Hi All,
I'm looking for some advice on where to start with getting into poetry.
I'm a complete beginner when it comes to poetry, although I'm reasonably well-read when it comes to classic literature.
At the moment, I'm considering reading a poetry anthology like "100 Poems that Matter" but perhaps there might be a better approach.
I kind of already know my tastes from literature so maybe this can inform which poets I begin with? My favorite books are:
- In Search of Lost Time – Proust (!!)
- The Waves – Woolf (!)
- Confessions of a Mask – Mishima
- Blood Meridian – McCarthy
- The Brothers Karamazov – Dostoevsky
- Moby Dick – Melville
I love dreamlike, stream-of-consciousness prose with subjective, psychological elements; contemplative, introspective, personal. Honestly, anything similar to Proust or Woolf.
So based on this, where should I start? Which poets would you recommend?
Also, how technical is reading poetry? Can I just dive in and start reading or do I need to understand meter, structure, etc.?
Looking forward to you recommendations! Thanks! 🙂
by hearlr