Intro to poetry?

[Anonymous No.13995655]

What's a good starting point for a smooth brain like me to begin reading poetry. I picked up a copy of four quartets, and while I appreciate its language, I feel like I am missing out on something. It's going way over my head. Should I have a better foundation in more classical literature to fully appreciate poetry?

[Anonymous No.13995711]

I am also interested in this. Have a short poem of mine while we wait...

A calloused earth, dressed in dust, splits and sways beneath red dust.
It pulls me in with taunts and maze that my heart will surely lust.
And in black depths, saith as it lurks, I am not one to trust.

[Anonymous No.13995754]

In the same boat as OP

Never really "got" poetry. Maybe it's just some inherent personal inclination toward prose but reading poems is like grasping smoke.

I will say the movie "Howl" got me as close to understanding what it's supposed to be as anything. Would highly recommend.

[Anonymous No.13995760]

>>13995655
Try “Prufrock”. It’s a better entry to Eliot.

Browning’s “My Last Duchess” is good, too.

If typographical weirdness doesn’t bug you, E.E. Cummings might work for you.

If you want something a bit more narrative and weirdly cool, dig up a copy of THE CHANGING LIGHT AT SANDOVER. You can almost read it like a novel. Research it a bit online.

Albert Goldbarth is also fun, but his poetry is so loose some critics have a problem calling his stuff poetry. Lots of meditations on technology, language, archeology, and typos found in sci-fi novels.

[Anonymous No.13995792]

A.E. Housman

[Anonymous No.13996311]

Found this on the mega with all the charts. The more knowledgeable /lit/izens can verify if its worth a damn.