5 Poetry Books for Beginners | Close Reading Poetry

[@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 ! 😇

[@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.

[@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.

[@53Jia11]

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!!!

[@ronmills5234]

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

[@valala2987]

Your channel is such a gold mine!

[@3rdWorldism]

I always struggled with English poetry appreciation, since I'm more accustomed to Ghazals. But Marjorie Boulton's 'Anatomy of Poetry' proved helpful for me.

[@Jazzmaster-gs2bn]

Extremely helpful! Thanks, sir.🙏

[@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

[@tuxorizon]

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!

[@martinLuis5466]

What about Camille Paglia’s Blow break burn? Got me into poetry

[@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

[@lindafarnes486]

I'd suggest 2 for beginners. Louis Untermeyer Treasury of Poetry, and Other Men's Flowers. The first is for chikdren I guess, and illustrated. But it has all kinds if poems in there including classic adult type poems, including The Highwayman, La Bell Dame Sans Merci, etc. Also some lymerics and what have you. I'd rank it over any other collection I've come across. As for Other Men's Flowers, It contains some really nice poetry also. That collection is by AP Wavell.

[@UpulRanjana-sq1tz]

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

[@DoranSteven]

Will it help if I buy an olive Shetland jumper?

[@ImBoredWhatNow]

How do you feel about the “Triggering Town”?

[@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.

[@d.scottmeadows4653]

Well done. Thank you.

[@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.

[@EyeLean5280]

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

[@shirzadalipour199]

Thanks Adam

[@markoneill7657]

Thanks. 😃

[@EsatBargan]

Jones Mary Lee Sharon Davis Donna

[@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."

[@AdamTorkelson]

Wow. You must be super smart. One wonders why you clicked on this video, however.

[@kayleawilson]

You easily could have proposed those books without dissing the suggestions in this video, by the way.

[@JeffRebornNow]

@@kayleawilson I dissed them because I think they are a waste of time and there are much better books to read if one wishes to study the art of poetry.

[@TeresaTestrake]

So you just needed to share that with people who.are interested?😊

[@obscuremusictabs5927]

There are no rules. Just pick up a book and start reading. You'll know whether or not you like something very quickly. Listen to your heart and don't read something you don't like just because it's a classic or "required" reading. It's that simple.

[@AdamTorkelson]

Thanks for the cliche anti intellectual postmodernist catchphrase lecture. FYI, there is a big difference between passively liking a poem and actively trying to understand it.

[@obscuremusictabs5927]

@@AdamTorkelson And maybe you shouldn't be taking reading advice from someone who likes rhyming poetry.

[@AdamTorkelson]

@obscuremusictabs5927 yes, that makes a lot of sense.