i want to get into poetry. help?

my dear i'm going to be real with you -- i may not be the best person to ask if you want to Seriously get into poetry because nearly Everything i read is contemporary (i know i need to branch out. i know.). that being said, a great method is to just go down an absolute rabbit hole after discovering a poem you like.

there are a lot of ways to read poetry. while it's good to pay attention to craft and all that comes with it, you don't need to be an expert in literary techniques to appreciate poetry -- plenty of good poems can speak to you otherwise! as you read more poetry, you'll gain more skills. the only way to begin is by beginning, etc. the only thing i can say is really sit with poems! don't rush through them. in short works, every word counts and will make your reading experience better.

i think hanif abdurraqib is a fantastic starting point for people who aren't super into poetry, especially if they find it flowery or difficult to understand. hanif is super grounded and real while still writing beautifully. some of my favorite poems of his are "and what good will your vanity be when the rapture comes", "poems on an email exchange", "when i say that loving me is kind of like being a chicago bulls fan", "dudes, we did not go through the hassle of getting these fake ids for this jukebox to not have any springsteen", among many many others.

my favorite poet of all time is kaveh akbar, who is actually the poet that formally got me really into poetry. he is beautifully lyrical without being over the top and i cannot recommend his collection pilgrim bell enough. that being said, "stop me if you've heard this one before" is the poem of his that was my gateway drug. other poems i love very much include "forfeiting my mystique", "the palace", "against dying", "heritage", "i wouldn't even know what to do with a third chance", and i'm going to stop here before i go crazy. if you're into poetry readings, he did this lecture/panel/thing a few years ago -- he has a really hypnotizing, gorgeous style of reading poetry that i love.

other contemporary poets who i love include cameron awkward-rich, franny choi, solmaz sharif, ada limón, natalie diaz, summer farah, ocean vuong, and dante émile (who is here on tumblr!). this is a very very short list shaped by my personal preferences -- if you send me a dm with the vibes you like, i can probably get a more specific list of actual poems. to sound a little cultured, a slightly older poet who i love very much is frank o'hara, which, you know, basic choice, but he's special to me.

in short: find a poem you like, and follow the rabbit! there are so many poems just online. a secondhand bookshop is also a great place to start building a physical collection, if you want to get into that (you totally should, eventually, once you find poets you like -- sometimes you have the worst day at work and you just need to lay in bed with your favorite poems in hand).

I WOULDN’T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH A THIRD CHANCE by Kaveh Akbar, from Pilgrim Bell.

Text below:

I WOULDN’T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH A THIRD CHANCE

         What’s inside my body is more or less the same as what’s inside yours— here, the river girl clutching her toy whistle. Here, the black snake covered in scabs. Follow my neckline,

the beginning will start beginning again. I swear on my head and eyes, there are moments in every day when     if you asked me to leave, I would. Head and eyes. Heaven

     is all preposition—above, among, around, within—and if you must,      you can live any place that’s a place. A failure of courage is still a victory of safety. Bravery pitches its refugee tent

at the base of my brain and slowly starves, chipping into darkness like a clay bird bouncing down a well. All night     I eat garlic cream, water my dead orchids.

       In what world would any of it seem credible? God’s word is a melody, and melody requires repetition. God’s word is a melody I sang once then forgot.

Kaveh Akbar, from "I Wouldn't Even Know What to Do with a Third Chance", from Pilgrim Bell

A failure of courage is still a victory for safety.

Kaveh Akbar, I Wouldn’t Even Know What To Do With A Third Chance