April IRL Book Club Report: Poetry
Our book group's April task was to read some poetry we recently met to chat.
If you're looking to get more poetry into your life, here are a few quick suggestions:
Subscribe to the podcast, The Slowdown, which delivers a 5 minute poem every weekday, with thoughts from US Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith. It's a wonderful listen each day and a great way to discover new poets.
Subscribe to the newsletter, Pome, which delivers a daily email with a short poem each day. The poems are actually short so nine times out of ten, you can read them in a minute or less while you start the day. Note: Pome seems to be on haitus, but it's still worth getting on the list for in case it comes back. In the meantime, I'd encourage you to check out the poets featured which you can click on on the sign up page.
If you're in the library or a bookstore, walk through the poetry section and just have a look. What's on the endcaps (end of the bookshelves), or featured prominently? Grab something from that section and flip through it, or ask a librarian or bookseller what poets they like. I'm sure that would be a great way to get some good recommendations.
My follow up suggestion to that is that when you find a poem you like, look up the poet! A simple thing to do that can lead to some fun discoveries.
Ok, on to my recommendations, personal favorites, and what we talked about at Book Club:
My go to is Emily Dickensen. Perhaps because I got to visit her house during a study trip in college and loved it, but also because I really enjoy her stuff. It's weird, poignant, and often more moving than I expect it to be. I feel like her poems are some that can be analyzed for meaning, and also equally enjoyed as little word clusters that sound fun. Also, I have a collection of her poems, so it's really easy to pull off the shelf and just read whatever I find.
This lovely poem, The Lanyard, by Billy Collins, was read and it had us all remembering our own mothers and lanyards we've made. What a beautiful poem! I'm adding Collins to my list of poets to read more from.
We looked up a couple from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, including this one, and this one.
On the lighter side, one person brought a book of poems by Jack Prelutsky, who's cleverness and word play reminds me of The Phantom Tollbooth. Among others, we enjoyed this one. My kids would love his style and humor, so he's on my list for the library.
It was wonderful to have a dedicated time to explore some poetry with friends. We reminisced about poems we remembered from different parts of our lives, and the parts of our lives that poems reminded us of. It was a really nice time.
I love the no pressure atmosphere of this book group. Sometimes I'm in the mood for a more academic and intense discussion, but it is so refreshing to be able to show up with no expectations or homework to have accomplished ready to present and defend. To bring what we've been enjoying, what we thought, and know that's enough and will be received by friends, and food, for a few hours each month, is exactly what fills me up at this moment in time.
I'm thinking of making a little guide for anyone who's interested in some tips for starting their own book club. What would you like included in that? Any questions you've ever wondered about book clubs or how to make them work for you? I'd love to hear from you.