My friend Jill and I went to a large bookstore chain for a few hours of coffee and conversation and a little Christmas shopping. I realized on this most recent trip that there are only two shelves dedicated to poetry. They had the most famous poets, but I was looking for something else, something newish, a voice I hadn’t heard. I didn’t want just anything, though. I found a couple of books that interested me. One being a Christian-themed anthology that cost $40 and was shrink-wrapped. I refuse to buy a $40 anthology before I peruse its contents. Another series of volumes called Poem A Day looked promising.
I’d really like to add to what we already have (which isn’t much): Poe, Whitman, Shakespeare, Emerson, our college English anthologies, some children’s books of poetry, and, of course, Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein. So, I’m wondering who you would recommend.
Who’s your favorite poet? …Poem? …Collection?
Please leave your recommendations for me in the comments.
Leslie Wiggins 
16 responses to “Soliciting Your Recommendations”
I really like Robert Blake. I’m not a big fan of poetry but his has something about it that I really like. He is a contemporary of Beethoven, who is my favorite composer, so it may be something about the era. It’s not light reading, though. A little bit dark, actually. The first poem of his I read was “The Poison Tree.”
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I like dark. 😉
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George Herbert!
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Well, my favorite poet is John Donne, with Geroge Herbert being a close second. I like T.S. Eliot as well, but his later work. Robert Frost rates right up there, as does some of W.B. Yeats.
My favorite poem of all time though, is Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken.”
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Thanks for the Herbert recommendation. I’m looking for someone who composes with real spiritual depth.
Kim, all of Donne? or just the poems he wrote post-conversion?
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I used to love an illustrated Louis Untermeyer collection of children’s poetry…it may be out of print. But if it’s not, I recommend it!
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P.S. on Louis Untermeyer collection – I still love it as an adult. Suitable for all ages, really.
Have you ever tried any poems by Gerard Manley Hopkins? The sprung rhythm takes a bit of getting used to but I still enjoy his poetry too.
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For boys and girls… we have enjoyed these two:
1. Lessons from Nature by Bunyan
http://bit.ly/giodn2
2.Divine and Moral Songs for Children by Isaac Watts
http://bit.ly/gIobdd
And one in my wishlist: “A Sacrifice of Praise: An Anthology of Christian Poetry in English from Caedmon to the Twentieth Century” by
http://amzn.to/fWn9ub
Have a wonderful week!
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Thank you!
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Try a book titled “Soul of the Spoken Word” available on line at Barnes and Noble and Anazon.com. Or vist 1markt.wordpress.com
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I love romantic poetry (bet you’re surprised). Elizabeth Barret Browning’s Sonnets from the Portugeuse is my favorite collection.
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Ha ha, Alicia! No, I’m not the least bit surprised. 🙂 Thanks for the recommendation.
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I liked some of Donne’s non-sacred poems, but it his is sacred poetry I like the best.
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Ok, not new, but I love Anne Bradstreet, the first American poet. I fell in love with her work in high school and then again in college when I wrote a paper about her poems.
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Thanks! I’ll add her to my list.
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I second this recommendation too. I also did a paper on her in college. :^)
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