I think I like poetry but...

If you've ever followed up the words in this title with "I don't know where to start," I've written this post for you.

Most importantly, you should be reading poetry that speaks to you and, ideally, finding a community with whom you can discuss what you are reading. Certainly a lot of poetry can be enjoyed alone, but hearing other readers' points of views has a way of challenging the way you think and bringing tremendous richness to your reading that is extraordinarily healthy. Defending your own point of view has a way of helping you to clarify your thinking and to examine your unconscious assumptions. Great stuff. I hope a lot of it happens here.

What you should be reading is probably not nearly as important as who you are reading it with. I often advise my students that discussing literature is a little like learning tennis. You want to do it with someone who is more proficient than yourself so that they can bring you along a little at a time.

But if there is one text that I think would make a most suitable introduction to the subject, it is Wordsworth and Coleridge's Lyrical Ballads. The language and syntax of the poems themselves is not quite so complicated as the Shakespeare inflicted upon us in high school, yet it is challenging enough to bring most readers along "a little at a time." As much as I recommend the poems themselves as a starting point, I think the preface to the second edition to be a valuable way of getting started in literary criticism, which is really just a means of poetic appreciation. In the preface, Wordsworth says a great deal about the role and language of true poetry that still speaks to me 200 years later.

I'll Show You Mine...

Sharing one's poetry can be a little like baring one's self in public: very uncomfortable for most of us.

While a good many of my poems are withheld here for purposes that have as much to do with anonymity as they do with copyright, I am pleased to offer a few for you to sample. You may use them to determine whether you think I know anything useful about poetry before soliciting my criticism, or you may like to take a stab at being a critic yourself:

"Snow"
"Untitled--An Acrostic Poem"
"A Christmas Poem"
"Monstrous Transformations"
"A Charged Heart"



"Monstrous Transformations" is unfinished but all the others represent complete, polished pieces. "MT" is actually the introduction to an epic poem I may settle down to write, some day.

I hope you enjoy, and above all else, I hope you care enough about poetry to comment or ask a question.

Let's Get Started!

I have been kicking the idea around for some time of building a blog upon the basis of poetry help for new and emerging poets and poetry lovers. On a number of different sites I have observed people asking for feedback on their work (and not getting a great deal) or deprecating their own ability to understand poetry. No more.

For close to 20 years I have been reading, writing, studying, editing and, yes, teaching poetry. Since I am in the habit of offering advice all over the place, I have decided to create this blog as a place for poetry lovers to ask questions, get feedback and even to connect with others who are similarly minded.

So post away. If you like, you can post your own original poem and I'll tell you exactly what I think. Shucks, you can even post a link to your poem if you prefer and I'll give you a click. You can count on me for some balanced feedback.

Or raise that question anonymously that you are too embarrassed to ask elsewhere. I don't laugh and I don't bite. In fact, I can't even answer all your questions, but with any luck there will be another visitor here who can.

You may prefer just to browse. There will be a wide variety of discussions about poets, poetry and a great deal of original material. If you like what you see, you may decide to subscribe. I plan to update frequently and to leave no question unanswered... for long.

But most of all, consider jumping into the discussion. I have never pretended to know everything about anything. You may wish to dialogue with one another or suggest the next topic for me to blog. Enjoy your time, and thanks for being here!