August 2023 -- Introduction to Poetry

For our August event, we will delve into poetry--what it is, where it came from, how it's structured, read some classic poems, etc. To give us a good overview of poetry, I have assembled our study into three parts:

1. I have chosen John Carey's anthology of poets and periods for our book: A Little History of Poetry; [A Little History of Poetry: Carey, John: 9780300255034: Books - Amazon.ca](https://www.amazon.ca/Little-History-Poetry-John-Carey/dp/0300255039/) or message me for the ebook.

"What is poetry? If music is sound organized in a particular way, poetry is a way of organizing language. It is language made special so that it will be remembered and valued. It does not always work—over the centuries countless thousands of poems have been forgotten. But this Little History is about some that have not.

"John Carey tells the stories behind the world’s greatest poems, from the oldest surviving one written nearly four thousand years ago to those being written today. Carey looks at poets whose works shape our views of the world, such as Dante, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Whitman, and Yeats. He also looks at more recent poets, like Derek Walcott, Marianne Moore, and Maya Angelou, who have started to question what makes a poem “great” in the first place.

"For readers both young and old, this little history shines a light for readers on the richness of the world’s poems—and the elusive quality that makes them all the more enticing."

2. We will also read some classic poems that I have selected as well as one or more of your favorite poems. Please provide me with your poem(s) of choice to be included in our canon. Note that I will publish said canon on the message board and it will be constantly updated. The Poetry Canon has been compiled of at least one poem per chapter/period of John Carey's book. They can be found under the Message Board, starting with the Table of Contents listed here:
August 2023, Introduction to Poetry: Poetry Canon - 100 Classics Book Club (Sherwood Park, AB) | Meetup

3. Some on-line resources as to poetry's history, structure, and allure...

Introduction to Poetry
by Billy Collins

I ask them to take a poem
and hold it up to the light
like a color slide

or press an ear against its hive.

I say drop a mouse into a poem
and watch him probe his way out,

or walk inside the poem’s room
and feel the walls for a light switch.

I want them to waterski
across the surface of a poem
waving at the author’s name on the shore.

But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.

They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.

3. ONLINE RESOURCES
What Is Classical Poetry?
[What Is Classical Poetry? (reference.com)](https://www.reference.com/world-view/classical-poetry-e2bd880b6891022c)

Introduction to Poetry
Adaptation for Langara ENGL 1130 (Weal)
Authors: Alan Lindsay; Candace Bergstrom; and Jacqueline Weal
[Introduction to Poetry – Simple Book Publishing (bccampus.ca)](https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/engl1130/)

Introduction to Poetry
Oak Teacher Hub
Lesson: Introduction to Poetry | Teacher Hub | Oak National Academy (thenational.academy)

Introduction to Poetry
Bucks County Community College
[IntrotoPoetry.pdf (bucks.edu)](https://www.bucks.edu/media/bcccmedialibrary/tutoring/documents/writingareahandoutrevision/literature/IntrotoPoetry.pdf#:~:text=Many%20people%20are%20intimidated%20by%20the%20mention%20of,as%20something%20that%20is%20cryptic%20and%20beyond%20understanding.)

Types of Poetry
[Types of Poetry (archive.org)](https://web.archive.org/web/20210417051541/http://www.poeticterminology.net/)

Types of Poetry: The Complete Guide with 28 Examples
[Types of Poetry: The Complete Guide with 28 Examples (scribophile.com)](https://www.scribophile.com/academy/types-of-poetry)

Isaac Watts
[Isaac Watts Critical Essays - eNotes.com](https://www.enotes.com/topics/isaac-watts/critical-essays)