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Underground > Books, Criticism & Writing >

Reading Poetry

10:52 / 06.09.01

I confess: I have a big block in my education where it comes to poetry. I've never felt that I truly understand it, or even know how to read it. There seems to be a technical aspect to it that I never grasp when trying to learn about it, and as a whole it frustrates me. What happens when I read poetry in general is that I begin reading slowly and closely but end up gliding over words and stanzas without any idea of how they all work together. This may be a function of my lack of education in this area, my lack of desire to actually write poetry (a knee-jerk response to the high school poetry publication set, I imagine), or maybe a congenital disinterest in the form, no matter how much I try to persuade myself it is interesting.

So, any advice on how to educate myself to read (English) poetry? Any books about the form itself, or volumes of poetry with annotations that have helped anyone else? Do you have to write poetry to appreciate it (just as I imagine (in another area of unwilling ignorance) one has to play jazz to appreciate it)?

deletia

11:06 / 06.09.01

I think you have to read poetry to be able to write it, but not necessarily the other way around. Having said which, "Writing Poems" by Peter Salmon is actually a good guide for the reader as well.

[ 06-09-2001: Message edited by: The Haus of Willow ]

11:29 / 06.09.01

Hmmmm.... I can't seem to find that book on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, or Alibris.com. Care to recommend another?

deletia

11:53 / 06.09.01

That's because I got his name wrong. Peter Salmon was a Left-back for Arsenal, or something along those lines. It's Sansom, but it would prolly not be availbal;e in America - ISBN no. is 1 85224 204 3, if that helps.

14:04 / 06.09.01

This is not going to be especially helpful, but I had a book by James Reeves called 'Understanding Poetry' and found it very helpful for basic things like blank verse, metre, personification, etc... I say unhelpful because it appears to be out of print, but you might find it second-hand. Why not go and have a look at the poetry section in your nearest large bookshop - they usually have a reasonable selection of general criticism.

In the meantime, you could try reading out loud - it points up things like rhythm, allitteration, and should stop you skimming too much. As for the technical aspect, it shouldn't intrude on your reading too much (and in my opinion if it does you are not reading a very good poet)