Poetry Thursday

Poetry Thursday proposed answering this meme:

1. The first poem I remember reading/hearing/reacting to was …
Besides When We Were Very Young by A. A. Milne, I was read to out of a little book called Silver Pennies, which had lots of great little poems for little chiledren. And the Golden Treasury of Poetry!

2. I was forced to memorize (name of poem) in school and …
You know, I don't remember being made to memorize any poems, but my daughter has had to memorize several. She has gotten quite a bit from the experience of being made to memorize; she can think about the meaning of the poem because now it is part of her. I wish I had been required to memorize some.

3. I read/don’t read poetry because …
I read poetry because sometimes I like the flow of the words; sometimes I like the puzzle of figuring what the poet is actually talking about. I find reading poetry to be a very active kind of reading. Even funny ones have deeper meanings (Wendy Cope).

4. A poem I’m likely to think about when asked about a favorite poem is …
Most poems by Mary Oliver; I've kept a book by Carolyn Forche, Gathering the Tribes, close by for years. I like Phyllis McGinley, who wrote so many good poems about ordinary family life. Hmm . . . I don't see any men in here.

5. I write/don’t write poetry, but …
I don't write poetry. I think I'm afraid to explore things in that depth and to use figurative language effectively.

6. My experience with reading poetry differs from my experience with reading other types of literature …
Because I read and reread a poem over and over again; every single word is there for a reason, and understanding the ryhthm and flow and meaning takes time.

7. I find poetry …
to be something I turn to when I can devote myself to reading or hearing it with attention.

8. The last time I heard poetry …
Garrison Keillor was reading it through my computer on an NPR station via iTunes.

9. I think poetry is like …
a stone being tossed into a pool; the words reverberate out. And the effect they have on the reader/listener can often be surprising.