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Good Poems
Good Poems
A selection of meaningful and enjoyable poems to inspire and be enjoyed by everyone
Here is an anthology of poems, chosen by Garrison Keillor for their wit, their frankness, their passion, their "utter clarity in the face of everything else a person has to deal with at 7 a.m."
Good Poems includes verse organized by theme about lovers, children, failure, everyday life, death, and transcendance. It features the work of classic poets, such as Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, and Robert Frost, as well as the work of contemporary greats such as Howard Nemerov, Charles Bukowski, Donald Hall, Billy Collins, Robert Bly, and Sharon Olds. It's a book of poems for anybody who loves poetry whether they know it or not.
Here is an anthology of poems, chosen by Garrison Keillor for their wit, their frankness, their passion, their "utter clarity in the face of everything else a person has to deal with at 7 a.m."
Good Poems includes verse organized by theme about lovers, children, failure, everyday life, death, and transcendance. It features the work of classic poets, such as Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, and Robert Frost, as well as the work of contemporary greats such as Howard Nemerov, Charles Bukowski, Donald Hall, Billy Collins, Robert Bly, and Sharon Olds. It's a book of poems for anybody who loves poetry whether they know it or not.
476 pages, Paperback
First published August 21, 2002
432 people are currently reading
6096 people want to read
About the author
Garrison Keillor
279 books839 followersGary Edward "Garrison" Keillor is an American author, singer, humorist, voice actor, and radio personality. He created the Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) show A Prairie Home Companion (called Garrison Keillor's Radio Show in some international syndication), which he hosted from 1974 to 2016. Keillor created the fictional Minnesota town Lake Wobegon, the setting of many of his books, including Lake Wobegon Days and Leaving Home: A Collection of Lake Wobegon Stories. Other creations include Guy Noir, a detective voiced by Keillor who appeared in A Prairie Home Companion comic skits. Keillor is also the creator of the five-minute daily radio/podcast program The Writer's Almanac, which pairs poems of his choice with a script about important literary, historical, and scientific events that coincided with that date in history.
In November 2017, Minnesota Public Radio cut all business ties with Keillor after an allegation of inappropriate behavior with a freelance writer for A Prairie Home Companion. On April 13, 2018, MPR and Keillor announced a settlement that allows archives of A Prairie Home Companion and The Writer's Almanac to be publicly available again, and soon thereafter, Keillor began publishing new episodes of The Writer's Almanac on his website. He also continues to tour a stage version of A Prairie Home Companion, although these shows are not broadcast by MPR or American Public Media.
In November 2017, Minnesota Public Radio cut all business ties with Keillor after an allegation of inappropriate behavior with a freelance writer for A Prairie Home Companion. On April 13, 2018, MPR and Keillor announced a settlement that allows archives of A Prairie Home Companion and The Writer's Almanac to be publicly available again, and soon thereafter, Keillor began publishing new episodes of The Writer's Almanac on his website. He also continues to tour a stage version of A Prairie Home Companion, although these shows are not broadcast by MPR or American Public Media.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 519 reviews
December 30, 2015
If you have any interest in poetry at all, you should give this collection a listen. A really interesting, varied assortment of poems, well-performed by a number of skilled readers.
June 2, 2008
I haven’t read much poetry lately. I’d “forgotten how big,” how restorative it can be. I’m so glad that I ended my evening with Anne Sexton's “Welcome Morning” rather than finishing the day with “American Idol.” A good poem makes me want to read more and to write. Whether or not I’ll actually pick up the pen is another question, but it feels good to want to do it. A good poem calms me and gives me perspective and makes me feel centered — all things I certainly could use on a daily basis.
(Garrison Keillor's introduction is wonderful; don't skip it.)
(Garrison Keillor's introduction is wonderful; don't skip it.)
September 13, 2024
If you don't know enough about poetry to know who's good these days, or those days, and you want some good poems, this is the book to start with. I think Stephen King might have also recommended this anthology in either the first or second list of book recommendations in On Writing. (That's how I found out about it, if I recall.)
This book gives the "dusty, boring poetry" stereotype a real boot in the pantaloons, plus it's organized by subject which for some reason makes the reading experience quite enjoyable.
There's an entire clutch of "Yellow" poems, which is as delightful as it sounds.
This book gives the "dusty, boring poetry" stereotype a real boot in the pantaloons, plus it's organized by subject which for some reason makes the reading experience quite enjoyable.
There's an entire clutch of "Yellow" poems, which is as delightful as it sounds.
January 28, 2019
Great anthology. Some really good poems. The only thing I didn’t like is fragmented poems. Perhaps because I love Whitman. Seeing just a part of Song of Myself in it, isn’t that pleasing. Either include it complete or not at all, but that’s my preference. Great choices though.
Below is one of many I had not read before.
Sometimes
Sometimes things don't go, after all,
from bad to worse. Some years, muscadel
faces down frost; green thrives; the crops don't fail,
sometimes a man aims high, and all goes well.
A people sometimes will step back from war;
elect an honest man, decide they care
enough, that they can't leave some stranger poor.
Some men become what they were born for.
Sometimes our best efforts do not go
amiss, sometimes we do as we meant to.
The sun will sometimes melt a field of sorrow
that seemed hard frozen: may it happen for you.
Sheenagh Pugh
Below is one of many I had not read before.
Sometimes
Sometimes things don't go, after all,
from bad to worse. Some years, muscadel
faces down frost; green thrives; the crops don't fail,
sometimes a man aims high, and all goes well.
A people sometimes will step back from war;
elect an honest man, decide they care
enough, that they can't leave some stranger poor.
Some men become what they were born for.
Sometimes our best efforts do not go
amiss, sometimes we do as we meant to.
The sun will sometimes melt a field of sorrow
that seemed hard frozen: may it happen for you.
Sheenagh Pugh
October 10, 2010
Hooked by the intro...funny and opinionated, just the needed thing. A friendly debate over the best poets and poems gets me right here (pointing to chest).
The main purpose of the book is to show how well poetry handles its well-familiar themes: childhood, death and the heartfelt appreciation towards being outside. While this can be annoying in other poetry titles, here those themes get their fair, glorious due. The poets here don't sit by a window and write about robins. They stroll outside through woods to a still pond to share the night with herons and "deep trees" (from a Mary Oliver poem in the book).
Why good poems? Why not great? These are short conversational pieces, most without endings that benefit the start and middle of a piece. Poems where the last stanza usually summarizes the whole thing - or just ends it - rather than adding a twist or memorable last line.
Here's an excellent contribution from Louis Simpson called
Ed
Ed was in love with a cocktail waitress,
but Ed's family, and his friends,
didn't approve. So he broke it off.
He married a respectable woman
who played the piano. She played well enough
to have been a professional.
Ed's wife left him...
Years later, at a family gathering
Ed got drunk and made a fool of himself.
He said, "I should have married Doreen."
"Well," they said, "why didn't you?"
Not that the book isn't without its great poems... after all, it includes "This Is Just To Say" by William Carlos Williams and "Let Evening Come" by Jane Kenyon.
It's just on the side of really good. Comforting without being smug. Real without giving you nightmares. Full of the variety - and therefore the glory - that are the poems around us everyday.
There are 19 themed chapters, each with 5-30 poems, so the book seems to read with a little better pace, like a novel. There's a full biography of each poet in the back, with Garrison's comments, important dates and achievements, and well-chosen quotes.
Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Hass, William Stafford and Donald Justice are some of the poets that come out of this book looking particularly good. Inevitably there are strong poets that get left out, like Jack Gilbert, Dorianne Laux and Larry Levis.
But I'll forgive Keillor the omissions that would have added even more variety, creativity and depth to this volume. I will pull it out often and read a new favorite poem. I will cherish a genre that continually leaves it's deep, telling, life-giving marks.
The main purpose of the book is to show how well poetry handles its well-familiar themes: childhood, death and the heartfelt appreciation towards being outside. While this can be annoying in other poetry titles, here those themes get their fair, glorious due. The poets here don't sit by a window and write about robins. They stroll outside through woods to a still pond to share the night with herons and "deep trees" (from a Mary Oliver poem in the book).
Why good poems? Why not great? These are short conversational pieces, most without endings that benefit the start and middle of a piece. Poems where the last stanza usually summarizes the whole thing - or just ends it - rather than adding a twist or memorable last line.
Here's an excellent contribution from Louis Simpson called
Ed
Ed was in love with a cocktail waitress,
but Ed's family, and his friends,
didn't approve. So he broke it off.
He married a respectable woman
who played the piano. She played well enough
to have been a professional.
Ed's wife left him...
Years later, at a family gathering
Ed got drunk and made a fool of himself.
He said, "I should have married Doreen."
"Well," they said, "why didn't you?"
Not that the book isn't without its great poems... after all, it includes "This Is Just To Say" by William Carlos Williams and "Let Evening Come" by Jane Kenyon.
It's just on the side of really good. Comforting without being smug. Real without giving you nightmares. Full of the variety - and therefore the glory - that are the poems around us everyday.
There are 19 themed chapters, each with 5-30 poems, so the book seems to read with a little better pace, like a novel. There's a full biography of each poet in the back, with Garrison's comments, important dates and achievements, and well-chosen quotes.
Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Hass, William Stafford and Donald Justice are some of the poets that come out of this book looking particularly good. Inevitably there are strong poets that get left out, like Jack Gilbert, Dorianne Laux and Larry Levis.
But I'll forgive Keillor the omissions that would have added even more variety, creativity and depth to this volume. I will pull it out often and read a new favorite poem. I will cherish a genre that continually leaves it's deep, telling, life-giving marks.
March 12, 2016
Such a beautiful collection
July 9, 2009
Emily Dickenson wrote, "If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can ever warm me, I know that is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry. These are the only ways I know it. Is there any other way?"
Very few of the poems in this collection would meet these criteria for me. Ok, so I didn't read every poem; I got about 3/4 of the way through. And I guess I didn't pay enough attention to the title: these are good poems, but I wouldn't call most of them great poetry.
Granted, Keillor states in the intro that he wants to make poetry more accessible to people who think they don't like poetry because they were frustrated and confused by e. e. cummings and T. S. Eliot in high school. But I like cummings and Prufrock (though I could do without The Wasteland). So there.
Very few of the poems in this collection would meet these criteria for me. Ok, so I didn't read every poem; I got about 3/4 of the way through. And I guess I didn't pay enough attention to the title: these are good poems, but I wouldn't call most of them great poetry.
Granted, Keillor states in the intro that he wants to make poetry more accessible to people who think they don't like poetry because they were frustrated and confused by e. e. cummings and T. S. Eliot in high school. But I like cummings and Prufrock (though I could do without The Wasteland). So there.
July 4, 2009
I've been reading this one off and on for four or five months; it's not to be digested all at once! The poems Keillor chooses are, on average, sentimental and accessible, and I mean that in the best way. They are poems that bridge the gap between your heart and the poet's, rather than separating you. They are also, very largely, twentieth-century poems written by people I've never heard of; these are mostly not the endlessly anthologized poems found in most volumes like this one. A really excellent read.
Read
May 19, 2011This morning when I was looking through our bookshelves, I saw I book that I had never seen before. I don't know where we got it, I don't know how long we've had it, but I do know that I am going to try to read the short poems out of this book every day until I'm done.
Can I do it?
Can I do it?
April 8, 2010
Finally finished this, some 3? 4? years after Dan, a regular at my old restaurant gave it to me to encourage my interest in poetry. Clearly, his efforts did not succeed too well, as it has taken me all this time to finish the collection which, by happy coincidence, I began reading again before a friend wrote a sonnet for me, but it isn't due to a lack of interest in poetry per se. I own and love several collections of poetry by Ted Hughes, Stephen Dunn and Margaret Atwood (and have a collection of Philip Larkin's waiting,) but so much poetry, even the "good" stuff is awful and unreadable. While this book that I'm reviewing has, on the whole, poetry I enjoy, it still has the odd verse or two that makes me go into skim mode, which is not the way to be when you're trying to enjoy poetry.
Overall, it's a good selection, but I think it's more of a starting point for the novice to find poets they'll enjoy as opposed to a collection that stands out as something truly good on its own. It did really, really make me want to re-read Dunn's Pulitzer-Prize-winning "Different Hours" though, which is an OUTSTANDING collection of poetry. It also makes me regret somewhat that I don't own any Billy Collins, though I've found the two selections of his in this book to be my favorites of his works by far.
Overall, it's a good selection, but I think it's more of a starting point for the novice to find poets they'll enjoy as opposed to a collection that stands out as something truly good on its own. It did really, really make me want to re-read Dunn's Pulitzer-Prize-winning "Different Hours" though, which is an OUTSTANDING collection of poetry. It also makes me regret somewhat that I don't own any Billy Collins, though I've found the two selections of his in this book to be my favorites of his works by far.
December 5, 2012
So, I started this book by reading the introduction. And as Keillor talked about poems that tell stories, I had trouble remembering why I disliked him. And then I read:
"And then there is T. S. Eliot, the great stuffed owl whose glassy eyes mesmerized the English profs of my day. Eliot was once a cultural icon, the American guy so smooth he passed for British . . . but you look at his work today and it seems rather bloodless . . . Eliot didn't get out of the house much . . ."
and I remembered, Oh yeah, that's why I dislike him. Talk about reverse snobbery! Eliot sucks because he's not earthy enough. Heaven forbid poetry talks about, well, heaven.
Yes, there are some amazing poems in here. Keillor's intro isn't the fault of any of the poets he collected here. But, sigh. What an intro.
And yet - it's not all bad. Keillor has a lot of really good points, too, of course he does! The man is brilliant. And frustrating in his prejudices. And brilliant . . . I could go back and forth forever. But enough of that. The volume as a whole is more worth reading than not, so pick it up if you're in the mood for poetry, and feeling patient enough to sift out the chaff.
"And then there is T. S. Eliot, the great stuffed owl whose glassy eyes mesmerized the English profs of my day. Eliot was once a cultural icon, the American guy so smooth he passed for British . . . but you look at his work today and it seems rather bloodless . . . Eliot didn't get out of the house much . . ."
and I remembered, Oh yeah, that's why I dislike him. Talk about reverse snobbery! Eliot sucks because he's not earthy enough. Heaven forbid poetry talks about, well, heaven.
Yes, there are some amazing poems in here. Keillor's intro isn't the fault of any of the poets he collected here. But, sigh. What an intro.
And yet - it's not all bad. Keillor has a lot of really good points, too, of course he does! The man is brilliant. And frustrating in his prejudices. And brilliant . . . I could go back and forth forever. But enough of that. The volume as a whole is more worth reading than not, so pick it up if you're in the mood for poetry, and feeling patient enough to sift out the chaff.
April 30, 2017
From Song of Myself
Walt Whitman
“..All I mark as my own you shall offset it
with your own, Else it were time lost
listening to me...
....
In all people I see myself, none more, and
not one a barley-corn less,
And the good or bad I say of myself I say of
them.
I know I am solid and sound,
To me the converging objects of the
universe perpetually flow
All are written to me, and I must get what
the writing means.
I know I am deathless,
I know this orbit of mine cannot be swept
by a carpenter’s compass,
I know I shall not pass like a child's carlacue
cut with a burnt stick at night.
I know I am august,
I do not trouble my spirit to vindicate itself
or be understood,
I see that the elementary laws never
apologize,
......
”
Walt Whitman
“..All I mark as my own you shall offset it
with your own, Else it were time lost
listening to me...
....
In all people I see myself, none more, and
not one a barley-corn less,
And the good or bad I say of myself I say of
them.
I know I am solid and sound,
To me the converging objects of the
universe perpetually flow
All are written to me, and I must get what
the writing means.
I know I am deathless,
I know this orbit of mine cannot be swept
by a carpenter’s compass,
I know I shall not pass like a child's carlacue
cut with a burnt stick at night.
I know I am august,
I do not trouble my spirit to vindicate itself
or be understood,
I see that the elementary laws never
apologize,
......
”
October 26, 2009
I am so not a Garrison Keillor fan--While his radio show contains some good nuggets, more often than not the stories ramble for an eternity before reaching a mediocre punchline. However, I love this anthology of poems selected by Keillor. I recommend it to anyone who thinks that poetry doesn't resonate with them--these poems are accessible, easy to read and many of them, in Keillor tradition, tell stories.
May 29, 2019
This version is an audiobook. I read the actual book the first time and listened to it the second. I am going to buy an audio copy as it’s perfect for listening to 20 minutes before bed to put you in a calm state. I wish it wasn’t abridged as that makes me crazy. I also wish each poem was identified before hand. But I can go back to my book and look up what I heard. It’s truly wonderful listening to Keillor’s voice read these poems. Better than Xanax.
July 17, 2009
What a great anthology! There are poems in here for just about every mood and situation which you could encounter.
As a Keillor fan, I can imagine him reading these. The public radio station to which I listen does not carry The Writer's Almanac, so I have never heard him read any of this poetry, but when I read them, it is Garrison's voice I hear in my head.
Divided into 19 sections, Good Poems touches on all manner of topics. From iceberg lettuce to the nature of the divine, from poetry readings to bodily excretions, from the delights of making love in a pile of leaves to old age and youth and so much more, it's all here. The range of poets Keillor selected is equally wide ranging. From Kenneth Rexroth to Emily Dickinson, from Shakespeare to Anne Sexton the list goes on.
I keep my copy in one of my motorcycle saddlebags as emergency reading in case I find my self waiting at an appointment. I know I can open it anywhere at random and immediately be transported away into another world, and I enjoy the unpredictabilikty of not knowing where it will be.
--Mark Pendleton
http://chile.las-cruces.org/search/t?...
As a Keillor fan, I can imagine him reading these. The public radio station to which I listen does not carry The Writer's Almanac, so I have never heard him read any of this poetry, but when I read them, it is Garrison's voice I hear in my head.
Divided into 19 sections, Good Poems touches on all manner of topics. From iceberg lettuce to the nature of the divine, from poetry readings to bodily excretions, from the delights of making love in a pile of leaves to old age and youth and so much more, it's all here. The range of poets Keillor selected is equally wide ranging. From Kenneth Rexroth to Emily Dickinson, from Shakespeare to Anne Sexton the list goes on.
I keep my copy in one of my motorcycle saddlebags as emergency reading in case I find my self waiting at an appointment. I know I can open it anywhere at random and immediately be transported away into another world, and I enjoy the unpredictabilikty of not knowing where it will be.
--Mark Pendleton
http://chile.las-cruces.org/search/t?...
February 6, 2018
Note: It's a lamentable shame that Keillor's name now brings to mind allegations of sexual misconduct. I'm here to review the book and not the editor.
Collections like this can help keep poetry alive. These are bright, occasionally powerful poems that are accessible to even the most novice of poetry readers.
The hardline artist types who want poetry to be constantly challenging probably won't care for this collection. These are friendly poems of a largely homespun nature; there's nothing alienating going on here.
Yet these poems do have much to say. The sorrowful richness of life, all of its gifts and violations, is on full display here. Some of the poems collected here are likely to stay with you long after you've put the book on the shelf and gone on with your life. If that's not the mark of a good poem then I don't know what is.
Collections like this can help keep poetry alive. These are bright, occasionally powerful poems that are accessible to even the most novice of poetry readers.
The hardline artist types who want poetry to be constantly challenging probably won't care for this collection. These are friendly poems of a largely homespun nature; there's nothing alienating going on here.
Yet these poems do have much to say. The sorrowful richness of life, all of its gifts and violations, is on full display here. Some of the poems collected here are likely to stay with you long after you've put the book on the shelf and gone on with your life. If that's not the mark of a good poem then I don't know what is.
February 6, 2017
Favorite Poem = "As Befits a Man" by Langston Hughes
I don't mind dying —
But I'd hate to die all alone!
I want a dozen pretty women
To holler, cry, and moan.
I don't mind dying
But I want my funeral to be fine:
A row of long tall mamas
Fainting, Fanning, and crying.
I want a fish-tail hearse
And sixteen fish-tail cars,
A big brass band
And a whole truck load of flowers.
When they let me down,
Down into the clay,
I want the women to holler:
Please don't take him away!
Ow-ooo-oo-o!
Don't take daddy away!
I don't mind dying —
But I'd hate to die all alone!
I want a dozen pretty women
To holler, cry, and moan.
I don't mind dying
But I want my funeral to be fine:
A row of long tall mamas
Fainting, Fanning, and crying.
I want a fish-tail hearse
And sixteen fish-tail cars,
A big brass band
And a whole truck load of flowers.
When they let me down,
Down into the clay,
I want the women to holler:
Please don't take him away!
Ow-ooo-oo-o!
Don't take daddy away!
November 26, 2015
Unfinished at 25ish%
I think it's time that I admit defeat. I like (some) poetry, but not enough to read a book of it. This might be the kind of thing where I would read a poem or two as a palate cleanser between books. But I just cannot sit down and read it like I would a novel.
I'd like to say that I will eventually finish Good Poems, but I need to return it to its owner, who has been patient while I dawdled over this.
I think it's time that I admit defeat. I like (some) poetry, but not enough to read a book of it. This might be the kind of thing where I would read a poem or two as a palate cleanser between books. But I just cannot sit down and read it like I would a novel.
I'd like to say that I will eventually finish Good Poems, but I need to return it to its owner, who has been patient while I dawdled over this.
October 3, 2020
I’ve been reading poems all summer. In grade school there was a poem reading contest called the Cherry Blossom Festival, I think? It has probably gone to the wayside in today’s school curriculum. If you haven’t read poems for awhile this is a great book. At our last book club meeting before everything went to shit I had everyone pick a favorite poem to read. Some of them hated the idea but got into it and it was one of our best book club meetings.
September 15, 2024
I’d say it was a pretty even split between poems I really liked and poems I found underwhelming. Also, I couldn’t help but remember how Garrison Keillor got me-tooed when reading a few of the poems included that had a tad too much masculine self-centeredness. But I did find a bunch of poets that I really enjoy and plan to read collections from, so I’d say it was a decent start on my re-entry into poetry.
February 15, 2025
Read via audiobook.
I have to say this is one of my least favorite poetry collections. None of the poems in here 'spoke' to me and I found it hard to appreciate them (yes, I know you can dislike something but still appreciate the literary merits). I felt that the poems on the whole lacked any deeper meaning and were hard to decipher. There were a few good ones here and there, thus the 2-star rating.
I would pass on this as there are better poetry books out there.
I have to say this is one of my least favorite poetry collections. None of the poems in here 'spoke' to me and I found it hard to appreciate them (yes, I know you can dislike something but still appreciate the literary merits). I felt that the poems on the whole lacked any deeper meaning and were hard to decipher. There were a few good ones here and there, thus the 2-star rating.
I would pass on this as there are better poetry books out there.
December 13, 2008
Not as clean or classic as the other anthology I read. Half of the poems are crude or cursing, but the other half have become some of my new favorites. Also, half to say a word for the way it's arranged. Yellow, music, a good life, trips - those are good themes for poems and pleasant to read together.
Read
May 8, 2019This collection contains a nice variety of old and new (but mostly new) poems. As with any collection, some of the selections were just my style, others were not. It helped me figure out what I like and dislike in modern poetry.
June 8, 2021
rip to garrison keillor but i would have picked a better selection (look i loved reading this. lots of poems were old & new favourites. however at least third of them did nothing to me - too much white american maleness for me.)
August 10, 2020
I just don't think I'm into modern poetry.
June 21, 2025
. . . God, who thinks about
poetry all the time, breathes happily as He
repeats to Himself: There are fish in the net,
lots of fish this time in the net of the heart.
from Fishing in the Keep of Silence by Linda Gregg
five stars have been awarded for almost 500 pages of good, good poems
total score: 5/5 stars
poetry all the time, breathes happily as He
repeats to Himself: There are fish in the net,
lots of fish this time in the net of the heart.
from Fishing in the Keep of Silence by Linda Gregg
five stars have been awarded for almost 500 pages of good, good poems
total score: 5/5 stars
November 24, 2023
"Good Poems" were to me.
Read aloud, even better.
Whooshed over my ears
in an immersion of sound.
Read aloud, even better.
Whooshed over my ears
in an immersion of sound.
Read
March 15, 2013I'm generally too obtuse to appreciate poetry but thought I'd give this book a try, given my affection for Garrison Keillor. Good poems, as advertised.
I especially liked Wendell Berry's The Peace of Wild Things "I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds./I come into the peace of wild things/that do not tax their lives with forethought/of grief." And laughed out loud at Charles Bukowski's Poetry Readings: "they read on and on/before their mothers, their sisters, their husbands,/their wives, their friends, the other poets/and the handful of idiots who have wandered/in/from nowhere."
I especially liked Wendell Berry's The Peace of Wild Things "I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds./I come into the peace of wild things/that do not tax their lives with forethought/of grief." And laughed out loud at Charles Bukowski's Poetry Readings: "they read on and on/before their mothers, their sisters, their husbands,/their wives, their friends, the other poets/and the handful of idiots who have wandered/in/from nowhere."
November 12, 2009
This book has a lot of variety. Plus, since Keillor selected the poems, I'm hearing all the poems in his voice from his show on NPR.
September 11, 2012
Loved it. Loved the intro by Keillor, loved the selections.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 519 reviews