How to Read a Poem and Fall in Love with Poetry by Edward Hirsch | Poetry Guide for Beginners & Enthusiasts | Perfect for Book Clubs, Classroom Study & Personal Enrichment

A mentor of mine always used to say "There are two kinds of people in this world!" and he would then expand on whatever dichotomy was on his mind at the moment. He might well have said that there are those who "get" poetry, and those who don't. I have always been firmly in the latter camp, but perhaps am more recently moving toward the former. Though I still have quite a ways to go, this book really helped move me along. This is a very well-written introduction to the joys of reading poetry. Besides presenting the reader with examples of many different types and styles of poetry it's just very enjoyable to read this author's writing.While my reaction to the poems in the book is not even on the same scale as the author's very visceral, emotional responses, I feel like I nevertheless grasped enough of his reaction to know what he was feeling, and what he was getting at in his description. But I'll admit that some of the poems I read over and over again trying to detect some of *his* response in *me*, and I rarely did. I think this has more to do with my naivete, and I sort of envied the author's obvious depth of feeling in response to these poems.Anyway - it's a great read and if you're a lover of poetry or even just curious about it, I recommend this book highly.