Customer Reviews

Good Poems

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

A couple of generations back, publishers used to put out fat poetry anthologies - half of them edited by Louis Untermeyer - for families to put on their bookshelves to elevate the cultural tone of their home. These edifying works were organized by "subject" (God, Seafaring, Romance, Hope, Nature), and leaned heavily toward poems from prior centuries, or poems which exhibited a comforting folksiness, or wore uplifting morals on their sleeves.

There's a far larger public today which is actually prepared to read poems for pleasure, and Garrison Keillor has put together a poetic omnibus, also arranged by subject (I particularly like the group of poems on "Yellow" followed by the ones on "Snow"), which is otherwise quite the opposite of the old workhorses. Yes, prior centuries are represented, but the center of gravity lies among good modern poets, most of them still living, most of whom you never had a chance to read in school. They have been selected for both memorability and straightforward style. There are often flashes of humor, and trendily obscure versifiers need not apply, but there's no lack of depth or sophistication. (Think Billy Collins, who is well represented here.) Those of us who already read a lot of poetry, and those of us who suffered with glazed eyes through opaque symbols in English class, will both find fresh pleasures, simple ones and subtle, in this treasury.

It's what a poetry anthology should be: a sampler, a taster's counter at the many-flavored ice cream shop of verse. You can find old friends and new ones, and learn who you want to explore in depth later on. And this anthology lays out a richer feast of new friends than any other I've encountered.

As a bonus, there's Keillor's bluntly opinionated preface, in which he trashes Marianne Moore in favor of Elizabeth Bishop, "Saint Sylvia" in favor of Anne Sexton, and T.S. Eliot on general principles. It was a hoot even though I disagreed with him on two out of three.

"Good Poems" contains some of the finest works that I've ever read. Whether you are an avid reader of poetry, or someone who has just been introduced to it, you will not be disappointed with this collection. From The Psalm Book, to William Shakespeare, to Billy Collins, all are sure to enjoy.

From the very beginning, one's attention is captured by the wickedly irreverent and funny poem by Thomas Lux, entitled "Poem in Thanks." In it, he starts out by addressing his prayer to "Lord Whoever..." and ends it by thanking the Lord for the (expletive) birds singing!

I particularly enjoyed "This is Just To Say", a whimsical piece by William Carlos Williams, and the equally witty retort of the same name by Erica-Lynn Gambino:

"I have eaten the plums that were in the icebox
and which you were probably saving for breakfast
forgive me they were delicious so sweet and so cold"

to which, Ms. Gambino replies:

"I have just asked you to get out of my apartment

even though you never thought I would
forgive me you were driving me insane"

Whimsical, spiritual, somber, and profound (Emily Dickinson - Tell all the Truth, but tell it slant...), this selection by Mr. Kellor is arranged in such a way that one will be taken on an emotional roller coaster ride. "Good Poems" is a 'Must Have' for all lovers of well arranged words.

"Elizabeth Bishop was a woman, ditto Emily Dickinson, and she can take your head off with one line. . ." That is Garrison Keillor's description of Ms. Dickinson as he debunks the term "Women's lit" as one of the dumb ideas of his generation in his brief introduction to this collection of "good" poems he has gleaned from his radio program "The Writer's Almanac." T. S. Eliot he describes as a "great stuffed owl" who "didn't get out of the house much." Allen Ginsberg was "something of a gasbag" while Anne Sexton is a "hot number." Opinionated? Yes, but I find I agree with Mr. Keillor more times than I don't. I read this obviously honest and thouthful introduction three times and then called up friends who love poetry and read portions of it to them.

Mr. Keillor includes a lot of poets here, many of whom I did not know previously. You guessed it. There are no Ginsberg or Eliot selections included. The criterion is that the poems should have "somehow stuck" with Keillor and with "some of the listeners." Keillor obviously is guided by the time restraints of his radio show since the poems must be short. (I do not believe for a moment that he does not care for Matthew Arnold's "Dover Beach," a poem probably too long to include here.)The anthology is short on 19th Century poets although Ms. Emily does take first place with eight selections.

Even though Mr. Keillor would not be happy with long-winded paise, suffice it to say that, as the Brits would, that this book is altogether "lovely." And, Mr. Keillor, you are one of those Americans who make me happy I live here. Didn't you say it best in one of your essays, something about seeing the firelights of other gentle people?

I liked this book. My husband liked this book. However, this is not a book for 'poetry snobs'--and you know who you are :-)

This is a book for people who like poetry that creates images and mini-stories. This is a book for the sort of people who like to be transported to crisp autumn days, the sound of leaves crunching beneath your feet, blah, blah ; or into relationships you've never had.

It is not a book for people who want to be challenged by imagery and wordage. It is a relaxing book, not a stimulating verbal ride. And it is this dichotomy -- between regular-joe poetry readers and the ecstatic fancy-readers - that explains the variances in the numbers of stars reviewers have given this book.

Four stars. If you like Mr. Keillor's morning readings, you should like this book.

Note:
This collection contains some `erotic' material. Just thought you'd want to know, before you go out and buy this book for that special niece or nephew, or for your own child. You don't want your sister calling, all ticked off because her sixteen year-old came to her asking what such-n-such means.

These kinds of major-press anthologies (especially when put together by a celebrity) tend to be worthless: either heartwarming sop (i.e. "Poems that have Inspired Me") or the same English-class warhorses trotted out again. So I thumbed through "Good Poems" and was surprised to find...good poems; a mix of the standards (Frost, Dickinson, Shakespeare), modern academics (Oliver, Simic), and poets who seldom appear in these kinds of anthologies (Carver, Ferlinghetti, Bukowski.) Well-selected, thoughtfully placed, and (thank God) fun to read, this collection is a real jewel; a perfect gift for someone who thinks they could never like poetry.

Even if the poetry was less than stellar, this book would be worth buying just for Keillor's introduction. Instead of gushing empty platitudes, he takes a hard look at what makes a poem good (as opposed to just technically proficient.) Anyone interested in writing poetry should do themselves a favor and read it (Personally, I'm thrilled that someone else thinks Elizabeth Bishop, Sylvia Plath, and Allen Ginsberg are overrated, though I have to admit T.S. Eliot is growing on me...)

This book caused a bit of controversy, but I'm not sure why. What it is, is a collection of poems that Keillor thought were good poems. It isn't meant to teach out of or to be representative of anything other than one man's personal tastes. And what taste he has. Sure there are some poets and poems missing. And there are some bad poems in here. But most are good poems and then there are some truly great poems in here. But I'll let the poets included speak for themselves. Here is a partial list of SOME of the poets you'll find within:

Ginger Andrews, W.H. Auden, Hillaire Belloc, Wendell Berry, John Berryman, Elizabeth Bishop, William Blake, Robert Bly, David Budbill, Charles Bukowski, Robert Burns, Hayden Carruth, Raymond Carver, Billy Collins, Wendy Cope, e.e. cummings, Roy Daniells, Emily Dickinson (and you'll find a lot of her in here), Tom Disch, Stephen Dobyns, Stephen Dunn, Ralph Waldo Emerson, B.H. Fairchild, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Robert Frost, Erica-Lynn Gambino, Deborah Garrison, Dana Gioia, Linda Gregg, Donald Hall, Robert Hass, Seamus Heaney, Geof Hewitt, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Langston Hughes, Randall Jarrell, Erica Jong, Donald Justice, X.J. Kennedy, Jane Kenyon, Galway Kinnell, Maxine Kumin, Stanley Kunitz, D.H. Lawrence, Li-Young Lee, Ursula Leguin, Denise Levertov, April Lindner, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Thomas Lux, Walt McDonald, Herman Melville, William Meredith, W.S. Merwin, Robert Mezey, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Frederick Morgan, Howard Moss, Lisa Mueller, James B(all) Naylor, Howard Nemerov, Frank O'Hara, Sharon Olds, Linda Pastan, Robert Phillips, Theodore Roethke, Kenneth Rexroth, Kay Ryan, May Sarton, Anne Sexton, William Shakespeare, Charles Simic, Louis Simpson, Gary Snyder, William Stafford, Wallace Stevens, Robert Louis Stevenson, Joyce Sutphen, May Swenson, Sara Teasdale, Henry David Thoreau, John Updike, Walt Whitman, Richard Wilbur, Oscar Wilde, C.K. Williams, Hugo Williams, William Carlos Williams, James Wright, W.B. Yeats

I don't normally read poetry. It's one genre I'm very ignorant about but I like Garrison Keillor's story telling and figured I might like the same type of poetry he likes. I was right! Although I didn't enjoy every single one (and who can expect to in a compillation of more than four hundred pages) but I did enjoy or take meaning away from enough of them to count this book as a page turner.

I heard my sister blathering on and on for weeks about what a good book this was. Right, okay, so I listened half heartedly. However, one day I was in the book store and I was immediately drawn to this plump little volume and sat down to read the Introduction. I normally wouldn't bother, but it was Garrison Keillor after all.

The Intro was great! I laughed my through it.

However, this book is so much more then a barrel of laughs. Garrison has gone through and carefully put in poems that touch the heart, mind and funny bone. I, like others before me, found the section labeled, "Yellow" a great addition also. I really enjoy having so many great poems in this one volume. Too often the good poems are jammed together with others that make little or no impression at all. However, every poem so far has been worth the time and trouble that was taken to publish in this book.

A must have for any poetry lover.

They are good poems in the sense that they're short and accessible, some are touching and some are funny. They're a cut above what a Reader's Digest anthology of poetry would be, but one is reminded of what such a thing would be like. Now, having said that, any anthology that includes Emily Dickinson, Mary Oliver, and Shakespeare is blessed regardless of company. But honestly there was hardly anything of which I thought I want to read that again, study or memorize. I think there is a certain kind of "down to earth" with "good folks" evocation that is appealing but ultimately unsatisfying.

Of course, it depends on what you're looking for.

The implied and very nearly expressed (in the introduction) frustration with modern poetry I suppose is understandable and it's too bad T. S. Eliot and Wallace Stevens don't and will never appeal to a larger audience than they do. But I think they truly are great 20th century poets, and obviously I'm not entirely alone. They require a different kind of reading than say Robert Burns, a great poet of an earlier time. Given what the 20th century was, poetry could only be real in a certain form. A great deal could be said about this but essentially the territory left to poets who wanted to said something true had to be about what humanity hadn't trashed, which is kind of esoteric, beyond their reach. What remains that can't be cheapened and profited from, Americanized? In the 23rd Psalm, at least in the versions we have in English, it begins by talking to us about the author's relationship to the Lord, then it shifts, "for Thou art with me" and is addressed to "Thou". "Thou", the greater consciousness and being, was what art was all about formerly. In many forms: gods, angels, mentors and many cultures you see it, until you get to the art we are most familiar with, "realistic" art in which all there is is "us". In the world in which all there is is us, we have to hope we'll be good: not genocidal and so forth, not too self-deluded and proud, because otherwise we are going to destroy ourselves.

So the art of the 20th century that tried to find and know the "Thou" of the Psalm necessarily involved searching, doubting and serious intent. It had to reject the tired religious fantasies and of course the frivolities of egoism. The people I mention I think came closest. It's always an approximation. It is after all inexpressible.

Besides, why shouldn't poetry involve a little mental and emotional labor? A poem that makes you cry isn't a "good poem" necessarily any more than a movie that makes you cry is a good movie. They knew how to get you, that's all. Poetry, we hope, will be more about illuminating our higher selves and our relationship with the vast what -we- don't- know above us.

I read these poems to my children before putting them to bed. The poems are consistently good, simple, and thought provoking for both a tired dad and a couple of kids around 10 years old. You know you have a hit on your hand when everyone is looking forward to tonight's poem.