I'm becoming more and more interested in reading poetry, but I'm such a terrible reader. Could someone recommend a good book on reading poetry? And is there a list of the 'best' poems/poets? I'm having a lot of trouble trying to figure out where to start, where to proceed, and where not to go. Also, my college library subscribes to a huge collection of poetry journals. I'm not sure if I want to delve into them just yet, but I might as well ask now: which journals would you recommend?
to Evaril: It would help to know what kind of poetry you have had any experience with....i.e. before making any recommendations. q1
I've recently read Homer and a few lyrical poems by Yeats. I enjoyed them but it's difficult to say exactly what my preferences are like since I've only read this much. A wide-ranging recommendation perhaps?
Well, I think Edgar Allen Poe would be a great beginning as he is both excellent and understandable to the new reader of poetry. Much of his poetry has depth and imagery which you might not get at first but try him out. First poem to read...."Ulalume". You can find the text on line or in any good American anthology. q1
Yes I would read widely at first, different authors from different periods, any anthology that is wide-ranging would do. You don't want to get too bogged down in a particular poet, so personally I would just get a 'feel' for the poems and then you can dig into the area which you are interested in and take it from there.Originally Posted by Evaril
I would also get a few general 'how to read poetry' type of books, again I would read widely from these sort of books, head down to the library would be my advice.
The first poet I ever responded to, with no training or background of any sort, was Robert Creeley. I picked up one of his smaller collections, read "The Crow", loved it, and kept a copy taped on my door, until recently. For whatever reason, that brief reading of Creeley marked my determination to join the club--but that random browsing did not spark instructional curiosity.
My advice would be: look up formalism, and discover what makes blank verse blank verse, sonnets, and the like, just to give yourself a sense of differences.
Then develop some awareness of poetic schools. Why is John Donne a metaphysical poet of the late Elizabethean era, but Keats a Romantic? Don't get too caught up in school-groupings, but gradually learn their significance.
Creeley, for instance, was, and perhaps remains, the last living of the more famous Beat poets, and a Beat poet is different from a Modernist, like Allen Tate, or a confessional poet, like Sylvia Plath. Take your time and you'll eventually acclimate if you have sympathies for the genre.
Look at some back issues of Poetry in your library archive. Better yet, let me give you the url. They publish the best there is to be had, and they feed my submissions to their grouper fish for their amusement.
Last edited by Jozanny; 05-20-2009 at 09:14 AM. Reason: extra e
Yeah, I'd say do the movements- Romantics, Metaphysics, etc. Especially the Romantics- I like them.
Did you know that 'No Country For Old Men' is a quote from a Yeats poem?
I wouldn't start with books about reading poems. You will die of boredom.
Start with the poems themselves!
And if you are looking for recommendations, I urge you to read some Seamus Heaney.
I'd find soem contemporary poet reading around you, if it is possible, or just pick up a magazine, and find something you like, and then work from there.
No! Unless you enjoy farming.
Mid-term Break is the only poem of his worth reading.
Get the rattle bag, the collection compiled by Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes. It introduces you to loads of poetry from all over the world and from different periods of time without lots of preamble about movements and such that you can learn about later if you so desire.
I would not suggest reading by 'movement' as you will get so bogged down in the history of it, the specifics of each author that you'll quickly tire of reading.
Or words, or life...
>.>
Last edited by meh!; 05-21-2009 at 10:37 AM.
What?
Have you never read his Bog People poems?
They are brilliant, and nothing to do with farming.
A few people have recommended looking into some anthologies, which I second, especially for anyone beginning to read poetry, but they can prove relatively helpful for any poetry reader. I enjoyed Immortal Poems of the English Language edited by Oscar Williams as a decent anthology; it features some remarkable poetry everywhere from the 1500's to the anthologies publication year, sometime in the 1950's or 1960's, I believe. Williams appropriately sectioned it into genres and eras of poetry that may help you "choose your flavor," so to speak, of what poetry you enjoy the most, whether of such-and-such time period or this-or-that genre.
Good luck!
I think Robert Frost and William Blake are good poets to start with because their poems are relatively accessible. You can read as much or as little meaning into their words as you'd like.
And if you're looking for a good anthology, start with the Norton anthology of poetry: http://www.amazon.com/Norton-Antholo...3020533&sr=1-1
It's big, heavy, and pricey, but very well-respected. Also, I was surprised to find some non-English, non-American poets in there, though they are few and far between.
I second that. One of my party tricks is being able to recite The Tyger off by heart
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