[stylist] Poetry for beginners

[Bridgit Pollpeter]

I'm not a poet, and my expertise, what it is, barely extends to poetry.
Though I grew up adoring writers from the 19th century, my taste have
expanded, and while I still have an appreciation for the romantics and
archaic language, I'd rather read Beat poetry from the 50's and 60's, or
more contemporary poetry. I do like the darker stuff like Sylvia Plath,
but I also enjoy experimental pieces. I read a book titled Year of the
Snake, a collection of poems; I can't remember the name of the poet, but
I really enjoyed it, and I don't usually read much poetry. Another good
poet I enjoy is Dr. John McKenna. He is an instructor at UNO, my alma
mater. His collection of poems are great and not esoteric. Good but
simple.

I actually like reading Shakespeare, though his plays more than his
sonnets and poems. A lot of poetry came out of the late 1500's. In an
English lit class I took, we read poetry from the ancient and medieval
Celts such as Beowulf and some other stuff from the warrior/poet era,
which is pretty cool. And of course material like Dunn and Milton.
Paradise Lost is a long, but interesting read.

Unless you have a specific purpose, I don't think it's necessary to
delve into older poets. They certainly developed the forms we now use,
but so many poets are doing great things now, I don't think it requires
a working knowledge of older poets to have an appreciation for poetry.
Just my two cents! Smile.

Sincerely,
Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
Read my blog at:
http://blogs.livewellnebraska.com/author/bpollpeter/
 
"History is not what happened; history is what was written down."
The Expected One- Kathleen McGowan