Tag: poets

30 Poetry Books You Must Read: How-to’s, Collections and Anthologies

Alina H. Hansen Writer & Poet

Here is an extensive list of 30 poetry books I highly recommend! You’ll find how-to’s on writing poetry, collections, and anthologies of poems.

Do you have poetry books that you’d recommend? Leave a comment below and let’s chat!

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Books on Writing Poetry

Here are my top four reference poetry books that I use to write my poems. Complete with how-to’s, advice, and details on countless poetry forms.

Poemcrazy: freeing your life with words by Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge

New Rhyming Dictionary and Poets Handbook by Burges Johnson

Modern American Poetry Edited by Louis Untermeyer

Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics

A Book of Women poets from Antiquity to Now Edited by Aliki Barnstone and Willis Barnstone

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Poetry Collections & Anthologies

These are some of my absolute favorite poetry collections and anthologies. They span the old and the new, and I just can’t get enough of them. If you’re looking to dive into poetry, I recommend you pick up one of these and give it a go!

The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Poetry Edited by J.D. McClatchy

The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson

Selected Poems and Letter of Emily Dickinson Edited by Robert N. Linscott

Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman

The New Modern American and British Poetry Edited by Louis Untermeyer

The Collected Poems of Wilfred Owen Edited by C. Day Lewis

The Faber Book of 20th Century Verse Edited by John Heath-Stubbs and David Wright

The Complete Poems of Marianne Moore

Birds, Beasts, and Seas: Nature Poems from New Directions Edited by Jeffrey Yang

Howl and Other Poems by Allen Ginsberg

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Love Poems of Ovid

Ovid: the Metamorphoses Translated, and with an Introduction by Horace Gregory

Rilke: A Life by Wolfgang Leppmann

The Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke

The Selected Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke Edited and Translated by Stephen Mitchell

The Odyssey Translated by Robert Fagles Introduction and Notes by Bernard Knox

i six nonlectures by E.E. Cummings

Herman Hesse Poems Selected and Translated by James Wright

A Season in Hell and The Drunken Boat By Arthur Rimbaud Translated by Louise Varese

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A Wild Patience Has Taken Me This Far: Poems 1978-1981 by Adrienne Rich

Selected Poetry of Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

The Laurel Poetry Series: POE

One Hundred Modern Poems selected with an introduction by Selden Rodman

Anthology of Modern Japanese Poetry translated and compiled by Edith Marcombe Shiffert Yuki Sawa

No Nature: New and Selected Poems by Gary Snyder

Liked this post? Take a look at Let’s Talk Poetry!

This blog posts contains Amazon affiliate links, which means, if you purchase a book through one of the links provided, at no extra cost to you, I will earn a small commission 🙂

Review of “Writers Gone Wild” by Bill Peschel

Alina H. Hansen Writer & Poet

 

Writers Gone Wild: The Feuds, Frolics, and Follies of Literature's Great Adventurers, Drunkards, Lovers, Iconoclasts, and Misanthropes
photo source: goodreads.com

 

 

I recently finished “Writers Gone Wild: The Feuds, Frolics, and Follies of Literature’s Great Adventurers, Drunkards, Lovers, Iconoclasts, and Misanthropes” by Bill Peschel. This book was interesting in that it contains numerous little facts about various western writers and poets. Most notable literary figures that are highlighted multiple times in this book include Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Woolf, Oscar Wilde, and James Joyce among many others.

I found this book to be funny and pleasant to read after a long day. And the little fact snippets are very short making for easy and fast reading. Some snippets are just a paragraph while others are a couple of pages. The book is divided up into three parts, “On the Job”, “Off the Job” and “Everything Else”. The facts are not all ‘facts’ since most of the time possible rumors and hearsay at the time of their creation are discussed. Which I think makes this little collection all the more fascinating.

Bill Peschel writes with a humorous tone and fluid style that allows for enjoyable reading. And at the end of each little section, there is often bullet points of facts related to the story. I would say that anyone with a love for the modern classics of western literature should give this book a go. It would be enjoyed by the avid reader and book geek that finds themselves getting lost in a trail of Wikipedia pages in search of interesting speculations about their favorite authors. I recently conducted a two-hour meander on Wikipedia and online sources about one of my favorite writers, Bram Stoker. I was amazed to learn about his prevalence in the Irish Theatre scene and the fact that he was a personal assistant to the then-popular actor Henry Irving.  Of course, I don’t consider Wikipedia trustworthy but good for light curious reading now and then. “Writers Gone Wild” goes on my shelf as a good reference book that I may pick up again and skim through on a rainy day. It has an average rating of 3.3/5 stars. I honestly think it deserves better.

I hope that whoever reads this takes a little time to research the book and give it a chance. Thank you for reading my review and I hope that you will return in the future!

-Alina

 

Moon Goddess (poem #129)

Alina H. Hansen Writer & Poet

The sun buries itself down into the bodies of the hills

and I sink into an abyss of sleepless darkness in the night,

where did you find yourself? across the ocean?

or into another realm? where the sun never rises and

the moon is your goddess?

@alinahappyhansenwriter

I wrote “Moon Goddess (poem 129)” in January 2018, now almost five years later I find myself still obsessing over the same themes: nature, powerful forces, and the abstract “you” another version of self? Read more of my #poetry and #writing at www.alinahappyhansenwriter.com Text in video reads: “Moon Goddess (poem 129) The sun buries itself down into the bodies of the hills and I sink into an abyss of sleepless darkness in the night, where did you find yourself? across the ocean? or into another realm? where the sun never rises and the moon is your goddess?” #poetontiktok #poetrytok2022 #writersoftiktok #writerscommunityoftiktok #amwriting #foryoupage #fyp

♬ Turnaround – Duomo

Thoughts on Collecting Words and Memorizing Poems

Alina H. Hansen Writer & Poet

Words are the blood and bones for all poets. It is crucial for poets to understand that one’s poetry can only evolve and mature with a constant habit of studying words, styles, forms and the memorization of poetry. I admit, I need to work on these habits myself but I do try to keep up with one particular exercise and that is collecting and studying words.

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I have a small notebook that I keep close to my desk or latest pile of books at all times. Inside are pages of words that I want to learn, memorize, and use in my poetry. Usually, I start a new entry by writing down the date then writing down the words I want to add. Occasionally I will write a specific definition that makes it easier for me to learn the word. I have not memorized or utilized all the words in my ‘Word Notebook’ yet since there are too many but this habit keeps me on the lookout for new words, strange or unknown, that fascinate me.

An expansive knowledge of words and their meanings benefits a poet in their writing since every single word counts. Poems are created through a concise and condensed build up of words. Each word is crucial in the construction of a poem because it only takes a few words to create a memorable outstanding poem, or a few words to ruin an entire piece (but honestly you can have 2/3rds of an amazing poem and then a 3rd of so-so and still love the poem to death).

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The habit of memorizing poems (often great classics) benefits the poet by teaching them the importance of rhythm and punctuation. After a poet learns to read poetry, much like reading music, it is then a whole new challenge for a poet (or anybody!) to perform a poem. I say ‘perform’ because poetry is not like other forms of writing. Poetry originates in ballads and songs sung in the ancient past usually about heroes, conquests, wars, and love. Poetry is an art form created with words and like art, it must be presented in an appropriate manner to audiences.

Check out one of my Poetry Reading’s HERE

The form of poetry depends entirely on the placement of words and punctuation (or lack thereof) knowing how to read a poem is a step away from knowing how to read aloud a poem (to perform the piece). Acknowledgment of these aspects of learning and studying poetry helps the poet grow as a reader and writer. It is the same concept that a musician has to music. Study it, learn it, perform it THEN creating it yourself suddenly becomes an exciting venture.

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My Top Five Favorite Books: Poetry and Fiction

Alina H. Hansen Writer & Poet

These are my top five books that I either (A) think about at least once a day (B) have read multiple times and can’t put down or (B) that I completely love. If I were to put down all the books that can be included within A,B, and C, this would be a huge post! So to keep it short and to the point here are five books that as of right now I feel are indispensable to other writers and lovers of poetry and fiction.

Imaginations by William Carlos Williams

Ulysses by James Joyce

Orlando by Virginia Woolf

The Beat Book: Writings from the Beat Generation Edited by Anne Waldman

The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Poetry Edited by J.D. McClatchy

Firstly, Imaginations is a book with such beautiful language I am left highlighting and underlining almost every part. Williams is one of my favorite poets and when I found this book I was elated. Little did I know what I was getting myself into. Now I read and reread certain parts completely obsessed with the structure and imagery that he uses. Love this book.

Ulysses, a book I attempted to read on my own a few years ago but felt overwhelmed and stupid after trying. It was the first book that I ever picked up that made me feel like the content and style was over my head. It wasn’t until I took a Joyce class up at the University of Utah which focused mainly on Ulysses that I was able to understand this bible of language and style. Given the right tools and information required this book exploded before my eyes as one of the greatest novels ever written. I return periodically to reread certain parts of Ulysses whenever I feel inspired to write something dangerous.

Orlando,  not the only Woolf book I’ve read but one of my absolute favorites. When I first began reading Orlando I was thinking about the possibility of creating a character that moves beyond sexuality and gender. Although it is not exactly about this Orlando was close to it and inspirational to read. I fell back into reading  Woolf harder than ever after that and got lost in her work for the next few months.

The Beat Book: Writings from the Beat Generation , this book has the background information and key works by some of the most influential Beat Poets (of course, Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac). I usually jump around from chapter to chapter and research more on the Poets that speak to me. Which is difficult because I’ve already ended up researching about half the poets in the book and I’m not done. This is a perfect resource for learning about the Beat Poets and their work.

The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Poetry, contains selections from some of my favorite poets including Adrienne Rich, Elizabeth Bishop, Theodore Roethke, Frank O’ Hara, Galway Kinnell and Gary Snyder just to name a few. I have loved this book for a couple years now and always pick it up when I want to return to my favorites.

I hope this short list helps someone out there that needs more inspiration!

Thank you for reading and taking time out of your day to visit. I hope you return in the future!

Thank you!

-Alina