I’ve decided to finally get into poetry this year and have tried a few authors and collections, but most didn’t work for me. I tend to prefer classic pieces rather than modern ones, with themes that range from sexuality, social and economical conditions from nature descriptions (preferably a bit gloomy).
I disliked Dickinson’s writing style and didn’t like Bright Dead Things by Ada Limons, I mildly enjoyed some of Eliot’s, Yeats’ and Rimbaud’s poems while I really liked Rilke’s. Extra points go to poetry set or written during the beginning of the twentieth century.
by lady_stardust2028
4 Comments
Try Walt Whitman or Dylan Thomas, free verse might be a good way for you to get into poetry. Also, Pablo Neruda.
Curious what you’d make of Hopkins. He roughly fits the bracket re: older (tho a bit older, mid to late 1800s) but for my money his stuff reads almost like it’s still grammatically & sonically cutting edge even by today’s standards. Check out [Carrion Comfort](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44392/carrion-comfort). Idk you might also check out Mallarme, Apollinaire, Randal Jerrel. My usual go to is hyper contemporary but I’m guessing that won’t be your vibe. But I’ll also put in a plug for James Tate, Louise Glück & Tomas Transtromer. But you might also like Cody-Rose Clevidence. Their stuff is super weird & experimental & “noisy” but in a nature-way. But more like primordial ooze meets the ghost in the machine rather than traditionally pastoralist imagery. But I do wonder if it might scratch that gloomy itch you want in yr nature writing.
Alive in the memory of stars by Ifeanyi Ogbo
Pablo Neruda, Wallace Stevens, Rumi, Dylan Thomas are all fantastic. They all have the maturity that we associate with classic poetry, but with a deep sense of beauty and freedom of form.
If you can find her works anywhere, I’d also recommend giving Ioanna Tsatsou a try