Happy National Poetry Month!... Who Are Your Favorite Poets or Poems?

Happy National Poetry Month!

April is National Poetry Month! And I've been so busy, I haven't even talked about it yet! Here is a photo of some of my favorite poetry books too. I have them lying around the house to be picked up and enjoyed whenever the mood strikes. 

In general, I think people have a love/hate relationship with poetry. Either you enjoy it or you can't be bothered. There are all kinds of poetry, from Shakespeare's sonnets to more contemporary written poems, such as by poet Billy Collins... there are free verse, Rhymed, Epics, Lyrical, Haiku, Blank verse...

Though I do enjoy reading the Romantics of the late 18th and early 19th century, my favorite poets are from the 20th and 21st century. Let me share some of my favorite poets today...

Billy Collins, Mary Oliver, Donald Hall, Jo Harjo, Nikki Giovanni, Seamus Heaney, Wistawa Szymborska, Marge Piercy, Tracy K. Smith, Julia Hartwig, Jane Kenyon, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost,  Federico García Lorca, and Donna Marie Merritt. (Donna is a CT poet who was gracious enough to come to my book club for a night of poetry and her poetry is wonderful!)

This week while looking at new book releases I came upon a newly released book of poetry called Size of Your Joy: Poems by Elise Powers. I found her website, sampled some of her poetry( you should too!) and really liked it… and ordered her new poetry book to add to my growing collection. (Look for a review of her book too!).

Some poetry collections that I like... Good Poems by Garrison Keillor, She Walks in Beauty: A Woman's Journey through Poems by Caroline Kennedy, and Poems to Learn by Heart by Caroline Kennedy.

But, how do you pick out a book of poetry? You open up one and read a poem or two.. maybe more. To get a feel for the poem and the poet... Does it speak to you? Can you relate to its' subject matter? Do you just like it? 

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE POETRY BOOKS? 

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE POEMS?