In honor of National Poetry Month I thought I’d share with you a few of the poetry books I keep going back to time and again. I have a whole shelf of poetry books but these are the ones that I can’t seem to get enough of. So if you are a poetry reader or simply want to read more, I highly recommend these books:
In particular, I’m especially attached to Taking Off Emily Dickinson’s Clothes and My Wicked Wicked Ways as I got to meet the poets and they signed their books for me.
And, now I’ll leave you with one poem from Poetry 180 which is just a delight to read.
Selecting A Reader by Ted Kooser
First, I would have her be beautiful,
and walking carefully up on my poetry
at the loneliest moment of an afternoon,
her hair still damp at the neck
from washing it. She should be wearing
a raincoat, an old one, dirty
from not having money enough for the cleaners.
She will take out her glasses, and there
in the bookstore, she will thumb
over my poems, then put the book back
up on its shelf. She will say to herself,
“For that kind of money, I can get
my raincoat cleaned.” And she will.
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I’m hoping to get caught up on some book reviews, make progress in my current reads and who knows, maybe I’ll even indulge in a bit of book therapy.
Very cool books with autographs.
Enjoy your readings.
Ohhh! Thanks for the recs! I’m just trying to get into poetry, and it’s such a big genre I feel lost. 🙂
Ooh, I didn’t know it was the National Poetry Month 🙂 Anyway, I just read this beautiful book of poetry called “A Worthy Legacy” written by a Nigerian lady.
Feel free to check it out at: http://abookathon.blogspot.com/2009/04/review-worthy-legacy-by-tomi-akinyanmi.html
I love that poem of Kooser’s! Do you know he lives near Lincoln? I see him in our bookstore fairly often.
lol! I love that poem. And how cool that you got those two books signed!
Very good recommendations — thank you! I really like Billy Collins, and the Emily Dickinson book looks great.
Thank you for sharing. Hope you have a great weekend too!
Oh THANK you for this! I get overwhelmed looking for poetry books. I appreciate the suggestions.
I really love that poem by Ted Kooser…he’s one of my favorites…his poems have a quiet power to them.
Congrats on the book signings….I really would love to read that Billy Collins volume!
I’ve got a new poetry book review up at my site today, check it out if you are interested in something edgier.
That poem is wonderful! Sounds like you have the perfect weekend planned. Hope it’s a lovely one!
You know I LOVE Billy Collins, so fun to see your autographed copy! I have that Keillor volume, too — it’s quite a diverse collection. And I’m becoming a Kooser fan lately — I’ll be featuring one of his pieces later in the month in my ongoing poetry discussion. Happy weekend!
I’ll have to check out the one by Keillor. I’m assuming it is a collection and not just his.
And I have a poetry book by Rita Dove (Thomas and Beulah) that she signed for me during college (she spoke to my class). I cherish it to this day.
Ooh, thanks for this. I’m always looking for recommendations of poetry–it’s an area I don’t know much about but am interested in. Will check these out!
I love that poem you posted. And I appreciate the recommendations too, I can’t wait to check them out. Thank you so much.
Hi Everyone – Glad you are enjoying Ted Kooser’s poem. It’s great isn’t it? Hope everyone had a happy easter 🙂
Wonderful way to celebrate a month of poetry!
I love that poem! Good Poems is the perfect anthology!Happy reading!
I love that poem! And how exciting to get those books autographed by the poets! 🙂