Good Poems

What a trove this book is. You might think "What does humorist Garrison Keillor know about poetry?" Quite a lot, it turns out. This is a wonderful anthology of poetry especially for anyone discovering poetry for the first time or rediscovering poetry after a bad high school English experience. Most of the poems in this volume are quite accessible.Keillor chose his poems from the past as well as the present but with the selections skewed more toward contemporary poets. I found many gems: all the poems by Raymond Carver and Charles Bukowski are oustanding, "Poem to be Read at 3 A.M." by Donald Justice, "He Wishes for the Clothes of Heaven" by Yeats, "Sonnet XLIII" by Millay, "The Music One Looks Back On" by Stephen Dobyns, and "Bison Crossing Near Mt. Rushmore" by May Swenson are some of my very favorites in this thick volume. I read only a few poems at a time, so this book took me more than 5 months to read.As with any anthology, I found a few poems I didn't like: "Piano" by D.H. Lawrence, "Sweater Weather" by Sharon Bryan, "Year's End" by Richard Wilbur, and "Lazy" by David Lee were among the few poems I thought were bad. And I'm still struggling to like anything by Dickinson. Keillor includes several of her poems.There are a couple of minor miscues in the book. For some reason, Keillor left out biographies for Robert Kinsley and H. W. Longfellow. And one poem - "Sir Patrick Spens" - was much shorter in "Good Poems" than it is in another volume of poetry that I have. This makes me question the editing of other poems in the volume.I can highly recommend this book of poems. There is something in it for all readers of poetry. Be sure to read the bios as you go; they provide useful back story to what you are reading.One word of caution: the Kindle version of this book is terrible. Don't waste your money; be sure to read a paper copy.

What a charming collection from humor to humanity to classics. Don't be put off by recent issues of personal indiscretions/relationships. The editor knows the meanings of poetry, and puts a useful and thoughtful introduction into place. And the poems, of course, speak for themselves as well.

"Elizabeth Bishop was a woman, ditto Emily Dickinson, and she can take your head off with one line. . ." That is Garrison Keillor's description of Ms. Dickinson as he debunks the term "Women's lit" as one of the dumb ideas of his generation in his brief introduction to this collection of "good" poems he has gleaned from his radio program "The Writer's Almanac." T. S. Eliot he describes as a "great stuffed owl" who "didn't get out of the house much." Allen Ginsberg was "something of a gasbag" while Anne Sexton is a "hot number." Opinionated? Yes, but I find I agree with Mr. Keillor more times than I don't. I read this obviously honest and thouthful introduction three times and then called up friends who love poetry and read portions of it to them.Mr. Keillor includes a lot of poets here, many of whom I did not know previously. You guessed it. There are no Ginsberg or Eliot selections included. The criterion is that the poems should have "somehow stuck" with Keillor and with "some of the listeners." Keillor obviously is guided by the time restraints of his radio show since the poems must be short. (I do not believe for a moment that he does not care for Matthew Arnold's "Dover Beach," a poem probably too long to include here.)The anthology is short on 19th Century poets although Ms. Emily does take first place with eight selections.Even though Mr. Keillor would not be happy with long-winded paise, suffice it to say that, as the Brits would, that this book is altogether "lovely." And, Mr. Keillor, you are one of those Americans who make me happy I live here. Didn't you say it best in one of your essays, something about seeing the firelights of other gentle people?

A fine anthology. One that I suspect will attract new readers of poetry due to Keillor's name on the cover. Readers will be rewarded with a nice breadth of styles from which to choose. There are no commentaries or points to ponder that accompany any of the poems nor are there questions that test for understanding. The poems are organized into 19 themes--most traditional (Lives, Failure, Day's Work, Lovers)--but some unusual themes, as well (Yellow, Snow). This work contains many "golden oldies," but there are as many poems that have not been widely anthologized so that the book is not just another homage to the canonical voices. There is something for everyone in this collection.As for the CD version which I also own, it is a nice abridgement of the book. Since poetry is a marriage of sound and sense, the CD adds the dimension missing from the book. Keillor, himself reads about half the poems. I was disappointed in many of his readings--but maybe the trouble was too much of the same voice at one hearing. Poet Joyce Sutphen reads twenty or more poems. She's a fine poet but she should never read poetry--her breathy intonations really get on a listener's nerves from her first reading. The readings I most enjoyed were by Sharon Olds, Robert Bly, Donald Hall, Billy Collins, and Gerald Stern.

I am really enjoying this awesome collection, I love the indexing.

This is a wonderful collection which I own in hardback. I love it so much I purchased the E-Book as well.UNFORTUNATELY I am extremely disappointed in the E-Book. It does not have a FULL TABLE OF CONTENTS. It only has section headings which make it impossible to browse poems or poets and read individual poems. This defect IMO makes the ebook useless and I have returned it for a refund.I should also point out that the companion book - Good Poems for Hard Times does not have this defect. Each poem is listed by name in it's Table of Contents, but does not include the poet name as part of that entry.

I read this collection many years ago. I don't know what triggered the memory but I always enjoyed hearing Garrison Keillor on NPR reading poetry. I'm sure I'll be hearing his voice in my head as I read these great poems.

Very good

Good poems