5 Poetry Books for Beginners | Close Reading Poetry

Here are 5 books essential to any poetry-lover's bookshelf. The first two I would recommend to anyone, but especially non-native English readers. The third and fourth are accessible examples of close reading poetry by critics and poets. The fifth is a resource that you'll return to for years, whether you're new to poetry or a life-long aficionado.
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Learn how to close-read poetry through my lecture series, “Close Reading Poetry” here: • How to Read Poetry
Find me teaching at the Antrim Literature Project: www.AntrimLiteratureProject.org
Introduction 0:00-1:10
Brooks & Warren 1:11-2:50
Helen Vendler 2:51-4:55
T.R. Hinn 4:56-5:50
C.B. Ricks 5:51-8:18
Princeton Encyclopedia 8:19-9:30
Conclusion 9:31-9:53
Where to begin with poetry? Where to start?

[@sarahlou4233]

Finding a book on poetry in an abandoned house in the woods...sounds like a poem waiting to be written.

[@robertgerrity878]

Go for it. On a Book found in an Old House. Louisiana = South. Note : Cleanth & Bobbie are southern boys, exemplars of post 1920 "movement" of Southern Ness. Has name. Is not an accident it was that Lousianna house.

[@Jessssssiiica]

I am a portuguese (PT) phd student, in history of art, but I did my master in literary and comparative studies. Well, I still an ignorant, so, for that, I am really inspired by your lessons. Thank you for all ! 😇

[@beifangyi115]

THANKS! Adam/Close-Reading-Poetry for recommending the books! I will go to library right way to find them. But I will be more anxiously expecting a book on poem written by YOU!!!

[@poojakumar883]

This is such a helpful list! I haven't studied literature formally but I love reading poetry and I was interested in learning how to engage with it more critically. These books form a great base and all your videos are super helpful! Really enriched my reading experience.

[@nikunjmohbe]

There are plenty of profound intellectual and emotional content resides in poems and your books really will be quite helpful far a sort of initial exposure to poetry, thank you very much for the recommendation, have a fascinating intellectual journey ahead!

[@danii_maciasr9866]

This is really helpful. I study Spanish philology and reading poetry in English is a bit harder than I'd like to, so reading a couple of this beginner books might help me dive into some more complex authors such as Keats or Shelly. Thank you for all the free quality content, it's hard to find something similar online.

[@valala2987]

Your channel is such a gold mine!

[@rapier1954]

Certainly appreciate your channel which I find very helpful.

[@sukhjitsandhu82]

I have taken to visiting your Chanel daily , listening to you is so entertaining and enlightening

[@Sharpgeared]

I'm happy to have run across this channel. I'm a first semester MA student in English Literature. I'm especially interested in poetry in translation, and plan to do my thesis on that topic. Anyway, thanks for the recommendations. I think I'll put Helen Vendler's book on my summer reading list!

[@closereadingpoetry]

I hope you enjoy Vendler's work. Let me know what you think!

[@sukhjitsandhu82]

I have taken to visiting your channel almost daily , listening to your insights on literature is highly addictive

[@closereadingpoetry]

I'm so glad you find it helpful

[@d.scottmeadows4653]

Well done. Thank you.

[@ronmills5234]

X.J. Kennedy, An Introduction to Poetry, 18 editions since 1976, lately with Dana Gioia.

[@aapesos]

in high school we used Perrine’s Sound and Sense--I still would recommend it to beginners. easy find inexpensive copies of it on line

[@shirzadalipour199]

Thanks Adam

[@markoneill7657]

Thanks. 😃

[@DoranSteven]

Will it help if I buy an olive Shetland jumper?

[@EyeLean5280]

The Apple and the Spectroscope is findable, just a little on the pricey side.

[@UpulRanjana-sq1tz]

is there any free way to read the following books, .plz let me know if there is any any such way

[@Steamed111]

Do you know anything about the book "How Does a Poem Mean?" Before I'd seen this video I ordered a copy and I am wondering if you have heard of it/read it.

[@akramobada]

You are a sensational Adam , I'm looking for a book which mainly contains the romantic poets and their poem's analysis .

[@closereadingpoetry]

Hmm... It's hard to think of an entire volume of analyses. Helen Vendler has her excellent book on Keats's Odes. Some great biographies of Romantic poets by Stephen Gill, John L. Mahoney, Richard Holmes, W. J. Bate, and others include commentary on individual poems. Let me know if you have a particular poet in mind and I can give specifics!

[@EugeneWrayburn]

Haven't read this myself yet, but M.H. Abrams "The Correspondent Breeze: Essays on English Romanticism" sounds like something you'd be interested in.

[@CalvinPoet]

“The Visionary Company” by Harold Bloom.

[@closereadingpoetry]

@@EugeneWrayburn That's good! Not very *close* reading there, but Abrams is great.

[@closereadingpoetry]

@@CalvinPoet Yes, although I wouldn't consider Bloom's to be a very close, analytical method, but he's a sensitive reader.

[@ImBoredWhatNow]

How do you feel about the “Triggering Town”?

[@Cvvde]

Many of these books are very expensive ones since they are academic books, and some of them are going to feel inaccessible to, as you said, “people who are new to poetry.” The New Critics (Brooks and Warren) and professional literary criticism like that of Helen Vendler, as wonderful as they are, might be a bit much for someone just starting their trek into the depths of the English poetic tradition. Indeed, we cannot assume in our audience the same skills the we critics have, nor can we take the same knowledge for granted that the people of the mid-twentieth century did because we do not have the same education system and the standards of the education system have palpably changed. Thomas C. Foster’s “How to Read-“ books, and one is exclusively on poetry, might have been a better choice for its conversational tone that appeals to a general audience of no particular background. Janet E. Gardner also has a very slim introduction-again written in learner-friendly language-called “Reading and Writing about Literature” that would do well as a replacement for the Helen Vendler book which touches on similar subjects. All in all, I’d say the books you chose are good ones, but some aren’t the most student-friendly.

[@closereadingpoetry]

I disagree and stand by my recommendations on this one. None of the books I recommended are academic books. They are all written by academics for university students or high-school students. This video wraps up my course on close-reading poetry. Anyone who has listened or watched those previous videos will be more than equipped to read these books.

[@canopus78]

Aqui en Latinoamérica no necesitamos libros ñoños para aprender a leer poesía, aquí leemos y abstraemos a la brava..😊

[@JeffRebornNow]

I am not a fan of quasi-anthology books about poetry that purport to teach you how to read a poem. Forget that. There are much more interesting and informative books out there such as "The Meaning of Meaning," and "Seven Types of Ambiguity."