How To Get Into Poetry

For the longest time, I thought poetry wasn’t for me. Well, turns out I was wrong. I bloody love the stuff nowadays. But in order to get to this point, I had to unlearn a bunch of ideas I had learned in school and a lot of notions about the genre and its readers society had pressed upon me. If you’d like to start reading poetry, but aren’t quite sure where and how to start, then fear not. I’ve got you covered!

Let go of restricting ideas about poetry!

Shakespeare’s Sonnets are actually quite fun and touching, at times!

Poetry is for smart people, for people who like words, who have studied English at university, who are from a wealthy background, who can recite entire passages of Leaves of Grass by heart. Those are just some of the things I used to believe about poetry. And I still think it can be a very unaccessible genre, particularly for those of us who maybe didn’t grow up reading lots of books or weren’t encouraged to sit with what they were reading and think about it. And even if you’ve always enjoyed reading, perhaps poetry as a possible genre never even crossed your mind. It differs so much from reading novels, but I do think that is part of its appeal. But in order to get into it, you need to let go of these ideas that poetry is only for certain people, or that you are not smart enough for it, or that it is boring. I promise you, a good poem can be just as entertaining as an adventure novel. But it is also good to keep in mind that poems aren’t meant to fulfil the same purpose as a novel, or work in the same way (except of course to bring you joy, that’s something both should do). If you are capable of going into the genre without lots of preconceived notions, you are open for surprises and new realisations. That isn’t to say you’ll love it immediately. But you will have made a start.

Be patient!

Some of my favourite poetry collections ❤

Although its readership tends to be quite small, there’s lots of poetry out there. As I only started properly reading poetry a couple of years ago, I’m no expert on it by any means of the imagination. But I have found the kinds of poetry I enjoy, and have learned to be patient when it comes to finding new poets. Poetry is so unique and different that you will very likely not enjoy all of it, or maybe even most of it. But in reading poetry you don’t love, you will come closer to finding out what you’re looking for. It’s not much different from reading novels, in that way. You might read a Western, only to find out you don’t enjoy it at all because of all the cowboys. Cool, now you know. In the same vein, you might read poetry by one of the Romantic poets, only to find that all the descriptions of nature drive you mad and you’re after something more modern. Now go and look for that! A great help in finding what you’re after are librarians and booksellers! So perhaps, on a rainy Saturday afternoon, take a little stroll to your local library or book shop and ask for a few poetry recommendations based on your preferences or their favourite collections. At the start, maybe make use of the library first, so as to avoid buying poetry collections you might not enjoy.

Realise you’re not in school anymore

Reading poetry in Scots was equal parts fascinating and awe-inspring to me!

School almost put me off poetry for life. My brain just couldn’t keep all the different rhyme schemes apart and frankly, most of the time I didn’t understand why knowing a poem was written in alternate rhyme was all that important. Also, the poems we were assigned were usually a few hundred years old and written by old white men. Not exactly thrilling stuff at fourteen (or any age, to be honest). So, I started believing poetry wasn’t for me, which is a shame, really. I do hope they teach kids other poems nowadays, and in a more fun way, too. One of the best aspects of reading poetry on your own terms is that no one can tell you to figure out the rhyme scheme or themes of the poem. If you just want to read it once and then continue onto the next one, off you go! Do whatever pleases you. Reading poetry shouldn’t feel like a school lesson. That being said, rereading poems and diving a bit deeper into them can be very rewarding. And I do think there’s something to be said for sitting with a poem you maybe don’t understand straight away. You can always look online if anyone has analysed it and use that as guidance! But you don’t have to do any of that, it’s totally up to you!

Read it out loud!

There’s a poem in this collection that makes me cry every time I read it :)))

In my humble opinion, poetry was written to be read out loud. Okay, maybe not all of it and maybe you enjoy quietly reading it in your mind, to yourself. For me though, I tend to understand a poem better if I hear it out loud. It also helps me appreciate the rhythm of the language and the beauty of the words. It makes me more aware of the skill that goes into crafting a good poem. And every now and then, I like to learn a poem by heart. I think it’s fun to train that muscle and to be able to recite it back to myself (is that weird? If it is, I don’t care). There are entire poetry collections full of poems that are meant to be especially good for learning by heart, and I think there’s something very fun and whimsical about gathering around the fire place with loved ones and cups of hot choclate, taking turns of reading poems out loud for each other! Also, there are incredible recordings of actors such as Alan Rickman and Helena Bonham Carter reciting poetry! Look them up and thank me later, hehe.

Have fun!

Learning about history through poetry? No problem with this outstanding doorstopper of a book!!

I know that fun and poetry don’t go together for lots of people, but once you have found your niche and gotten into the swing of things, I do believe it can be great fun! I encourage you not to feel pressured to read all the classic, serious poets, if that is not what you’re into. There’s no point in labouring through all of Shakespeare’s Sonnets if you just don’t care about them. Nowadays, there’s lots of funny poetry out there, and they can be a great escape from this dreary world. But poetry can also be healing, if we read someone put their experiences into beautiful verse. Poems are as diverse as the people writing them, and that means that we all have a chance of enjoying them!

I do hope these little bits of advice help you find your way into this beautiful genre! I think poetry needs as many diverse perspectives as possible and gate-keeping it for the rich and educated is silly nonsense! So off you go, take the poetry sections of your local libraries and bookshops by storm! ❤