A few years ago I was thinking of offering to do a poetry reading at Barnes and Noble called "An Hour of Poetry for People Who Are Not Into It." I like poetry, and since I also write a little verse myself now and then, it seems like it would be nice if more people would like poetry. My aim at the B&N event would be to share poems that connect, in the hopes of introducing people to some fun, thought provoking material which they are not familiar with because it is labelled Poetry.Like modern art, a lot of poetry is just gobbledy-gook for many folk who only end up scratching their heads. "Why is this a good poem?" some could ask. "What was that all about?" Like opera, some people hear the word and steer clear.
Anyways, I made a list of selections for that hour of entertainment and placed it in a folder on my desktop. I shared it about four years ago and it seemed worth sharing again. If I had more time I would put the links here, but alas... I am on deadline. (I have to get dressed for work.) Check them out. I'm sure they will reward you.
Billy Collins
(selections from Sailing Alone Around the Room)
Aristotle
Another Reason I Don't Keep a Gun in the House
Some Days
Hilaire Belloc
Matilda Who Told Lies and Was Burned
Rilke
(from The Selected Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke)
The Panther
Autumn Day
Sonnets to Orpheus 1.3 and II. 13
Dorothy Parker
Bric-A-Brac
Robert Browning
How They Brought the Good News from Ghent to Aix
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Blackberries
Robert Frost
Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Eve
Ed Newman
Wisconsin Misty Morning
Bad Break
Hitchhiking Across Antarctica
High Upon the Wire
Cervantes
Poem from Don Quixote
Dale Wasserman
Lyrics of To Dream the Impossible Dream
Bob Dylan
Only a Pawn in Their Game
Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall
It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleedin’)
Enjoy!