GOOD POEMS by Garrison Keillor - Reviewed by Roger Stevens

Good poems? It is a brave publisher who puts that title on the front of a book. It is asking for trouble. But without thinking too deeply about what actually constitutes a good poem, I can certainly say that this volume, with over four hundred pages, certainly contains a lot of them. 

The poems have been chosen by Garrison Keillor, better known for his prose works, such as the Lake Woebegone stories, and his contributions to the American radio programme The Writer’s Almanac, which dishes up a wide range of poems on its five-minute breakfast time poetry slot. Generally, the poems he broadcasts are highly accessible, as they would have to be. As Garrison says, “People listen to (these) poems while they’re frying eggs and sausage and reading the paper and reasoning with their offspring and I find it wise to stay away from stuff that is too airy or that refers off-handedly to the poet Li Po or relies on your familiarity with butterflies, or Spanish, or Monet.” In short, you do not need an English Literature degree to enjoy them.

So, this anthology brings together a host of the poems that have entertained America in the early mornings. And what I found to be particularly enjoyable, as a British writer, is that it features a great many poets I have never heard of, but who are presumably more familiar to American readers. The reason I like anthologies is that you can discover new poets to delight you. And, of course, in this book I have found many.

The problem with anthologies in the UK , especially those edited for the general reader (The Nation’s Top Poems to read at Weddings or Every Poem You Will Ever Need to Read at Funerals, for example), is that they tend to recycle the same poems over and over. I love Jenny Joseph looking forward to old age and explaining how she’ll wear the colour purple and Dylan Thomas urging us to make a fuss when we head for that good night – but I also need to read something less familiar sometimes; something exciting; not necessarily something newly written but something I’ve missed along the way…

Such as Stephen Dobyns confessing his inner Nazi; Stephen Dunn giving excellent advice on how to deal with altruists; and David Budbill explaining the Three Goals: The first, to see a thing simply and clearly, the second, well, a little wine helps and the third –

“…to see the universal and the particular,

simultaneously

Regarding this one, call me when you get it.”

Of course, a bonus to making a good poetry anthology really enjoyable is when it features a few personal favourites. One of mine is Billy Collins, who considers making a small speech on board a plane just in case it crashes; Wendy Cope, with the huge orange she buys; and Ferlinghetti, as he is entertained by The Green Street Mortuary marching band. 

If you’re looking for some new writers and you enjoy anthologies, then I would recommend this.

*********************

Roger Stevens is a National Poetry Day Ambassador, a founding member of the Able Writers scheme with Brian Moses and runs the award-winning website www.poetryzone.co.uk for children and teachers, which has just celebrated its 20th anniversary.  He has published forty books for children. A Million Brilliant Poems (Bloomsbury) was shortlisted for the CLPE prize and his book Apes to Zebras – an A to Z of shape poems (Bloomsbury) won the prestigious NSTB award. Roger plays keyboards and guitar and has recorded three albums for Irregular Records, the most recent being We Are Now Approaching Hassocks, which is available from www.rogerstevensshop.com Roger spends his time between the Loire, in France, and Brighton, where he lives with his wife and a very shy dog called Jasper.

.

.
All poems are copyright of the poet. Permission for this poet to post their work here has been granted by blog owner. All rights remain with the individual poet and their respective publisher.