Were you forced to study poetry at school? Do you find poetry reviews just provide further mystification? Or do you feel as if it’s all too difficult to be worth the effort? It’s easy to be put off reading modern poets by bad experiences in the past, but you’re really missing out on some fantastic poetry if you don’t give it a try.
Ranging all the way from the totally accessible to the immensely complicated, modern poetry has something to offer everyone and there’s a rich variety of work to explore and enjoy.
If you read the poetry classics or if you like fiction, contemporary art, cinema or music, we believe you'll also enjoy the pleasures, the richness and the sheer dynamism that contemporary poetry has to offer. The PBS can help get you started.
Simon Armitage has been described as 'the first poet of serious artistic intent since Philip Larkin to have achieved popularity'. To help you get started, here is his irreverent guide for new poetry readers:
The
PBS' Top Tips for Poetry Readers by
Simon Armitage Here's
a Poetry Testing Kit. It can't produce a precise result in terms of a poem being
good or bad - it's more of a finger-in-the-wind, rule-of-thumb job, that might
tell you why you like a poem (or why you don't). Remember, the reading
of poetry is not an exact science: it does not require the wearing of protective
glasses and need not be carried out under strict laboratory conditions.
The
Eye Test - How does it look on the page?
Has some thought gone into its shape? Does the form bear some resemblance to the
content?
The Magic Eye Test
- If you look for long enough into the poem, will it reveal another meaning or
picture hidden within it? Will further readings uncover further meanings and new
rewards, and so on?
The Hearing
Test - How does it sound? Read it out loud
- does it work on the ear in some way?
The
pH Test - A test for Poetic Handicraft.
Does the poem use recognizable poetic techniques, of which there are hundreds?
Are the techniques subtle, or do they poke out at the edge?
The
IQ Test - Not a test for Intelligence Quotient,
although that might come into it, but a double test for Imaginative Quality and
Inherent Quotability: does the poem have some sort of dream life you can respond
to: does it have lines or phrases that might stick in the memory?
The
Test of Time - Would the poem outlive its
immediate circumstances? This doesn't mean it has to be 'classic' or 'great' or
have some eternal message - it might just be a case of the poem withstanding a
second reading. Remember, good poems can create their own contexts, and have poetic
value way beyond their apparent shelf-life or sell-by date.
The
Test of Nerves - Somebody once said that
a poem shouldn't just tell you not to play with matches, it should burn your fingers.
In other words, does the poem create a sensation, rather than simply an understanding?
The Lie Detector Test
- Poems don't have to tell the truth, but they have to be true to themselves,
even if they're telling a lie. Give the poem a thump - does it ring true?
The
Spelling Test - Does the poem cast a kind
of spell or charm? At the very least does it create a world, even just a small
but distinct world, capable of sustaining human life; a world whose atmosphere
we can breathe and whose landscape we can inhabit for the duration of the poem?
The Acid Test
- This is the final test and the one that really counts. It's like a test for
the mystery ingredient that separates a truly great tomato sauce from its rivals.
It's the X-factor, although it might be to do with the author's experience of
poetry. Is it possible to write a good poem if you've never read one? Somehow
I doubt it.
If
you are new to poetry, and would like some advice about where to start reading,
call us on 020 7833 9247 or email info@poetrybooks.co.uk and we will give you a tailor-made recommendation.
