Where to start with poetry?

[ellyo]

I'd really like to get into reading poetry - I have very little experience and get quickly bored when I don't really understand what it's trying to say! But I'd like to strengthen my 'stamina' for it. If you know much about poetry, where would you suggest I start? I've enjoyed Christina Rosetti and Holly McNaish before, perhaps an anthology or collection? Thanks!

There are two books, A Poem for Every Day of the Year and A Poem for Every Night of the Year.

All different poets from across the times, season, holiday sympathetic.

We dip and out with our teens and it gets them thinking and talking about poetry if only to say "god that's dire"

They are up to date and we think well curated to include a wide variety. And they give you a poem to start with that day if you are feeling like some poetry it takes away that choice.

I am sure you would find things you enjoy and poets to investigate further from there.

I would also recommend going over current and previous Poet Laureates. They are awarded that position for years of poetry that has influenced and been enjoyed by many.

Also any poets who win literature awards.

You could sign up for email newsletters from publishers such as:

Carcanet Press

Faber Poetry

which would keep you informed of both new and established writing. That way you could dip into samples of work both in print and through online events.

Much more dynamic than simply choosing a specific volume from Amazon or wherever!

oooooo I might do this thanks @BetsyRegards

Get a good anthology and sample different writers and moods. The classic is "Other Men's Flowers" complied by Lord Wavell. Highly recommended.

If you enjoy podcasts, I’d suggest Poetry Unbound. It’s presented by a great poet called Padraig O Tuama- he reads a poem, talks about it then reads it again- very simple but brilliant. Mainly modern poetry. I’ve discovered so many new writers through this podcast and Padraig’s analysis really brings the works alive.

Emily Dickinson
“Hope” is the thing with feathers
that perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops, at all.

Hi OP, great question!

My favourites are Marianne Moore:
https://poets.org/poem/paper-nautilus

e.e.cummings:
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/153877/somewhere-i-have-never-travelledgladly-beyond

Ezra Pound:
https://poets.org/poem/station-metro

And Emily Dickinson:
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44085/it-was-not-death-for-i-stood-up-355

Emily Dickinson is particularly amazing for never publishing in her lifetime - just a huge mountain of work was found after her death and reading her is fascinating - really like a window into a genius mind. He work feels really alive to me and I think that's because she was writing just for herself - no sense of who her reader was. It's very free.

I love having poetry books on my bedside table - like a palate cleanser for the brain! Hope you find loads of things you love.

It’s a pleaser, @frozendaisy!

Another fantastic resource for accessing the widest range of great work is via poets.org Poem a Day.

https://poets.org/poem/purple

A good anthology. My grampa gave me one when I was a teenager that I still have and treasure. It's not very long, bound in red velvet, and contains a lovely little selection of classics and lesser-known poems in chronological order from the 1500s to the 20th century. Over the years I added to it by typing out and inserting poems and extracts I came across and loved.

What a great thread! I wasn't aware of some of the suggestions posted here so looking forward to trying them out. My all time favourite poem is The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock by T S Elliott, I think it's a favourite of a lot of people. Some terrific lines in it.

Roger McGough is very accessible. I also like Adrian Mitchell, his poem Norman Morrison has stuck with me since school.

Poems on the Underground has some crackers and no duds. I had the book, but it isn’t mentioned on their website so may be out of print.