I found this blog post by Steven Burt over at the Poetry Foundation to be quite after my own heart, and therefore a bit of reassurance as to my footing in the poetry world.
I have long said that I am probably the slowest reader I know, and also quite a slow reader for being a writer as well. Just yesterday I revealed that I’ve still got my nose stuck in two books I bought in September (and by the way, I’m still very much enjoying them…just at a slower pace than most.) And so I couldn’t agree more with what Steven (and jointly Paisley Rekdal, in her article that sparked the conversation) discusses about “skipping around” in a poetry book. The way I see it, read the poems that call to you. When you’re in a different mood (i.e. more nerdy, academic), read the poems that don’t call to you. This isn’t to say to always read poetry like yours or always read the same things, but it is really hard to get through a book – any book – if you don’t treat yourself by skipping a few lines, a few paragraphs or a few pages to find the yummy bits you like.
For people who don’t read poetry often, I think this is also comforting advice. You don’t hav to “get” every poem you read in a book. Nor do you have to read every poem in a book to “get” what the poet and the poems in the collection are about!
So, it’s Friday. You have two days open to you to run errands, stay up late, lounge around all afternoon. Why not pick up a poetry book from the library on your way home? No one’s saying you have to finish it by Monday.
