read Howl and Other Poems by Ginsberg, and some other beat generation poets. I think I was a little vague in my post. I have never been able to get into poetry for some reason. There are some poets and poems that I like but my appreciation for poetry is limited. I would like to further my understanding and knowledge of poetry. You know, expand my horizons maaaaannnnnnnn.

[Alexander III]

Why not begin with Keats, Shelley and Byron? It was through them that I discovered that poetry is beautiful. What else is there to say.

[Lykren]

I would think William Carlos Williams would be a good place to start.

[E.A Rumfield]

Arthur Rimbaud was very very good

I've swallowed a terrific mouthful of poison.—Blessings three times over on the impulse that came to me!—My guts are on fire. The poison's violence twists my limbs, deforms me, knocks me down. I'm dyng of thirst, I'm choking, I can't scream. It's hell, endless pain! Look how the fire flashes up! I'm burning nicely. Go on, demon!

I'd caught a glimpse of conversion to goodness and happiness, salvation. Can I describe the vision? Hell's atmosphere won't suffer hymns! There were millions of charming people, a sweet spiritual concert, strength and peace, noble ambitions, who knows?

Noble ambitions!

And this is still life!— What if damnation's everlasting! A man who wants to mutilate himself is pretty well damned, right? I think I'm in hell, therefore I am. It's the catechism come true. I'm the slave of my baptism. Parents, you've created my tortures and yours.—Poor nitwit! Hell can't wield power over pagans.— This is still life! Later on, the delights of damnation will be much deeper. A crime, quick, so I can plunge into nothingness in accordance with human law.

Shut up, will you shut up. .. ! There's disgrace and reproaches here—Satan who says the fire's contemptible, who says my temper's desperately silly.— Enough. .. ! Errors they're whispering to me, magic, misleading perfumes, childish music.—And to think I'm dealing in truth, I'm looking at justice: my reasoning powers are sane and sound, I'm ready for perfection. .. Pride.—My scalp is drying up. Help! Lord, I'm scared. I'm thirsty, so thirsty! O childhood, the grass, the rain, the lake water on stones, the moonlight when the hell struck twelve. . . . The devil's in the tower right now. Mary! Holy Virgin. . . !— Loathing for my blunder.

Out there, aren't those virtuous souls who are wishing me well. . . ? Come.. .. I've got a pillow over my mouth, they won't hear me, they're ghosts. Besides, no one ever thinks of others. Don't come near me. I smell of heresy, that's for sure.

No end to these hallucinations. It's exactly what I've always known: no more faith in history, principles forgotten. I'll keep quiet: poets and visionaries would be jealous. I'm a thousand times richer, let's be miserly like the sea.

Well now! the clock of life stopped a few minutes ago. I'm not in the world any more.— Theology's a serious thing, hell is certainly way down—and heaven's above.—Ecstasy, nightmare, sleep in a nest of flames.

How malicious one's outlook in the country. . . Satan—Old Scratch——goes running around with the wild grain. . . Jesus is walking on the blackberry bushes without bending them. .. Jesus used to walk on troubled waters. The lantern revealed him to us, standing, pale with long brownish hair, on the crest of an emerald wave. . . .

I'm going to unveil all the mysteries: religious mysteries or natural, death, birth, future, past, cosmogony, nothingness. I'm a master of hal— lucinations.

Listen...!

I've got all the talents!— There's no one here and there's someone: I wouldn't want to waste my treasure.—Do you want nigger songs, houri dances? Do you want me to disappear, to dive down for the ring? Do you want that? I'm going to make gold. . . remedies.

Then have faith in me, faith is soothing, it guides, it cures. Come, all of you—even the little children—and I'll comfort you, I'll spill out my heart for you,—the marvelous heart!—Poor men, workers! I don't ask for your prayers. With your trust alone, I'll be happy.

—And what about me? All of this doesn't make me miss the world much. I'm lucky not to suffer more. My life was nothing but lovely mistakes, it's too bad.

Bah! let's make every possible ugly face.

We're out of the world, for sure. Not even a sound. My touch has disappeared. Ah, my castle, my Saxony, my willow woods. Evenings, mornings, nights, days. . . I'm worn out!

I should have my hell for anger, my hell for conceit—and the hell of caresses: a concert of hells.

I'm dying of tiredness. It's the grave, horror of horrors, I'm going to the worms! Satan, you joker, you want to melt me down with your charms. I demand it, I demand it! a poke of the pitchfork, a drop of fire. Ah, to come back to life again! To feast my eyes on our deformities.

And that poison, that kiss a thousand times damned! My weakness, the world's cruelty! My God, mercy, hide me, I always misbehave!—I'm hidden and then again I'm not.

It's the fire flaring up again with its damned!

I've been reading some William Carlos Williams. He is also very good. So is Cesar Vallejo. TO a lesser extent Paublo Neruda. Ezra Pounds is alright. Wallace Stevens is very good. Robinson Jeffers is a great poet and criminally neglected. Anne Sexton is good sometimes. Rainer Maria Rilke is also good. Robert Browning is good. I don't like Keats. Too much prancing. Poe is really great. I don't like rhyming poems but poems words carry weight and they sing. Ogden Nash is good when he writes shorter poems. Just read around a little bit. This is a good website. http://www.poemhunter.com Some people will tell you to start with Yeats and Keats. I hate that stuff.

William Butler Yeats
A Drinking Song
WINE comes in at the mouth
And love comes in at the eye;
That's all we shall know for truth
Before we grow old and die.
I lift the glass to my mouth,
I look at you, and I sigh.

Seriously.

Keats is better but not by much. I dislike the way they rhyme. To me they write bad poetry.

[Lykren]

EA - you gave two, contradictory opinions on Wallace Stevens.

[E.A Rumfield]

Oops, I probably meant someone else.

Anyway I remember a poem, I think it was by Wallace Stevens. It was relatively short. It was about a man watching working women, nurses coming home and going to their apartments. I thought it might have been A Disillusionment at Ten O'Clock but it's not. I might not have been Stevens. I am curious to know who wrote the poem.

[Motherof8]

Would poems by Keats be too difficult to start with?

[OrphanPip]

Would poems by Keats be too difficult to start with?

Depends on the poem, many of his shorter works are quite accessible.

[JuniperWoolf]

I started out with Andrew Marvell and Arthur Rimbaud if you don't count epic poetry.

[Pierre Menard]

Would poems by Keats be too difficult to start with?

Keats initially got me into poetry, and I was only about 16 so I'd say he's fairly accessible, as long as you put the effort in.

[Pantagruel]

Get yourself a good anthology and browse at leisure. The Rattle Bag, edited by Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes, is a nice introduction to the world of poetry.

If you want individual poets, you really can't go wrong with Shakespeare's sonnets. Then there's Keats, who was arguably one of the greatest poets of all time. Not liking him is one thing, but I don't know how anyone could say that he wrote bad poetry. Not all of his work is of an equal quality, but at his best he is excellent. You should read his odes and some of his sonnets, at least. Charles Baudelaire is one of my all-time favourite poets. He wrote some exquisite poetry that explores the disturbing aspects of life and human nature. His work can be deeply unpleasant yet, at the same time, incredibly beautiful.

[E.A Rumfield]

i hate the way those guy rhyme. To me it is bad poetry. And it is all such sentimental drivel. It makes me sick. I was reading some Keats I actually like his writing. A Draught of Sunshine is a good poem.

[Pierre Menard]

i hate the way those guy rhyme. To me it is bad poetry. And it is all such sentimental drivel. It makes me sick.

Rhyme has been apart of poetry for hundreds and hundreds of years. Just because it's not to your personal taste, does not make the poetry bad. That's a lazy criticism.

Feel free to articulate why rhyme makes poetry bad.

[E.A Rumfield]

Rhyme has been apart of poetry for hundreds and hundreds of years. Just because it's not to your personal taste, does not make the poetry bad. That's a lazy criticism.

Feel free to articulate why rhyme makes poetry bad.

Rhyme is lazy. And Shakespeare is bad no matter what anyone says.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Wait, how is rhyme lazy? If anything is lazy, it's not rhyming. That makes no sense. Nice articulation, though.

And Shakespeare is bad no matter what anyone says, huh? Great. Just what this forums needs, yet another member who doesn't understand the difference between opinion and evaluation. :rolleyes:

As to the OP, I say just pick up an anthology. I'm working my way through this/

http://www.amazon.com/Giant-Book-Poetry-William-Roetzheim/dp/0976800128/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1348293397&sr=1-1&keywords=The+giant+book+of+poetry

It's pretty good. If you want just a few poems by a lot of poets (there are a few poets that get some more poems), this would be the way to go.

[Pierre Menard]

^^^ The Norton Anthologies are pretty decent as well.

http://www.amazon.com/Norton-Anthology-Poetry-Margaret-Ferguson/dp/0393979202/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1348295538&sr=1-1&keywords=norton+poetry

http://www.amazon.com/Norton-Introduction-Poetry-Alison-Booth/dp/0393928578/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1348295538&sr=1-5&keywords=norton+poetry



Rhyme is lazy. And Shakespeare is bad no matter what anyone says.


Shakespeare is one of the greatest writers of all time. But feel free to justify your 'opinion'.

How is rhyme lazy? I mean, sure, a childs jingle is pretty easy to rhyme, but rhyme is a tool, just like alliteration, assonance and so on, that can help shape a poem or give it a particular feel. A talented poet knows how to use it, to bend it to their will.

[hallaig]

Rhyme is lazy. And Shakespeare is bad no matter what anyone says.



Eeek. Shakespeare was a genius. And rhyme CAN be lazy and bad if you're crap at it. It's not essential, though.

[Pantagruel]

Rhyme is lazy.

It is easy to rhyme badly. Some also feel that rhyme lends an air of frivolity to an otherwise serious poem and choose not to use it (Milton chose not to use couplets when he wrote Paradise Lost, which prompted Marvell to write 'Thy Verse created like thy Theme sublime,/ In Number, Weight, and Measure, needs not Rhime'), but I'd argue that rhyming well is anything but lazy. It takes a lot of skill and effort.


Shakespeare is bad no matter what anyone says.

Maybe you should back up your claims if you'd like people to take you seriously. Have you read all that Shakespeare has to offer? Even Tolstoy felt the need to read the complete works of Shakespeare several times (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/27726/27726-h/27726-h.htm) before he was confident enough to criticize such a lauded author. You're just being foolish.

[_Shannon_]

I would think William Carlos Williams would be a good place to start.

This was my thought, as well!

Maybe some Frank O'Hara?

[Ser Nevarc]

Most of my favorite poems are without rhyming. And Mutatis, a lack of rhyme does not in any way indicate laziness. Rhyming has proven to often be the crutch that lazier writers depend on to give an appearance of a well-planned, carefully-structured work.

I'd second the Norton Anthologies.

Happy reading, and enjoy the world of poetry!

[stlukesguild]

Rhyme is lazy. And Shakespeare is bad no matter what anyone says.

Now that's some brilliant criticism. You can't argue with that logic.:lol:

[stlukesguild]

I'll second (or third or fourth) an anthology. Anyone can make a suggestion based upon the poets that they found led them to a love of poetry... but there's sure guarantee that they will resonate the same way with you. The best thing is to get a good anthology where you can sample the work of different poets... where you'll be offered a solid critical commentary... and then you can begin to delve deeper into the work of those poets that click with you.

[DreamingSheep]

Not all the best poets have their works published! There's one I adore called "The Ship II" on http://onparables.com/view_story.php?id=306
The poet also has a few other wonderful works. I highly recommend checking them out.

[leylaS]

I love William Butler Yeats ... especially his early poems. I also like T S Eliot, Emily Dickinson and recently I came across the poetry of a Russian poet Anna Akhmatova (beautiful & heart breaking)pills levitra here (https://www.rx247.net/levitra.html)

[Rob_Godfrey]

Rhyme is lazy. And Shakespeare is bad no matter what anyone says.

I agree with you about much of Shakespeare's poetry. However, when it comes to rhyme, as has already been pointed out, it's always been a part of poetry. Free verse is a relatively modern invention. It's popular, I would say, because it's easier to write than formal poetry. Try composing a sonnet, 14 lines, with a rhyme scheme and some kind of regular metre, and try to make the poem natural and not 'forced'. It's incredibly difficult to do. That's why many people are drawn to writing formal poetry. It's a big challenge.

With regard to free verse, some poets say that this too should be metered, and much of the best stuff is. Sylvia Plath, who's often held-up as a champion of free verse, is a good example. Pick just about any Plath poem you want and you'll find that it scans perfectly.

[Andrew Mcleod]

Some nice recommendations in here. Rhyme is good too

[Gerard Quain]

then you need to google my name, I am Gerard Quain irish poet, I don't write hearts and flowers, but I do write raw and in your face poetry, if that lights a fire, then please read my work

[Eiseabhal]

If you are looking for an anthology there are very many good anthologies of English poetry: Auden's anthology of light verse is excellent and different; Wavell's Other Men's Flowers is a remarkable collection (Not all soldiers are insensitive y ken); Macbeth's four volume collection has a very diverse range and is particularly strong on narrative verse; The Rattle Bag is very good. Personally I'd recommend a collection of Longfellow because although he is looked down on by many nowadays he had great skills in the traditional sense. Once you have read through these you would be ready for the modernists and the "intellectuals".

[DanteExplorer]

Dante's Divine Comedy. Has it all and more.

[Eiseabhal]

I think Longfellow's poem Keramos is amazingly good. Seemingly simple but not simple at all.

[Eiseabhal]

I would like to draw to the attention of those who might be interested in a rich poetic tradition an Internet site called Larach nam Bard. In it you will get a brief taste of a language rich in poetry and song. There are only a small number of fairly representative poems to be found there - tip of the iceberg I would say. It might be an experience valuable to some of you.

[Melanie]

Regarding the OP, if you don't want subjects of "unrequieted love, sunsets, and flowers" then try starting with Edgar Allen Poe and Oscar Wilde. Also Dark Muse started a thread titled "Ballads of the Sea". In it she posted some excellent examples of seafaring poetry and ballads. Start with page one. She posted all credits as well. Here's the link:
http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?37220-Ballads-of-the-Sea

[ralfyman]

Try the Top 500 Poems anthology from Columbia UP.

[ewormuth]

Read/listen to Bruce Springsteen's "Thunder Road" and then read Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress." The more things change, the more they stay the same. And Springsteen rhymes.

[Ser Nevarc]

I find myself in agreement with StLukes. Go for the Romantics all the way :)

[hannah_arendt]

Maybe Wisława Szymborska or Zbigniew Herbert:


W. Szymborska: "A Cat in an empty Apartment"

Die? One does not do that to a cat.
Because what's a cat to do
in an empty apartment?
Climb the walls.
Caress against the furniture.
It seems that nothing has changed here,
but yet things are different.
Nothing appears to have been relocated,
yet everything has been shuffled about.
The lamp no longer burns in the evenings.

Footsteps can be heard on the stairway,
but they're not the ones.
The hand which puts the fish on the platter
is not the same one which used to do it.

Something here does not begin
at its usual time.
Something does not happen quite
as it should
Here someone was and was,
then suddenly disappeared
and now is stubbornly absent. All the closets were peered into.
The shelves were walked through.
The rug was lifted and examined.
Even the rule about not scattering
papers was violated.

What more is to be done?
Sleep and wait.

Let him return,
at least make a token appearance.
Then he'll learn
that one shouldn't treat a cat like this.
He will be approached
as though unwillingly,
slowly,
on very offended paws.
With no spontaneous leaps or squeals at first.


Z. Herbert: "Mr`s Cogito Legs":
the left leg is quite normal
one might even say optimistic
a little short perhaps
boyish
fleshy smiles
with a finely fashioned calf

the right one
pitiful
skinny
with two scars
one along the achilles tendon
the other ovate
pale pink
ignominious souvenir of an escape

the left one
inclined to leaps
dancing
loving life too much
to risk it

the right one
nobly stiff
mocking danger

here he comes
on both legs
the left one like Sancho Panza
and the right
resembling the adventurous knight
Mr. Cogito
walks
through the world
limping a little