Highlights from a.m.k.'s experience with modern poetry.
I
recently read a 600-page introduction to modern poetry (for fun), so I've had that on my mind lately. The book had a lot of dry parts
(as you might imagine) but I enjoyed learning about poets I've never heard of
before or getting some of my misconceptions of certain poets/movements sorted
out.
I am by
no means an expert -- there are many poets I haven't read, and many others who
I've only read a bit of. But I've been reading poetry for several years now, and the modern period is what I am most comfortable with and arguably like best. I am not up-to-date enough on contemporary
poetry to make a list of anything more recent than 1970 (and there is a lot to
keep track of -- damn internet/damn globalization), but one day I will be. For now, I'll share my knowledge and interest in poets most active from about 1890-1970, which includes the period preceding modernism and the bulk of post-modernism as well. I realize this is well past the scope of what most scholars consider to be modern, so if you are a scholar you can ignore the term and just think "he's listing poets he likes from (approximately) an 80-year period."
It is also
my firm belief that people should read more poetry. Attention spans and TV are
big competition, but for people generally interested in literature, art and
self-expression, poetry is really worth it, and it’s much less of a commitment than novels. I get that no one has the time to read War and Peace, but most poems
in the past 100 years are one page or shorter, and good poems can stimulate
your thoughts or emotions in only a moment.
So for poetry
enthusiasts old and new, here are ten "modern" poets I'd recommend:
