Poetry Readers Challenge discussion

While I'm not going to dismiss the possibility that I may read entire books of poetry--maybe even 20 of them--in the coming year, I'm going to have to get a bit creative with my goals in order to keep myself reading poetry when so much is competing for my attention. So my primary goal will be to read 26 poems this year and discuss them in the "Read 'em and Weep" discussion area.

I've decided to focus on two large anthologies for this endeavor:
Poems for the Millenium, Vol. 3
Against Forgetting

But I'll nibble elsewhere I'm sure.

Jen, this post resonates. I read probably twice as many books as I review.

Nina wrote: "Jen, this post resonates. I read probably twice as many books as I review."
Some years it can really be a challenge. And I agree that the reviewing--even a short one--is just too much considering other demands.

1. Inksuite by Sarah Sloat

2. Excuse me while I wring this long swim out of my hair by Sarah Sloat

3. Heiress to a Small Ruin by Sarah Sloat

And there ends my Sarah reading for the year. It's been an enjoyable excursion.

4. The Wild Braid by Stanley Kunitz with Genine Lentine.

5. Bright Dead Things by Ada Limon

6. Riffs & Reciprocities by Stephen Dunn

Gads, I can't believe I haven't finished a book of poetry since March. I have finally given up on Jim Harrison's "The Shape of the Journey." I was at about pg 200 into his section titled "Letters to Yesenin" when I decided I wasn't getting enough out of it. In fact, it was rather depressing. He had some interesting projects in this collected book of his work but I can't say I really liked any of it. So I've stopped. Not only have I stopped, I've also decided that the rest of the year I will not force myself to read anything that doesn't immediately grab me and hold my attention. The second book to bite the dust as a result of this commitment is Nobel Laureate Joseph Brodsky's "So Forth." I've decided, because it somehow makes me feel like I'm making progress, that I will post my "couldn't get through it" list here as well. Maybe I'll preface them with a negative. So Harrison's book is -1 and Brodsky's -2. We'll see how many other Nobel Laureates I'll be able to shoot down before the end of the year.

7. Rumor Verified by Robert Penn Warren

I've made it a third of the distance. Not sure I'll get through any others this year. Hoping to renew my commitment to poetry dipping next year.

8. The Needle by Jennifer Grotz

9. New and Selected Poems 1974-1994 by Stephen Dunn

10. Empty Chairs by Liu Xia