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asdfgeoff's review against another edition
2.0
I was expecting a selection of poems and commentary/analysis on them, organized in a structure which improves the reader's ability to comprehend more nuanced poetry. Instead, I found this book contained mostly gushing descriptions of how great poetry is, without any real tangible wisdom for improving one's ability to appreciate it.
e.g. “Lyric poetry is one of the soul's natural habitats. The poem of high spiritual attainment has the power, the almost magical potential, to re-lease something that dwells deep within us.”
e.g. “Lyric poetry is one of the soul's natural habitats. The poem of high spiritual attainment has the power, the almost magical potential, to re-lease something that dwells deep within us.”
andrejt's review against another edition
4.0
Each chapter is devoted to a different theme that appears often in lyric poetry: death, bliss, epiphany... Hirsch then takes several very different poems related to that theme and analyzes them. The focus is on enjoyment of reading poetry, not on the technique (despite including a long glossary at the end of the book). If you're looking for an introductory textbook on poetry, look elsewhere. I liked the diversity of authors and eras, though the choice is heavily biased towards American poetry from the 19th and 20th centuries. I also liked the author's beautiful and concise sentences, with a rich and precise vocabulary. This book took me some time to finish because it required a lot of contemplation. Some chapters (essays?) are less interesting than others, but that probably depends on the reader's personal preference.
nataliealane's review against another edition
3.0
3/5 stars
I feel like this title is a bit misleading. Rather than bring a guide to reading an experiencing poetry, it’s more of a love letter to an an analysis of poems. I still liked a lot of it. However, the chapters are very dense, making it hard to read. It took me months to read this book because I kept having to put it down for a break. There’s some good information, but it’s bogged down by overly purple prose, and it is unnecessarily verbose. I get wanting to write poetically for a book on poetry, but it was too much. ome of the chapters were on topics that didn’t interest me, and the writing made it harder for me to focus on them and get through those parts. There were also a lot of references to poets and poems that went over my head because I wasn’t familiar with them. While it renewed my interest in poetry and I discovered new poets I like, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend How to Read a Poem to people who are new to poetry. However, I am glad to say I found some modern poetry that I might actually like? The chapter on Post-War Polish Poetry And just the whole Discourse on poetry as a form of social justice was fascinating to me.
I feel like this title is a bit misleading. Rather than bring a guide to reading an experiencing poetry, it’s more of a love letter to an an analysis of poems. I still liked a lot of it. However, the chapters are very dense, making it hard to read. It took me months to read this book because I kept having to put it down for a break. There’s some good information, but it’s bogged down by overly purple prose, and it is unnecessarily verbose. I get wanting to write poetically for a book on poetry, but it was too much. ome of the chapters were on topics that didn’t interest me, and the writing made it harder for me to focus on them and get through those parts. There were also a lot of references to poets and poems that went over my head because I wasn’t familiar with them. While it renewed my interest in poetry and I discovered new poets I like, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend How to Read a Poem to people who are new to poetry. However, I am glad to say I found some modern poetry that I might actually like? The chapter on Post-War Polish Poetry And just the whole Discourse on poetry as a form of social justice was fascinating to me.
linzer712's review against another edition
3.0
At times too long winded and wordy for its own good, this not-really-a-"how to book"-at-all is an interesting mixture of analysis and meditation on the power and complexities of poetry as a whole and especially the individual poems that Hirsch pulls apart on many levels. The poems he selected are not commonly anthologized and few are contemporary. They range from ancient Greece to Eastern European to South American with touches of Auden and a bit of Dickinson, Whitman, and Stevens added at the end. This book is not so much for the beginner but better for those who already have an appreciation for poetry and the patience to travel along with Hirsch's thoughtful and passionate readings.
rclyburn's review against another edition
I imagined a series of definitions of poem types. But this was so much more poetic. The author eagerly shared his favourite poems and poets, along with personal memories and the historical background of the poems.
saturday_reads's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
4.0
gvenezia's review against another edition
5.0
How a Poet Reads a Poem
Despite a masterful collection of poetry interpretations, this book actually fails to achieve its titular goal: one who does not know how to read a poem or is not a fan would not find an easy transition into the world of poetry. The book’s most respondent audience will be those who—like myself—already know how to read poetry and get something out of it, but want to repeat the experience of reading poetry in upper-level English classes where a knowledgeable and passionate teacher is prepared to lead students through the major stylistic, formal, cultural, and authorial elements of the poem.
Granted, Hirsch does use the first chapter to lay some “necessary groundwork and distinguish some key terms, key features, of lyric poetry” (xii). But he soon after acknowledges that he will rely heavily on the act of poetry interpretation as his method of teaching: “I tend always to focus on unpacking individual poems, letting the issues of poetry emerge in the process” (xii-xiii).
Now, I do think this kind of experiential learning can be effective and engaging. However, Hirsch’s language, too, is less pedagogical and more poetic; Hirsch himself is a poet—which comes as no surprise given his evocative, florid, rich descriptions. For the uninitiated, this high-brow, complex language may simply be another barrier to entry.
Moreover, there’s no linear pedagogical progression in difficulty or techniques for reading. Rather, Hirsch uses each chapter to examine a major element of poetry, like its early roots in dance and lyricism, its religious function, its ability to confront the most traumatic experiences, or its various rhythmic forms.
Fortunately I've had some good poetry teachers and have discovered some favorite poets on my own over the years. So I was very much taken with Hirsch's style and readings. Through his eyes, I got a sense of the great variety of poetry out there, got revelatory insight into minor features of poems I’ve read before, and fell in love with several new poets via Hirsch’s exultant criticism and praise. I will be returning often to the many highlighted sections and intricate readings for inspiration and comfort.
———
Favorite Quotes
I've omitted quote marks except where Hirsch is quoting someone else
Poetry is a form of necessary speech (xii)
“a book is a cubic piece of burning, smoking conscience—and nothing else” —Boris Pasternak (14)
“Like all well-conceived classifications this one is useful and clear; like all classifications, it is false” —Fernando Pessoa (16)
poetry is "a dream dreamed in the presence of reason” —Tommaso Ceva (27)
“We make out of the quarrel with others, rhetoric, but of the quarrel with ourselves, poetry” —W. B. Yeats (42)
Praise lays claim to as much of the extant world as possible by uttering the names of things. . . It would awaken matter and show us the true face of awe. It would transcend history and rename the world. (79)
Poetry is a stubborn art. The poet is one who will not be reconciled, who is determined to leave a race in words, to transform oceanic depths of feeling into the faithful nuances of art. (81)
“In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts, they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty” —Emerson (84)
“For every seeing soul, there are two absorbing facts,” Emerson claims, “I and the Abyss.” The experience of looking over the edge of that abyss can be dizzying, especially when one locates the abyss as something that exists inside us. Poetry is the literature of dizzying heights and lowly depths, of inwardness plunged and brought back to earth. (86)
“The poem is the realized love of desire still desiring” —René Char (98)
“Tell all the Truth but tell it slant” —Emily Dickinson (127)
America began as a utopian idea. It represented a new world. Paz calls it “a victory for nominalism: the name engendered the reality” (224)
“Life is a spell so exquisite that everything conspires to break it,” Emily Dickinson said. One reason I like staying up to read long after everyone else has gone to sleep is that in the middle of the night not much conspires to break that spell. I like the dark hour when the secular world recedes and consciousness is loosened for poetic reverie. (250)
Despite a masterful collection of poetry interpretations, this book actually fails to achieve its titular goal: one who does not know how to read a poem or is not a fan would not find an easy transition into the world of poetry. The book’s most respondent audience will be those who—like myself—already know how to read poetry and get something out of it, but want to repeat the experience of reading poetry in upper-level English classes where a knowledgeable and passionate teacher is prepared to lead students through the major stylistic, formal, cultural, and authorial elements of the poem.
Granted, Hirsch does use the first chapter to lay some “necessary groundwork and distinguish some key terms, key features, of lyric poetry” (xii). But he soon after acknowledges that he will rely heavily on the act of poetry interpretation as his method of teaching: “I tend always to focus on unpacking individual poems, letting the issues of poetry emerge in the process” (xii-xiii).
Now, I do think this kind of experiential learning can be effective and engaging. However, Hirsch’s language, too, is less pedagogical and more poetic; Hirsch himself is a poet—which comes as no surprise given his evocative, florid, rich descriptions. For the uninitiated, this high-brow, complex language may simply be another barrier to entry.
Moreover, there’s no linear pedagogical progression in difficulty or techniques for reading. Rather, Hirsch uses each chapter to examine a major element of poetry, like its early roots in dance and lyricism, its religious function, its ability to confront the most traumatic experiences, or its various rhythmic forms.
Fortunately I've had some good poetry teachers and have discovered some favorite poets on my own over the years. So I was very much taken with Hirsch's style and readings. Through his eyes, I got a sense of the great variety of poetry out there, got revelatory insight into minor features of poems I’ve read before, and fell in love with several new poets via Hirsch’s exultant criticism and praise. I will be returning often to the many highlighted sections and intricate readings for inspiration and comfort.
———
Favorite Quotes
I've omitted quote marks except where Hirsch is quoting someone else
Poetry is a form of necessary speech (xii)
“a book is a cubic piece of burning, smoking conscience—and nothing else” —Boris Pasternak (14)
“Like all well-conceived classifications this one is useful and clear; like all classifications, it is false” —Fernando Pessoa (16)
poetry is "a dream dreamed in the presence of reason” —Tommaso Ceva (27)
“We make out of the quarrel with others, rhetoric, but of the quarrel with ourselves, poetry” —W. B. Yeats (42)
Praise lays claim to as much of the extant world as possible by uttering the names of things. . . It would awaken matter and show us the true face of awe. It would transcend history and rename the world. (79)
Poetry is a stubborn art. The poet is one who will not be reconciled, who is determined to leave a race in words, to transform oceanic depths of feeling into the faithful nuances of art. (81)
“In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts, they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty” —Emerson (84)
“For every seeing soul, there are two absorbing facts,” Emerson claims, “I and the Abyss.” The experience of looking over the edge of that abyss can be dizzying, especially when one locates the abyss as something that exists inside us. Poetry is the literature of dizzying heights and lowly depths, of inwardness plunged and brought back to earth. (86)
“The poem is the realized love of desire still desiring” —René Char (98)
“Tell all the Truth but tell it slant” —Emily Dickinson (127)
America began as a utopian idea. It represented a new world. Paz calls it “a victory for nominalism: the name engendered the reality” (224)
“Life is a spell so exquisite that everything conspires to break it,” Emily Dickinson said. One reason I like staying up to read long after everyone else has gone to sleep is that in the middle of the night not much conspires to break that spell. I like the dark hour when the secular world recedes and consciousness is loosened for poetic reverie. (250)
meganpbell's review against another edition
4.0
I love Edward Hirsch, his poems and how he writes about poetry. For some reason, I struggled with this one. I actually would recommend his collection of Washington Post Book World columns, Poet’s Choice, for falling in love with poetry. Still, this is a rich, beautiful journey through poetry.