How to read a poem? That is the question.

Recently I was tagged to answer Cam's Poetry Meme (sorry for my tardiness in posting this....I didn't get in much blog reading over the long weekend!), so here goes.  I have to admit that I am not much of a poetry reader.  It isn't because I don't like poetry, but that I am not entirely sure how to approach it.   I always feel like there is some dark hidden meaning that I am not going "to get".  Sometimes the words of poems seem so laden with meaning, that poems need to be digested and not just read, and you need so much other knowledge to understand what the poet is referring to.  When I was reading the Mary Shelley biography, there were lots of poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron that the authors referred to in the text.  What was nice was the authors gave the background story to the poems, which gave them so much meaning for me.  It is going to be one of my reading goals next year to read more poetry.  By chance this book by Terry Eagleton came across my desk today at work (it's a sign).  As soon as it has been processed I will be checking it out.  It sounds like a "beginner's guide" to reading poetry--just up my alley!

The first poem I remember reading/hearing/reacting to was--Actually I am going to answer this with an anthology of poems.  I don't remember exactly which poems it included, but I have a vivid memory of reading from Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle.  Isn't this a great title?  I was in grade school when I read from it. 

I was forced to memorize (name of poem) in school and........I bet there was a poem I was meant to memorize, but it is lost to me now.  I wonder if kids are asked to learn poems these days?  I wish I had--I am always so impressed when people can quote literature from memory!

I read/don't read poetry because....I don't read poetry for the reasons I mentioned above.  I am so used to a regular narrative--beginning, middle and end, and some poems are so short, I am not sure what I am meant to get out of them. An image?  A story?  A feeling?  With a book of poems, do you read them straight through?  I suppose there are no hard and fast rules--you can just dip in when you feel like it?  How much time do you spend on a poem--I think when I do read them (for instance when they are in a novel), I rush through them without appreciating what I am reading.

A poem or poet I'm likely to think about when asked about a favorite is ......I remember some lines from Tennyson, "the splendor falls from castle walls..." and Emily Dickinson, "because I could not stop for death, he kindly stopped for me...", so I would say Tennyson or Dickinson, though I also have books by Anne Sexton, Sylvia Plath, and Edna St. Vincent Millay among others.  Since I couldn't quote anything, I better stick with the few poems I remember.

I write/don't write poetry, but..............I don't write poetry, but I know people who do (how's that for getting around the question!).  A coworker writes poetry and has had them published.  He reads lots of poetry and if I am ever curious who I should read, I know I can ask him and he won't steer me wrong!  I am sort of up on who's publishing a new novel, or what I should look out for in terms of fiction, but he is really up in terms of poetry.  Imagine poetry being the main source of your reading selections?!

My experience with reading poetry differs from my experience with reading other types of literature.....I am used to devouring a book, and I get the feeling that this is not the way to read poetry.  I think I need to re-learn (or start completely anew) how to read poetry. 

I find poetry.....Confusing?  Sort of anyway, but only because I am so out of pratice reading poetry.  I think it can be quite beautiful given time and thought when reading it (I am thinking about older poetry like Tennyson, which seems so lyrical--I haven't read much modern poetry). 

The last time I heard poetry....I can't even remember the last time I heard a poem read aloud except in school (and that has been a few years ago...).

I think poetry is like....This is going to sound silly, but it seems like it is a nut, and you have to crack it open and find out what is inside.  Am I making it harder than it is supposed to be?

Here is my paltry little poetry shelf.  It is rather in dire need of beefing up, isn't it?  Any favorites or recommendations?

If you haven't already answered these questions, consider yourself tagged!  Please let me know, so I can read your answers, too!

Comments

[Dorothy W.]

You may know this already from reading my blog, but I really like Mary Oliver and Jane Kenyon. I have similar questions about how to read a poem and what to expect from them and what to get out of them. I guess I look for ideas and images and feelings. I like to read a poem at least a few times -- once to get the main idea and the other times to notice things about the sound, the images, metaphors, etc.

[Kristy]

All of those books you own and this is all you have for poetry? How sad.....lemme come up with a list for you. I know how you like lists. (as much as I adore them I believe)

[Cam]

Any poetry shelf with Anna Akhmatova, Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton -- all poets whose works are wonderful but often difficult to wrap your brain around -- could hardly be called paltry!

Thanks for doing the meme.

[Danielle]

Dorothy--I have heard of Mary Oliver and I think Stefanie also mentioned Jane Kenyon--I will see what my library has by these authors. Do you prefer contemporary poetry? I wonder if it is so very different than what say Emily Dickinson wrote?
Kristy--Can you believe it? That is it! Most of my books are novels, then nonfiction, and I have hardly nothing in terms of poetry, plays (even less!), short stories and essays (am working on acquiring more of those!). And yes, I am very fond of lists!
Cam--to be honest, I have found the private lives of Akhmatova, Plath and Sexton of interest, and the poetry followed. Great meme--thanks for tagging me!

[Imani]

I wouldn't worry too much about learning "how" to read poetry, although some people do find those kind of books helpful. I enjoy poetry for the words, for they way they're grouped together, for the sounds and the rhythm and the way they trip off my tongue when said outloud. I think that if you don't get some kind of pleasure or reward from a poem then you won't really give a heck about all that intimidating hidden meaning. :p Some of them don't even have any!

From that perspective poetry, for me, would be like those great candies you suck on until you get to the creamy centre.

Maybe it would help if you tried out some more accessible poetry anthologies? I haven't read the work of all the poets you've had on your shelf, but the ones I recognised do pack quite a punch.

[litlove]

I'm very appreciative of Terry Eagleton as a critic, so I'm going to look out for that book myself! As I get older I find my preference is for short, amusingly poignant poetry. And for that you need Wendy Cope, or maybe Sophie Hannah.

[Stefanie]

Can I recommend Wislawa Szymborska too? View with a Grain of Sand is a gorgeous collection. I understand your worry about how to read a poem. I was there once too. But somehow I got past that and now when I read a poem I don't worry about getting it. I just let the words wash over me. I prefer more modern poetry--Dickinson onward. But sometimes Coleridge or some Sufi poetry make a nice diversion.

[iliana]

Great answers Danielle. I'll go ahead and recommend Billy Collins and Sandra Cisneros. For some reason I don't feel like I struggle to find the meaning when I read their poetry. Granted I could be missing the point but you know what I mean :)

[Carl V.]

I'm not a person who purposely goes out of my way to read poems. For the most part poems have to have some slightly obvious story to them even if there is deeper meaning to be found in them. I don't really like the vague stuff. I love Tennyson's Lady of Shalott...lots of stuff in there to think about and yet a story nonetheless. I also like alot of Poe's stuff simply because I like Poe. Same with Neil Gaiman. There are some of his poems that I really, really like alot. I like Shakespeare as well. By and large though I probably just haven't been exposed to enough stuff to really have developed a desire for it.

[Dark Orpheus]

That's a lot of Sylvia Plath. :)

My personal recommendations will be: Theodore Roethke or Cavafy. Or maybe Carol Ann Duffy - she has that knick for the dramatic dialogue.

For the more inspirational poets, if you like: Rumi, Hafiz, Jane Hirshfield and Mary Oliver.

I double on Stefanie's recommendation for Wislawa Szymborska.

[Dorothy W.]

I liked Szymborska too. I do tend to read contemporary poetry -- I'd like to read older stuff, but that really feels like work, when I'm trying to make poetry feel like fun. Maybe when I'm a more experienced poetry-for-fun reader I'll venture into earlier centuries?

[Danielle]

Imani--An anthology sounds like a great idea--I am sure my library must have loads of them. I think I just need to sit down and read some!
Litlove--I am glad to hear you have heard of Eagleton--he is new to me as are the two poets you mentioned--Many thanks. I am still waiting for the book to be processed at my library, but I plan on taking a look at it as soon as I can get my hands on it!
Stefanie--Didn't he win a big prize? The Nobel maybe? I have heard of him--thanks for the suggestion!
Iliana--Oh yes, Sandra Cisneros. I have never tried any of her poetry though I have read her fiction! And I have heard of Billy Collins--another good suggestion...thanks!
Carl--I don't go out of my way either. As a matter of fact I try and stay away sometimes, but after reading Shelley and Byron's poetry, it was kind of nice. I do love how Tennyson sounds--it rolls off the tongue nicely! Must look up The Lady of Shalott!
Dark Orpheus--Sylvia was a very interesting person. I love The Bell Jar...and that is what got me started! I think the library has Roethke on CD or audio--it would be nice to hear the poetry. Thanks for the suggestions!
Dorothy--I think you are right that the older stuff tends to be pretty loaded with meaning--or at least I have that idea and it sort of scares me off. I will definitely start with some of the more contemporary stuff.

[Lotus]

Danielle, I have enjoyed reading your responses to the poetry meme, but just to answer one of the questions you posed, "do kids have to learn poetry these days"? I think, for North America, the answer is no. Apparently, learning poetry or anything by rote impedes a child's enjoyment of the learning process. While I agree that it could be harmful to learn, say, science by rote, I believe memorizing poetry can be nothing but beneficial.

[Vipula Gupta]

I was going to completely skip this blog post as it was about poetry but your sentence ' always feel like there is some dark hidden meaning that I am not going "to get"' made me stop and read. I so relate to that. I as a kid have always enjoyed poetry that rhymes, probably , of the sing-song way it is taught in school.But whenever I read poetry I feel I am missing the point. And I have realized that how poetry is read out loud makes a difference. Have you ever noticed how a teacher in your class reads out the phrases gives meaning to each word in the poem?