Nikiforos Vrettakos Greek communist guerilla turned national poet laureate of peace, beauty, and love. Some exquisite poems.

If you like something older the love poems of rumi are amazing

juno

1 month ago

oh, "like this" was simply gorgeous, i can't wait to go through the rest! thank you :)

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Elizabeth Bishop: the GOAT. Everything is amazing. Start with “Invitation to Miss Marianne Moore.” Donald Hall: Great author for autumn. Writes beautiful nature poetry as well as visceral poetry about the loss of his wife. John Donne: I’ve only started reading him recently. He’s interesting to read these days because his more erotic writings feel so modern but his religious writings feel so foreign to today—it’s a strange mix. I’m enjoying it. Derek Walcott: Also only started reading him, but he’s great. “Omeros” is his masterwork, but I’ve only read a handful of his poems, but I’ve enjoyed them so much that I’m reading “The Iliad” in order to better understand “Omeros” once I do read it (“Omeros” is based on “The Iliad.”) A while ago, I also read an anthology called “The Hungry Ear,” which was fun; it was all poetry about food :)

smuds

1 month ago

re Bishop : I went all the way through her Collected Poems and by the end was just like "well i don't get it" BUT if there's one thing she can write that I can connect to, it's winters in New England. Like I swear I've seen the house she talks about in The End of March. like: I'd like to retire there and do nothing, or nothing much, forever, in two bare rooms: look through binoculars, read boring books, old, long, long books, and write down useless notes, same, sister

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juno

1 month ago

thank you for such detailed recs! invitation to miss marianne moore was lovely and reminded me of lorca, i'll have to look into her collected poems. also read a couple from donne and hall, both interest me! i hope you're having a good time with the iliad, i read lattimore's translation and enjoyed it immensely. definitely gonna pick up omeros! as for the anthology, i'm unsure how i'll feel considering i'm vegan, but i might give it a shot anyway and see how it goes :)

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not a specific author but i've been going through The Rattle Bag anthology edited by Heaney and Hughes. It's... less eclectic than I would like, but as someone that hasn't really read a lot of poetry it has introduced me to some people I want to read more of. But of what i have read in that anthology of: Miroslav Holub Vasko Popa Susanne Knowles (born 1911, I can't find anything else she published other than whats in the anthology...) Hyam Plutzik but not really I've enjoyed. I haven't read all that much of these other peeps but I've really liked what I've read: Etheridge Knight Gwendolyn Brooks idk how those stack up to who you like because like i said i don't read a lot of poetry so maybe these are schlub picks

juno

1 month ago

i love anthologies so i'll definitely be picking this one up, thank you! i checked out a couple poems from etheridge knight and gwendolyn brooks and both caught my eye, especially brooks. time to dig some more!

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AE Housman

juno

1 month ago

read a few of his poems before bed last night and quite enjoyed them, thank you!

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