Edward HirschHow to Read a Poem: And Fall in Love with Poetry

If one were to judge solely by the mundane title, one might expect this to be a different book—i.e. more along the lines of “Poetry for Dummies.” That’s not what Hirsch is offering with his book. There’s plenty of opportunity to learn to differentiate pentameter from tetrameter or a lyric from an epic poem, but the book isn’t arranged according to such fundamentals. It might even take one a few pages (or chapters) to realize there is an organizing structure. But you’ll get there because of the author’s contagious passion for poetry and his presentation, and an analysis, of many beautiful poems by masters such as Keats, Yeats, Whitman, Dickinson, Frost, Neruda, and many others--more ancient or modern and equally or less well known. In the end, you’ll think of poetry in a new light.The book is arranged into 12 chapters, each of which looks at poetry from a different dimension. Chapter 1 considers the poem in two ways. First, it emphasizes the importance of the reader, i.e. the poem is presented as an interaction rather than an act of transmission. Second, the author considers how various poets have defined poetry, and what we can learn from said definitions—besides that poetry is defiant in the face of definition. (Like a wet bar of soap, the tighter one tries to grasp it, the less one succeeds.) Chapter 2 continues to investigate the nature of a poem using the framework of the word’s etymology, coming from the ancient Greek word meaning “to make”--thus the chapter title: “A Made Thing.”Chapter three delves into the making of connections (or lack thereof) as a theme in poetry. As with most of the book’s chapters, it’s built around a small number of poems that elucidate the author’s point. In this case, poems by Keats, James Wright, and Baudelaire are used to describe cases in which a human connection is sought, in which it momentarily exists, and in which it is shunned. As is true of other chapters, this doesn’t mean that these three poems are all that are mentioned. It’s just that they are given in-depth analysis, while other poems and fragments are referenced to help illustrate points.Chapter four is entitled “Three Initiations” and it introduces three types of poetry through quintessential examples. The three types of poems are: 1.) poetry of trance; 2.) poetry of praise; and 3.) poetry of grief. The latter two may be more easily grasped than the first, which are poems that convey an altered state of consciousness.Chapter five examines the subject of authenticity and vividness in poetry and how poets convey such genuineness—even by way of surrealism. The classic example is Shakespeare’s sonnets that mock Petrarchan sonnets in suggesting a less hyperbolic form of love letter (i.e. Sonnet 130, “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun”)Chapter six is entitled, “5 Acts,” and, as such, it covers five different subjects through the motif of a play. This first act is about opening poems or introductory soliloquys. The second act is about drama and its role in verse, and is heavily influence by a quote from Robert Frost (i.e. “Everything written is as good as it is dramatic.”) Act three is about what might be called “character” in the scheme of a play, but is really about the personhood of a poem. Act four delves into the topic of dialogue as a poetic tool. The last act is about concluding poems / death poems—as exemplified by Bashō’s deathbed poem and the postcard poems written by Miklós Radnóti on a Holocaust death march.Chapter seven considers desolation as a theme in poetry. The next chapter places poetry in the context of history, using Polish poetry of war and Holocaust to convey the emotion and numbness of tragic events. Chapter nine proposes a nexus between art and justice, and looks at how this is displayed through jeremiads and political poems. The two core examples of this chapter are a work song by Sterling Brown and an ode by Pablo Neruda.Along with chapter four’s “poetry of trance,” I found chapter ten’s discussion of poems that transport the reader to a moment of epiphany--or ecstatic / transcendental experience--to be particularly fascinating. There are a couple modern pieces that Hirsch presents herein, but some work by Dickinson introduces the topic and truly shows how it’s done. Chapter eleven presents the soul as a poetic theme. The poem gives substance to that which is inherently insubstantial, but which is somehow essential and beyond refute. Walt Whitman’s references to the soul offer particularly vivid insight on this question.The last chapter is a brief echo of the first, reiterating the role of the reader and the need for poetic definitions for poetry because any definition that tries to capture the medium in precise prose loses it as it’s reinvented countless times over. If one prefers a simple and direct definition of poetry—e.g. writing that displays meter and rhyme--this is may not be your go-to book. (You might prefer a book such as Fry’s “The Ode Less Traveled” that is more dogmatic about prosody as the sine qua non of poetry.)As for ancillary material, there is a huge glossary. It’s huge not by virtue of containing a vast number of words, but rather because it goes into considerable detail on most of the entries. There is also an extensive and thoroughly organized “recommended reading” section. The book also offers discussion questions for those who want to review or used the book for a book club or whatnot. There’s not much by way of graphics, except for one or two displays of visually-oriented forms of poetry, but there’s no need of more than that.I found this book to be insightful and I welcomed the unique way in which the author divvied up and evaluated the topic of poetry. If you enjoy poetry, or if you write it, there is much to be garnered from reading this book.

This offering from Edward Hirsch may have trouble finding its audience. The title seems to address those who have discovered an interest in poetry. However, after about the first third of the book, the prose becomes increasingly academic and dependent on outside reading. The first third of the book was quite lovely. Edward Hirsch is obviously a knowledgeable poet who is capable of providing insight on a wide variety of poems. It was a delight to read some poets that were neglected in high school and introductory college courses with such a didactic, passionate guide. Moreover, it was a joy using my new kindle to highlight passages here and there.As the book proceeded, some of the descriptions become a bit tedious and repetitive (this is incantatory, that is incantatory) and I started to notice a bit of a pattern of soft analysis coupled with flowery praise for each poem. When it came to the chapter on dramatic poetry I started flipping through pages due to the absence of the poems referenced in the text. I considered seeking out some of the titles, but then it began to feel like work. As I continued through the text it seemed less like a friendly introduction to new fans and more of a scholarly work aiming to weave a diverse field of poets together through common themes. Hirsch's velocity of references and names increases dramatically during the course of the book and I found myself getting lost.This is not a book about the the basics, the how, or the why of poetry. This is closer to a series of reviews of great poetry that is meant to spark interest in the reader to the art form.

A mentor of mine always used to say "There are two kinds of people in this world!" and he would then expand on whatever dichotomy was on his mind at the moment. He might well have said that there are those who "get" poetry, and those who don't. I have always been firmly in the latter camp, but perhaps am more recently moving toward the former. Though I still have quite a ways to go, this book really helped move me along. This is a very well-written introduction to the joys of reading poetry. Besides presenting the reader with examples of many different types and styles of poetry it's just very enjoyable to read this author's writing.While my reaction to the poems in the book is not even on the same scale as the author's very visceral, emotional responses, I feel like I nevertheless grasped enough of his reaction to know what he was feeling, and what he was getting at in his description. But I'll admit that some of the poems I read over and over again trying to detect some of *his* response in *me*, and I rarely did. I think this has more to do with my naivete, and I sort of envied the author's obvious depth of feeling in response to these poems.Anyway - it's a great read and if you're a lover of poetry or even just curious about it, I recommend this book highly.

I read the first chapter and then threw the book in the bin rather than it take up space on my book shelf.I really tried to like this book but it is simply lots of beautiful words strung together saying nothing. It feels as if it's trying to get to a point, but no matter how much you read it never actually gets there.For example, here are a few paragraphs from the first chapter, 'Message in a bottle'From as early as page 5 we have this:'Many poets have embraced the New Testament idea that "In the beginning was the Word", but I prefer Martin Buber's notion in I and Thou that "In the beginning is the relation." The relation precedes the word because it is authored by the human. The lyric poem may seek the divine but it does so through the medium of a certain kind of human interaction. The secular can be made sacred through the body of the poem. I understand the relationship between the poet, the poem, and the reader not as a static entity but as a dynamic unfolding. An emerging sacramental event. A relation between an I and a You. A relation process.'Or another example from page 9:'I remember once walking through the museum in Athens and coming across a tall-stemmed cup from ancient Greece that has Sappho saying, "Mere air, these words, but delicious to hear." The phrase inscribed into a cup, translated onto the museum label, stopped me cold. I paused for a long time to drink in the strange truth that all the sublimity of poetry comes down in the end to mere air and nothing more, to the sound of these words and nothing more, to the sound of these words and no others, which are nonetheless delicious and enchanting to hear. Sappho's (or the lines attributed to her) also have a lapidary quality. The phrase has an elegance suitable for writing, for inscription on a cup or in stone. Writing fixes the evanescence of sound. It holds it against death.'And it goes on like that. And on and on and on. And on.I'm sorry but I can't connect to such painfully pretentious waffle from an author who appears to prefer the sound of his own highly educated inaneness to getting any message across to the reader.

I generally give all poetry five stars so this is exceptional for me. But the range of poets chosen is very limited and very traditional. It's as if Hirsch stopped adding to his shelves some time ago. There are 88 American poets cited, 50 from England and only two from Canada. I am Canadian and there were many poets writing cutting-edge poetry prior to this book's publication (1999): bill bissett, Irving Layton, Gwendoline Brooks, Margaret Atwood...The glossary is especially helpful but is in very small print, not good for my senior eyes.Try Molly Peacock's book on how to read poetry if Hirsch's topic interests you.

This book is a 'must read' for any lover of poetry and anyone who want to understand it better. Remarkably insightful guide. It may change your life! However, you won't get the mechanical analysis of form, metaphor etc., here. Instead Hirsch has a particular idea to propound: that poetry is created in a state of altered consciousness, a kind of ecstatic reverie, though he combines this with incredibly detailed and sensitive understanding and analysis of the poems he concentrates on. And there are also the seeds of his later ideas about 'duende' - that powerful but ineffable sadness and underlying danger that imbues much great work and which later found expression in his book 'The Demon and the Angel'. It is a poetic book about poetry.

I always struggled to understand poetry although I loved reading it this book gives me a new perspective on poetry and I can understand what the poet is expressing.

This is a great book with detailed explanations and the enthusiasm of the author shines through. It is not, however, a light read so don't buy it unless you are truly passionate about poetry.