Thanks again!

i am not a big poetry fan. it’s not a lack-of-exposure issue, either – i took plenty of poetry classes in college. poetry is, i feel, one of the few genres that, unless you are madly in love with the stuff, requires a very self-conscious approach.

what do you want to get out of the poetry you read? because of how emotionally powerful poetry can be, no matter how much you dissect it, you come away from a poem with a certain feeling. it may not be the same as someone else would get (for example, we were subjected to a dreadful poetry reading in scotland where a pornographic poem was presented – i can’t remember if it was just in the material passed out or if it was read aloud. anyway, the point is that while some might have been titillated or gotten a laugh out of it, i was absolutely appalled.), but the feeling part of poetry is inescapable.

ok, so on to actual recommendations (i do have some, believe it or not). there are a few exceptions to my general blechness toward poetry. i LOVE homer – i think he was brilliant and i love to read his stuff. (both works, but especially the odyssey, are chock full of common grace insights, which is astounding when compared to the blindness inherent in them.) shakespeare’s plays i like (i’m afraid my shakespeare class ruined me for his sonnets, which i now find repulsive), and the brownings are good (although i think my opinion is strongly influenced by how great their love story is). i recommend shel silverstein for a laugh, and sylvia plath for a picture of what life without God feels like. emily dickinson’s theology isn’t always great, but she’s definitely one to make you think. robert frost is generally enjoyable. i love old hymns, but i find them more compelling when sung than when read as poetry.

there is a scottish poet (NOT the one mentioned previously) whose name i can’t recall who does some good Christian post modern stuff. or he did, like 7 years ago. when i go back to dallas in a couple weeks i can find the book of his poetry i bought, if you like.

as you can tell, i am not the poetry diva. far from it. i mean, my favorite poems are all works i learned in elementary school – “paul revere’s ride” by henry wadsworth longfellow; “trees” by joyce kilmer; “i’m hiding” by dorothy aldis; “it couldn’t be done” by edgar guest.

honestly, perhaps your best bet is picking up an anthology of classic children’s poetry.

but if dr seuss counts, maybe he wins.