How a Poem Moves: A Field Guide for Readers Afraid of Poetry

Poet and professor Sol examines the work of 35 contemporary poets, in the process creating a valuable guide for the uninitiated to reading poetry. Some selections are modern iterations of classic forms, including a ghazal by Rahat Kurd, an ode by Ross Gay, and a sonnet by Don Paterson. Most, however, are free verse, but of varied meter, rhythm, and structure. Sol explores Richard Siken’s “Dots Everywhere,” an examination of art, perception, and the creative impulse, and Marilyn Dumont’s “How to Make Pemmican,” a plea for readers to educate themselves about indigenous cultures disguised as a recipe. He notes Jennifer L. Knox’s use of humor to temper serious subject matter, “high-wiring the balance between raucous comedy and searing tragedy,” and Oliver Bendorf’s manipulation of readers’ gender identity expectations in the remarkably clever “Queer Facts About Vegetables.” Going beyond the question of what poems mean, Sol investigates how they work—how they elicit emotion, provide or withhold information, and construct memorable images. His selections, largely derived from his time as a juror for the 2015 Griffin Poetry Prize, tend toward the relatively lesser-known, making this survey equally worthwhile for beginners who can learn from Sol’s instruction and for more seasoned readers who will delight in the new discoveries contained within. (Mar.)