"...no one
can have poetry or dances, prayers or climaxes all day;...
only Dostoevsky can be Dostoevskian at such long
long tumultuous stretches;..."
from "Moderation Is Not a Negation of Intensity; But Helps Avoid Monotony" by John Tagliabue
This book is just what the title says, good poems. They were selected by Garrison Keillor from poems heard on The Writer's Almanac. Any compilation of the best books or the best poems is going to be subjective, but what I liked about this one is that it is not claiming to be the best poems, just good poems. And most of them were. I would not have chosen them all, but I was introduced to many poems and poets that I never would have looked at otherwise.
If you like poetry, this is a good book to read. If you're afraid of poetry but have always wanted to give it a try, this is a good book to start with. It had a good mix of old and new, traditional and experimental. And it had a lot of Emily Dickinson, my own favorite poet, so you certainly can't go wrong there.
I'll have to check this out. I've been pondering poetry a lot lately, so I'm happy to find another volume to try!
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