Your favourite poet?
 

I've been reading a lot of poetry lately, and I thought some discussion would be interesting. My all time favourite is Robert Frost without a doubt. He conveys such a sense of melancholy beauty in every sentence. Especially "After Apple Picking" and "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening". I once saw a choral version of the latter set to music performed, and it was possibly the most poignant piece of music I've ever heard.

E.E. Cummings

l(a
le
af
fa
ll
s)
one
l
iness

no clue who my favorite would be, but richard siken's crush is a wonderful collection of poetry. i thought maggie nelson's bluets was nice too, as well as brautigan's pill versus the springhill mine disaster.

anis mojgani is usually great, but there's a poem or so of his that i don't dig as much from time to time

Aleister Crowley, very morbid and freaky poetry

Music is poetry. Or I like to think of it as that.

Does posting lyrics count?

I think Keats is a poet who has a consistent hold on my heart.

I def wanna check some Bukowski, I'm always kinda thinking I won't like the Beat types like I think he's associated with but he seems to have a more self-deprecating aura about him

^that and... you know... creepy misogyny.

fvcking what?

I hate this kinda ****. Got something to say? Say it. Eloquence is one thing but absurd rearrangement for the sake of being confusing is just boring

It's a testament to loneliness. The image of a leaf falling speaks for itself in that sense. The use of one, the stand-alone l (which looks like I or 1), iness ("I"-ness) and the shape of the poem too all attributes to that. The grouping of the lettering in pairs conveys a sense of longing to break the loneliness as well, and l(a suggests that there's a barrier between 1 and a(nother). Preciseness is great but I appreciate Cummings a lot more because of how much you can find in it. I don't think that it's strictly to be confusing since it adds so much more to the poem.

WD i never knew that but do not doubt it because it seems that so far every genius i come across pretty much only gets ****tier correlating with how genius they are, except in some rare cases but i think those just might not have been looked into enough.

Frownland that is beautiful, i didn't understand it fully at first, i got the loneliness vibe but that is really cool stuff with the components, thank you

I picked up one book of his poetry and was to grossed and weirded out to finish it and it wasn't even that long... like 60-something pages. His poetry's not so great imo, haven't read anything else by him.

Idk maybe I have the wrong perspective on him, the most familiar I am with him is Barfly which is a movie he kinda wrote about his life that did seem to have a thread of human shitiness to it that I took as being self aware and critical.

Just a side note I did just find out that bukowski refused to let Dennis hopper direct barfly because he thought he was fake af which is whack Dennis hopper was the man, RIP

William Blake

O Rose thou art sick.
The invisible worm,
That flies in the night
In the howling storm:

Has found out thy bed
Of crimson joy:
And his dark secret love
Does thy life destroy.

I'm my favourite poet.
Is that wrong?

I love this poem I remember learning about it and think it was so clever I still do and I love the message behind it

One of my favourite poems:
Fuck you, Bush.
It's time to get out of Iraq, Bush.
What were you even doing there in the first place, Bush?
You didn't even get properly elected, Bush.
Are you happy now, Bush?
Fuck you, Bush.

I like how the last line is the same as the first one.

I've really been digging Franz Wright lately. Does anyone know of any similar poets?

Any recs for 20/21 century poets, who write in a more 'conservative' style? (Rhymes and all that.)
Something deep and beautiful. Not interested in poems about social issues or interpersonal relationships. Poems about nature don't really grab me as well.

Haven't read much Franz Wright, so I can't be sure, but you might like C. K. Williams.

EDIT: Meant for Frownland, but hey, you might like him too, grindy.

I learned about Wright through his poetry prose on Sylvian's "There's a Light That Enters Houses With No Other House In Sight", so recs for stuff that bleeds more into the literary side of things is also welcome.

EDIT: Just read "From My Window" and it was beautiful. I'll definitely look more into his stuff, thanks brother.

Thanks, but it's not for me.
As I said, I'm looking for something way more conservative and classical.
I need rhymes and stuff.

Then C. K. Williams might be just what you're looking for.

EDIT: Once again, meant for Frown.

grindy: Most of the "more conservative" poets I read are older (19th-early 20th centuries), but if you haven't read any Robert Frost, he's worth exploring.

Really wonder whether there are any famous modern poets like that at all.

I haven't really read any english poetry, except for some Shakespeare and a few random poems here and there. Will check out Robert Frost. Thanks!

If you haven't read much, might I suggest Keats? He seems like such a poetic icon that he hardly needs mentioning, but on the off chance that you've never read him I highly recommend it.

My pleasure.

You're (hopfully) in for a treat then. "After Apple Picking" is my favourite, but it's probably not as traditional as you're looking for. "The Road Not Taken" is his most famous; I'd start there.

Thanks guys! Will report back.
Don't think I ever consciously read Keats. I somewhat love poetry and write some myself, but it very rarely really resonates with me, since I'm extremely picky and conservative and actually seldom in the mood for it. Therefore the staggering ignorance.

You should post some of yours for us!

It's in German, so I doubt anyone could enjoy it. :laughing:
Otherwise I'd have spammed the forum full of it.

I can probably speak enough German to get the gist of what you're saying. Can't really read or write much though. :laughing:

Gist? That's not enough! My masterpieces must be appreciated in full!

Nah. :laughing:

Here's one.

Auf einer leeren Erde werden Lieder klingen
Und Farben werden blühen in der Nacht.
Und leise, herrenlose Schwingen
Befördern weiter sorgsam ihre Fracht.

Die seltene Absentia der Bitte
Lebt in des Äthers Klagen fort,
Verweste Bretter spüren noch die Schritte,
Zertrennte Saiten flüstern den Akkord.

There is only one language and that is English. Google translate to the rescue.

On an empty earth songs will sound
And colors will bloom at night.
And quietly, ownerless Swing
Transporting more carefully their cargo.

The rare Absentia asking
Lives in the ether continue lawsuits,
Decayed boards feel even the steps,
Severed strings whisper the chord.

That's the first thing I tried before posting it, since I knew you guys would.
Pretty accurate at times, at others hilarious.

I especially love this one: Lives in the ether continue lawsuits.

"Lives in ether continue lawsuits" is probably one of the more accurate ones.

Of course it is. I'm jewish after all.

Read some Frost, but his style and themes did nothing for me. Although I did partly like "After Apple Picking".
Keats is a magnificent wordsmith, but he's too old timey and again, the themes don't interest me much.
I feel like an ignorant dick saying stuff like that about two great poets. Maybe I'm just a stupid peasant when it comes to English poetry. I'm also sure that I don't 'feel' English well enough to appreciate poetry in full.

T.S Eliot doesn't really rhyme, but definitely read Lovesong of J Alfred Prufrock. I feel pretty much the same about Keats, fwiw. His poems grow on me after thinking for a while but the best poetry for me hits me in the short and long run.

I've enjoyed some of Waste Land, just bits and pieces here and there, couldn't make it all the way through. He's pretty amazing. Will do.

That's a fun one

My favorite poet is Sylvia Plath by far. Lady Lazarus is the #1 poem to check out if you're interested in giving her a shot