hey,

i'm in between semesters at school right now and, with nothing better to do, have taken a revived interest in poetry. when i was younger, i was a big fan of a lot of the older stuff (chaucer, shakespeare, dickinson, baudelaire, eliot, etc.) but lost pretty much all interest after high school. having regained that interest, i'm wondering what's exciting in poetry today. there's so much out there, and hopefully your suggestions will help me sift through less crap than i'd have to otherwise.

some newer stuff i've liked so far:
charles bernstein
bob hicok
billy collins (hit/miss, but mostly hit for me)
hal sirowitz (makes me laugh)
donald hall
anne sexton (i know, not contemporary, but still kind of modern)

some modern stuff that doesn't seem to be my thing:
sharon olds
ferlinghetti
pablo neruda (but i'm willing to give him another chance considering what i've heard)

any suggestions would be immensely appreciated.

(and feel free to throw in some french surrealist stuff too if you think any of it's good, heh)

thanks in advance.

paging BER to thread!



i love david berman's poetry (singer/songwriter behind silver jews). check out "actual air".


will have to check the shelves & return today when i have more time.




edit: long as you're kinda opening up to 20th/21st century poets in general, from your list, you should definitely check out henri michaux! like right now!

I'm a huge fan of Christian Wiman. His first two books, "The Long Home" and "Hard Night" are incredible.

With Neruda, be sure to get a decent translation of his poetry. It's extremely important and vital to the full enjoyment of his poems. I unfortunately don't have my copy of his collected works with me in California, so I can't tell you which one I recommend.

EDIT: I think that I own this book.

I like some of the 20th century Russian poets, particularly Marina Tsvetaeva. Once again, a good translation is essential.

God, do I wish that I had my books here! There are probably something like ten poets that I'm forgetting...

Which Ferlinghetti did you read? Some of his more well-known poems aren't really my cup of tea but overall he's one of my favourite poets of all time.

Do you at all like Robert Lowell?

Jorge Luis Borges
Charles Simic
Octavio Paz
James Tate

Anne Sexton
ai

technicallous wrote:some modern stuff that doesn't seem to be my thing:

pablo neruda (but i'm willing to give him another chance considering what i've heard)

If you haven't read The Elemental Odes, I'd give them a shot. Also, if you're reading any other translator besides Margaret Sayers Peden, I'd stop. She's the better of the translators, in my opinion.

You could also learn Spanish. The reason I set out to learn Spanish was to read Pablo Neruda. Seriously.

Bukowski, especially "Love Is A Dog From Hell", avoid the post 75 poetry, it's lacking that hunger.

Give Neruda another shot, "The Sea and the Bells" is good, but check out "Still, another Day" and "Odes to Ordinary Things"

I've really enjoyed August Kleinzahler as of late. Particularly the collection "Red Sauce, Whiskey, and Snow". Kind of "Working Class Romantic" poetry, it moves me. Having his poem "Land's End" read at my wedding.

Elizabeth Bishop and Wallace Stevens are my two most favorite of 20th century poets. That's not contemporary, but neither is half the stuff you guys are talking about.

Current, contemporary, kick ass, poet: Major Jackson. He's got some smaller chapbooks that you can get for a low price and high enjoyment.

technicallous wrote:any suggestions would be immensely appreciated.

http://www.electrical.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=4830&start=100

Make sure you scroll all the way down--Flaneur has lots of suggestions, too.

technicallous wrote:(and feel free to throw in some french surrealist stuff too if you think any of it's good, heh)

There's an anthology from the 80's called Another Republic, published by Ecco and edited by Charles Simic and Mark Strand. It is an excellent introduction to French, Eastern European, and South American poetry. I don't know if it's still in print, and a student walked off with my copy, but it's a really good anthology--nicely done and not too comprehensive, so it's actually enjoyable to read.

Mandroid2.0 wrote:Do you at all like Robert Lowell?

No.

Mandroid2.0 wrote:I'm a huge fan of Christian Wiman. His first two books, "The Long Home" and "Hard Night" are incredible.

I've never heard of this person; I'll check him or her out.

I'll second James Tate, he's the best.

Stephen Dobyns is good also.