Seven steps to enjoying poetry
1. Read it out loud.
2. Don't be intimidated. As with an abstract painting or an unfamiliar dance form, liking a poem doesn't depend on getting it.
3. Notice what the poem does, not just what it says. Just as painters use physical space to create a mood or to stress a message, so might a poet.
4. Read it a few times without trying to figure out its meaning. Let your mind drift.
5. Read different kinds of poetry.
6. Once you've figured out what you like, read a poet's body of work.
Knowing that Emily Dickinson refers to other poets as "Kinsmen of the Shelf," changes the interpretation of "I cannot live with You -/ It would be Life -/ And Life is over there -/ Behind the Shelf," the first stanza of "I Cannot Live With You." Instead of thinking of a physical shelf, "Shelf" could represent the idea that Dickinson connects better with the books of poetry she keeps for friends than with the outside world.
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7. Don't expect to feel a sense of completion. Instead, expect to be challenged and to have to approach any poem multiple times before understanding starts to set in.
Source:
Charles Alexander
Recommended reading
● Poet Alison Deming suggests taking a look at the following, in addition to masters such as Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman:
● "How to Read a Poem" by Edward Hirsch (Harvest Books, $15)
● Anthologies. Choose one based on a subject you like or just browse. Figure out which poets appeal to you and then buy more of their work.
● Works by contemporary poets Gerald Stern, Brenda Hillman and Robert Hass
● Writings by Simon Ortiz, an American Indian writer from Arizona
Tucson Poetry Festival
● Poets stress the importance of hearing their words aloud. Listen to artists read their poems today through Sunday at the 23rd annual Tucson Poetry Festival, which this year explores the connection between poetry and painting.
Readings, which take place at the YWCA of Tucson, 738 N. Fifth Ave., cost $10 at the door (unless otherwise noted).
Today
● 7 p.m. - ArtsReach and Marlon Evans (free)
Friday
● 8 p.m. - Will Alexander and Heather Nagami
Saturday
● 2 p.m. - Panel discussion with poets and painters (free)
● 8 p.m. - Kathleen Fraser and Patrick Pritchett
Sunday
● 3 p.m. - Tenney Nathanson and David Shapiro
Small group sessions, which cost $5 each, will take place throughout the weekend. Go online to www.tucsonpoetryfestival.org for details.
