Friday, February 25, 2011
Poetry 360(5)
After attending my English 291 class today (British Literature) I felt... inadequate. My professor, Dr. Burton, has spent the last year writing a sonnet every single day. Apparently he did it for three years in a row one time. We've been reading 17th century devotional poetry (John Donne, George Herbert, John Milton) and some of the students in the class have attempted the dauntingly restrictive sonnet form. I haven't tried it. I haven't even thought about trying it. I haven't even read very much poetry beyond my modern favorites of Billy Collins, Mary Oliver, and Pablo Neruda. I am an English Major poser, but I'm hoping to change that with this project. It's inspired in part by Dr. Burton and in part by Billy Collin's Poetry 180 project with the Library of Congress (check it out). I'm going to read a poem a day for the next year, starting March 1st. I want to expand my literary and poetic horizons. I want to be well-read. I'm going to talk to some professors, talk to some English majors, and see how many different poets, genres, and time periods I can compile into this project. Feel free to suggest/post your favorite poems!
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Well, my fav poet generally isn't 'real' poetry - Ogden Nash writes kid's poetry. If you want something more serious, I like li-young lee.
ReplyDeleteGood luck on your poetic mission!
I'm just a stalker here, but probably my favorite poem is called "Underwear" by Lawrence Ferlinghetti. But then again I'm a microbiology major, so what do I know.
ReplyDeleteI sent you a fb message! SO EXCITED to read this! You rock!
ReplyDelete"Daffodowndilly" by A A Milne
ReplyDelete"Halfway Down" also by A A Milne
"Ozymandias" by Perxy Shelley ("Look upon my works, ye mighty AND DESPAIR!!!!!!")
"Don't be small, Poet" by Brenda Shuaghnessy
"A Poet's Poem" and "Why is the Color of Snow?" also by Shaughnessy
"Standing Ground" by Wendell Berry (I maybe have a big crush on him)
"Manifesto- The Mad Farmer Liberation Front" and "Stay Home" also by Wendell Berry
There's also an Arabic poet that I want you to read. But I can't remember his name. Or anything he's written. Except we read one of his poems about grass being green or something. I'll look it up in my old textbook and get back to you...