The Book Vipers discussion

This is the thread for discussions on the Summer Poetry Challenge

Great idea for a challenge! I'm going to aim for 2 books a month - just need to decide which ones now.

I NEVER read poetry so had to sign up for this! Love the challenges here.

Can I chose a poetry anthology rather than a single poet's work? I have added poetry of WW1 to my tbr list to coincide with the centenary. If not, I am sure I can whittle it down to one.

Sure

I'm choosing Paradise Lost for the first, assuming epic poetry counts? if not, mine will also be a WW1 collection.

The intention is to get people reading poetry. It sounds perfect

Great! I've wanted to read Paradise Lost for a while now, so this is the perfect motivator. I'm not a huge poetry fan as a rule, so maybe this challenge will help change that!

Me too, I've never really been into poetry. I've perservered though but always with the romantics. I think I'm going to give Beowulf a go and some contemporary poets. It should be fun.

I've had Heaney's translation of Beowulf on my list for ages so going to add that.

Debbie, which WW1 anthology are you reading?

The Penguin collection commemorating the 80th anniversary.
Poems of the Great War 1914-1918, published in 1998.
I've always wanted to love poetry, I'm hoping this challenge will give me the push to embrace it and stop avoiding it.

Same here. I just find novels so much more tempting. I think the trick with poetry is to read a little, often.

..My June poetry book has arrived. It's Look, Stranger! recommended by a friend who is an English teacher. Hope it's good.

Just started The Overhaul for the first book for this challenge

I have Hidden Words: Collected Poems by Spike Milligan as one of my favourite poets and Nonsense by Christopher Reid as recommended by Elizabeth recently.

Finished The Overhaul today. I forget just how short some poetry books are.

Some really lovely prose, Kathleen Jamie has a fine way with words.

Having not read much poetry, i thought i would join in, but am going for shorter poems by well known poets...hoping it will help me get a bit of an introduction into the genre...so just read The Raven and really enjoyed it. Have opted for some Yeats for my July read.

i can't believe some people have never read poetry. I used to learn a poem a week when I was young, and there was a 4 year period when I wrote a poem a day. I've read some very good suggestions here. But I just adore Arthur Rimbaud.

All of Rimbaud’s works were composed between 1870, when he was not quite 16 years of age, and 1874, when he was just 19. He was a rebel, a visionary, and a libertine who abandoned poetry for the life of a vagabond in the end, dying tragically at the age of 37 from cancer of the leg.

Having already run away from home several times, at the age of 16 he ran away again to live with an older, married poet - Paul Verlaine and striking up an volatile and sexual relationship with him. He was described as a beautiful and intense young man with the most striking eyes and was considered a prodigy.

As he wrote in French, it is important to find good translations, but you can find all his poems here:

http://www.poemhunter.com/arthur-rimb...

Here is an amazing rendition of Rimbaud's poem Le Bateau Ivre (The Drunken Boat) as a short animated film with incredible artwork and music with English subs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyfZYp...

The 1995 film Total Eclipse is written about the relationship between Rimbaud and Verlaine with a young Leonardo DiCaprio playing the part of Rimbaud.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkULB...


A couple of books of Rimbaud's poetry

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

Jazzy wrote: "i can't believe some people have never read poetry. I used to learn a poem a week when I was young, and there was a 4 year period when I wrote a poem a day. I've read some very good suggestions her..."

I like the sound of Rimbaud, I will check those links out Jazzy, thanks for those.

I have finished my first poetry collection Poems of the Great War 1914-1918. I have to be absolutely honest and say poetry is not my first choice of reading material, however when I do give it a go I always get something from it.
I chose this collection as I am reading on the subject of WW1 as my annual theme. I am currently reading The Long Shadow: The Great War and the Twentieth Century. This assesses the impact of the war in all aspects. Ch 5 - Civilisation (p.187-198) has a very good albeit brief overview of the WW1 poets and literary context.. Reynolds quotes the UK bibliography of poetry about the Great war listing 2,225 individual poets!!! Even more surprising was the fact that 24% were female and 19% were non-serviceman giving their opinions on the effects of war.
With this mind the collection only offers 4 poems by women in an anthology of 81 poems.
These were:-
May Wedderburn Cannan - Lamplight
Alice Meynall - Summer in England 1914
Margaret Postgate Core - The Veteran
Charlotte Mew _ The Cenotaph *This was a favourite as it acts as commemorative declaration of grief at those who died and the need for public recognition of the war dead.

Others that stood out purely for the beauty of words and the harrowing subject matter were:-
Edmund Blunden - Reports on experience; Reunion in War
Siegfried Sassoon - The Redeemer Banishment; Repression of war experience; A Working party
Ivor Gurney - Strange Service

I have to declare a passion for Wilfred Owen's poetry. I am moved to want to read more and a biography. Anyone have any recommendations on where to start? I find it so upsetting that he suffered so much from shellshock and almost reached the end of the war. Tragically he died on 4th November 1918.
So my 3 favourites out of the collection are his.

DISABLED
http://www.wilfredowen.org.uk/poetry/...

I found this very intense and moving. A narrative of a young soldier who 'threw his legs away', painfully detailing his struggle to accept his decisions that led him to current predicament. Particularly sad are the final scenes where he returns home and the crowd's subdued and shameful response to him and fellows like him as opposed to those 'whole' men.

DULCE ET DECORUM EST
Dulce et deorum est pro patria mori 'It is sweet and honorable to die for one's country'

http://www.wilfredowen.org.uk/poetry/...

One of the more famous WW1 poems, this details of gruesome gas attack and witnessing an unfortunate soldier who didn't fit his mask in time. The author is haunted by this man and the image of his final moments.
It was written during Owen's recovery from shellshock at Craiglockhart, Scotland where he met and Siegfried Sassoon, his hero.
It's most telling part is the final statement that if you had witnessed such horror...
"My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro pateria mori"

APOLOGIA PRO POEMATE MEO
'In defence of my poetry'
http://www.wilfredowen.org.uk/poetry/...

It is suggested that this was written in response to harsh critics of his poetry and it's deepening pessimism and darkness.
The poem is a chronicle to the gruesomeness of war and how this leads inevitably to numbness and desensitisation to the scenes witnessed. The final line "These men are worth your tears: You are not worth their merriment." read to me as a scathing look at the readers back in the comforts of home, relying on media and propaganda to fuel the grisly details of war and suffering.

This collection only covers the poem written in the 4 year period of the war. So much more has been written since then and prompts further reading.
I would recommend this collection as it has a varied content, however it is let down by the number of female poets.

Dulce et Decorum est is extraordinary and heartbreaking.

I must read some more war poetry - I keep meaning to buy never get round to it.

I've finished Paradise Lost. I'm glad I read it, but I'm not sure I enjoyed it as much as I'd hoped.

Charlotte wrote: "Dulce et Decorum est is extraordinary and heartbreaking.

I must read some more war poetry - I keep meaning to buy never get round to it.

I've finished Paradise Lost. I'm glad I read it, but I'..."

I think this looks to be a better collection than the 80th anniversary edition I read. Arranged thematically from conscription to aftermath, seems more varied.
The Penguin Book of First World War Poetry

Charlotte wrote: "Dulce et Decorum est is extraordinary and heartbreaking.

I must read some more war poetry - I keep meaning to buy never get round to it.

I've finished Paradise Lost. I'm glad I read it, but I'..."

Paradise Lost has always been on my TBR list. Never get around to it. Was it a difficult read?

Found paradise lost to be very poor. Was hoping for something really interesting being about Satan and all that but he comes across as the bad guy... and it all felt a bit preachy. Paradise regained was much better, but it was also a lot shorter.

Dante's Inferno is miles better than this, I have read it a few times and it always makes me laugh as Dante spots everybody who has wronged stuck in hell.

Well done everyone on your poetry adventures. I have just pulled off the shelf my two small volumes, having renewed for a further 3 weeks at the library.

They are going in my bag as I fully intend to start this week when I have a quiet moment, or am waiting for something (children). The poems will be easier to fit into short periods rather than with my main read.

I have Spike Milligan's Hidden Words and Christopher Reid's Nonsense.

Some really interesting choices here. I didn't really enjoy Look, Stranger! so am hoping my July choice, Black Cat Bone will be more my cup of tea. But glad I tried something new anyway.

War poetry is so fragile, such a terrifying look into a man's soul. How could you read it and not be moved by it.

For those who want something lighter there's always

When We Were Very Young
and
Now We Are Six

I found Paradise Lost laborious to read and very preachy. The devil was very bland and Eve was presented in an even worse light than usual in stories of the fall. I just found it a dull and difficult read. Though, I have always preferred modern poetry so it was never going to be my favourite read

Thanks for the suggestion on war poetry Debbie - I'll give that collection a look

Charlotte wrote: "I found Paradise Lost laborious to read and very preachy. The devil was very bland and Eve was presented in an even worse light than usual in stories of the fall. I just found it a dull and difficu..."

Completely agree. You ever read any poetry by Charles Bukowski? Bluebird is amazing.

Audio here of it being read by the man himself. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmWZOs...

June, July...
Mexico City Blues
Three Poems
Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame
The Book of Disquiet(CR)
Haiku: An Anthology of Japanese Poems(CR)

I haven't Jason - I'll look that up, thanks

Bukowski is a legend. Once I went to a swap shop, they held us at the door and then let us in, and everyone wanted a paperback of his poems lying in view on a table. There was a mad dash and a scramble and the young lad held it up and said MINE! and as disappointed as I was not to have gotten it myself I had to smile.

Jazzy wrote: "Bukowski is a legend. Once I went to a swap shop, they held us at the door and then let us in, and everyone wanted a paperback of his poems lying in view on a table. There was a mad dash and a scr..."

The Bukowski method would be to fight the guy in the alley behind the shop, did you do that?

Just started Drysalter. Some good poems so far, and some less so.

Finished The World's Wife by Carol Ann Duffy, one of my favourite poets. Witty and caustic voices by the 'other halves' of the famous men of history such as Mrs Pilate, Mrs Quasimodo etc. Good fun.
Also reading Birthday Letters by Ted Hughes but the poems are so intensely personal and painful it is slow going.

I almost bought The World's Wife...looks good.

I love The World's Wife - the Darwin one is one of my favourites.

for July I'm reading Mean Time by Carol Ann Duffy - I've read parts of it for school / uni but never the whole collection, even though I regularly recommend it to others.

Charlotte wrote: "I love The World's Wife - the Darwin one is one of my favourites.

for July I'm reading Mean Time by Carol Ann Duffy - I've read parts of it for school / uni but never the whole collection, even ..."

I haven't read Mean Time, Charlotte - that's another one for the TBR list then!

Just finished reading Love & Misadventure the poems were short and simple, yet they were still beautiful.

And I'm planing on reading Crank for this month.

I chose The Wild Swans at Coole by W.B Yeats for my July read. This will probably say more about my ignorance regarding early 20th Century poetry, but I didn't really enjoy it. The selection are based on ageing and death, and the cruelty of the huge loss of life at wartime. I haven't much experience with poetry, but am reading a second book by Yeats, The Celtic Twilight, a collection of short stories and I am already enjoying these. So, maybe its the subject I don't like so much, maybe the medium...not really sure.

Cathy- I adored Mean Time. Some of my favourite poetry and really thought provoking. many of the poems have so many levels of meaning to them - my thoughts on the ones I'd read for school / uni have changed substantially over the years and they've taken on new meanings. I just loved it.

Just finished Black Cat Bone by John Burnside (TS Eliot prize 2011). Really enjoyed these - some beautiful imagery. This has been a really interesting challenge so far.

I have been reading Drysalter by Michael Simmons Roberts, bit by bit. So far, only a handful of the poems have really 'spoken' to me, although there is plenty to admire about the collection.

There are 150 poems in this book and I'm not really sure if it benefits me to read them all one after another. How do other people read - dip in and out, choose one at random, read several in one go?

Lisa wrote: "I have been reading Drysalter by Michael Simmons Roberts, bit by bit. So far, only a handful of the poems have really 'spoken' to me, although there is plenty to admire about the co..."

I'd also like to read that one, Lisa. As for reading all in one go vs. dipping in and out, I'm currently reading Ted Hughes' Birthday Letters and it's very much a case of reading a few at a time as they are so raw and emotionally charged. I'm finding it quite a hard collection to read for that reason. I like the idea of opening a book and reading a poem at random and I do read like that sometimes, but it doesn't really work with Birthday Letters as the poems are arranged to tell a narrative.

I prefer to dip and read a few at a time. I've fallen in love with Carol Ann Duffy's poetry. The Bees is just beautiful. An ode to nature, love, life and everything else really.

I read the whole lot in one hit!

Just sent for my copy of The Bees. Can't wait!

Finished Beowulf: A New Verse Translation today, my book for July (won the Whitbread Prize in 1999). Brilliant.

Review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I have to be honest and say I was reticent to join this challenge. Poetry as always been a struggle for me and more of a chore than a pleasure. Having taken the plunge with an open mind I have been stunned by the reaction I've had, especially to Carol Ann Duffy's work. I am very grateful for the insight this challenge has given me and aim to have a book of poems always on the go now. I have so much to catch up on.