By Katherine Schneider, for the CVPost
Poetry and You
When you saw this post was about poetry, did you wince or did you smile?
I loved poems when I was little and memorized some that I still remember. Then high school and college English classes convinced me I wasn’t smart enough to figure out the meanings of poems, so I lost interest.
In retirement, I’ve come back to poetry. It makes me view things differently and somehow nourishes my soul. Now, with the advent of the pandemic, I notice that interest in poetry seems to be increasing.
Since April is poetry month, I’ll venture to recommend a few poets, podcasts and websites if you’re willing to give poetry another try. Some modern poets I enjoy include Ted Kooser, Mary Oliver, Wendell Berry and Eau Claire’s own Max Garland.
Some podcasts you might enjoy include “The Writer’s Almanac” with a poem each day, “Audio Poem of the Day,” “The Slow Down” and “The Daily Poem: the Close Reads Podcast Network.”
The On Being Studios is producing a series of podcasts of a poem on a topic like the beauty of home or one for letting yourself be.
Of course hymns, song lyrics and limericks count as poetry too. For example:
A woman in Wisconsin did say
Life’s better with a poem a day.
If the first one’s a bore
Try a few more
They’ll chase your troubles away.
To read previous instalments of “The Corona Chronicles,” click here.
The home page image is a representation of a coronavirus cell.