Why aren’t you reading more poetry? You like art. I know you do. You read. Why not read some poetry? You like more than one kind of music, don’t you? Admit it. The best part of shuffling your iPod is when it switches from Lady Gaga to Metallica to Muddy Waters. So why not try some free verse or a prose poem between that new thriller and that Oprah thing your cube-mate is making you read because it showed her where her happiness was hiding? Need convincing? Can do.
Even at the highest levels, poetry isn’t expensive. Kay Ryan is the current poet laureate of the United States. You can buy her most recent book, The Niagara River, on Amazon.com for about ten bucks. You can pre-order her upcoming book, a compilation of her best work, in hardcover, for less than $20. The last time I was at a craft fair I spent $30 on a small blue ceramic lizard for my son. You’ll really like Ryan too. She’s funny and most of her work is short.
Most poetry is short; not more than a page or two. Remember, you aren’t studying it, you’re reading for pleasure. Read one piece. Take it in. Then go read Newsweek. Or a blog.
Poetry is portable. Stick it in your briefcase, put it in your pocket, or carry it in your arms like a perky, sophomore cheerleader on a chilly autumn day. Try doing that with Rodin’s The Thinker. By the way, The Thinker was originally called The Poet. Honestly, you’d think I do things like that on purpose.
Keats is dead. So is Shelley. Byron, Milton, Dickinson, Eliot… even Shakespeare; they’re all dead. Nearly everyone your Lit teachers tortured you with in high school have joined the Robin Williams Society. The Norton Anthology may as well be an obituary. You can now read poetry written by people you might consider making out with on New Year’s Eve… you might even have a shot… poets tend to be drinkers. Now don’t misunderstand; that old dude who likes to write about trees and birds? He’s out there. Cut him some slack though. He’s a terrific poet and one day you too are going to become nostalgic over clouds and wild flowers.
Need a place to start? Try The Best American Poetry 2009, $16 cover price, available everywhere. Feeling more adventurous? Stick a copy of The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry under that book of fart jokes in your bathroom. It has Kerouac, Burroughs, Williams and several instances of the C word for only $24.95.
Jack Bronn was born in Illinois, raised in Florida, misses his home in New Hampshire, dreams of living in New York, and resides with his wife and son in North Carolina. He writes.