# Favorite/ Most Talented Poet **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 22, 2005, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-most-talented-poet/295673 "2005-03-22T03:16:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Humble\_Servant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/47e85d/32.png) [@Humble\_Servant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Humble_Servant)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-most-talented-poet/295673/41 "2005-03-24T15:11:06Z")
Thanks very much for the links all; I shall read happily today. Here’s one that speaks to me: John Milton: On His Blindness WHEN I consider how my light is spent E’re half my days, in this dark world and wide, And that one Talent which is death to hide, Lodg’d with me useless, though my Soul more bent To serve therewith my Maker, and present 5 My true account, least he returning chide, Doth God exact day-labour, light deny’d, I fondly ask; But patience to prevent That murmur, soon replies, God doth not need Either man’s work or his own gifts, who best 10 Bear his milde yoak, they serve him best, his State Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed And post o’re Land and Ocean without rest: They also serve who only stand and waite. ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-most-talented-poet/295673/42 "2005-03-24T19:14:22Z")
I love T. S. Eliot, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Dylan Thomas. I think my favourite love poems are _somewhere i have never traveled_ and [The River-Merchant’s Wife: A Letter](http://www.4literature.net/Ezra_Pound/River_Merchant_s_Wife_A_Letter/). “I desired my dust to be mingled with yours”. :shiver: I have most of my favourite poetry memorised for safe-keeping. Uh… the abovementioned _River-Merchant’s Wife, somewhere i have never traveled, The Journey of the Magi, A Song for Simeon, Burnt Norton_ and _East Coker_, T. S. Eliot, _Ulysses_, Tennyson, _To His Coy Mistress, A Hymne to God the Father_, John Donne. _The Conversation of Prayers About To Be Said, And Death Shall Have No Dominion_, Dylan Thomas. _God’s Grandeur_ and _Pied Beauty_. I used to have Kipling’s _If_ memorised, but I think I’ve forgotten it. A bunch of Emily Dickinson. Eliot’s probably my favourite, for his images, rhythm, and precision. ‘_Grant Israel’s consolation, to one who has eighty years, and no tomorrow_’. ‘_Dry the pool, dry concrete, brown-edged/ And the pool was filled with water out of sunlight/ and the lotos rose, quietly, quietly_’. ---
**Author:** ![Sample\_the\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Sample\_the\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sample_the_Dog)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-most-talented-poet/295673/43 "2005-03-24T19:31:47Z")
I don’t think Carl Sandburg has been mentioned yet. His [Chicago Poems](http://carl-sandburg.com/) are deservedly a classic. [Four Preludes: On Playthings of the Wind](http://glenavalon.com/4preludes.html) is a good representation of the mood and power of his poetry. Like Service (mentioned above by **OtakuLoki** ) he was a people’s poet, but in a different way from Service. I never could get past Service’s (imho) clunky form. ---
**Author:** ![CBCD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@CBCD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBCD)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-most-talented-poet/295673/44 "2005-03-24T19:38:33Z")
> [@Lissla Lissar](#): > > I love T. S. Eliot, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Dylan Thomas… > I have most of my favourite poetry memorised for safe-keeping. …the abovementioned _River-Merchant’s Wife, somewhere i have never traveled, The Journey of the Magi, A Song for Simeon, Burnt Norton_ and _East Coker_, T. S. Eliot, _Ulysses_, Tennyson, _To His Coy Mistress, A Hymne to God the Father_, John Donne. _The Conversation of Prayers About To Be Said, And Death Shall Have No Dominion_, Dylan Thomas. _God’s Grandeur_ and _Pied Beauty_. I used to have Kipling’s _If_ memorised, but I think I’ve forgotten it. A bunch of Emily Dickinson. Hooray for all who memorise \*\*Gerard Manley Hopkins \*\* and **Tennyson**! On either side the river lie Long fields of barley and of rye That clothe the wold and meet the sky… ---
**Author:** ![LemonFoil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c6cbf5/32.png) [@LemonFoil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LemonFoil)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2005, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-most-talented-poet/295673/45 "2005-03-25T03:06:31Z")
It is good. Very, very good. And I really like how we uses the title of the poem. “Aubade.” Its formal definition is "a song or instrumental composition concerning, accompanying, or evoking daybreak. " and/ or ""a poem or song of or about lovers separating at dawn " (grace a [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com) 🙂 ) Yet the poem is hardly romantic (at least upon its first impression/ run through, I think). Juxtapose that with Rothko’s painting of the same name. It caught my eye at the Phillips Collection today (people should go see the Modigliani exhibition!). It’s one of his earlier works, not at all like the transcendental-ly wall painitings he is more famous for. Anyway, I can’t find a picture of it online, but it’s small, and iceblue, with white circular markings. A happily sad painting, I would say. I love how these artists bend words to their meanings (or is it the other way around?) ---
**Author:** ![Sample\_the\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Sample\_the\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sample_the_Dog)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2005, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-most-talented-poet/295673/46 "2005-03-25T03:19:44Z")
LemonFoil, if you’re interested in the interweaving of visual and literary arts, one of my all-time favorite poems (can’t believe I didn’t cite it earlier) is W.H. Auden’s [Musee des Beaux Arts](http://poetrypages.lemon8.nl/life/musee/museebeauxarts.htm). I read this one to every single class I ever taught. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2005, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-most-talented-poet/295673/47 "2005-03-25T04:46:38Z")
> [@mailman](#): > > Bloom is a great judge of good poetry, as well as a lot of other things. He’s written a lot of books, none of which you’d regret reading. That is, I hope you know, a highly debatable point! 🙂 (I have a lot of respect for Bloom, but in many ways he’s a blowhard who is just a tad too self-righteous in his opining, and often takes things to extremes that are unjustified. He’s one accademic I love to hate). ---
**Author:** ![Paladud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Paladud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paladud)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2005, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-most-talented-poet/295673/48 "2005-03-25T07:44:47Z")
Samuil Marshak. Ok, maybe most of his poetry is aimed at kids, but a lot of it sticks in my head to this day. ---
**Author:** ![poeticyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/6bbea6/32.png) [@poeticyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/poeticyde)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2005, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-most-talented-poet/295673/49 "2005-03-25T15:13:35Z")
I have always had a deep love of the works of Lord Byron. [This](http://www.online-literature.com/byron/688/) is the first of his poems I ever read, and will always be my favorite. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2005, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-most-talented-poet/295673/50 "2005-03-25T15:46:41Z")
Billy Collins, who was recently poet laureate has some very good stuff. It’s literate, but accessible and often very funny. Here’s one: [http://www.bigsnap.com/p-bc-01.html](http://www.bigsnap.com/p-bc-01.html) ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Who](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Doctor\_Who](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Who)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2005, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-most-talented-poet/295673/51 "2005-03-25T17:12:28Z")
> [@cher3](#): > > Billy Collins, who was recently poet laureate has some very good stuff. It’s literate, but accessible and often very funny. Here’s one: > > [BILLY COLLINS](http://www.bigsnap.com/p-bc-01.html) Son of a… I read through the whole thread to make sure I could mention Billy Collins and then here you go. Anyways, I second Billy Collins. He’s fantastic and, as mentioned, very accessible. - Peter Wiggen ---
**Author:** ![lizardling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@lizardling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizardling)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2005, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-most-talented-poet/295673/52 "2005-03-26T00:15:16Z")
> [@Lissla Lissar](#): > > I love T. S. Eliot, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Dylan Thomas. Heh – opened this thread to bring up GMH and Dylan Thomas, among other poets that I’ve loved. The first poem that I ever had to memorize was a bit from Virgil’s _Aeneid_ in sixth grade. We recited that thing en masse so many times that the first two lines are burned into my memory for all time. It took me a few tries to google it up, but I knew exactly what it sounded like. 😛 _Eadem me ad fata vocasses! / Idem ambas ferro dolor atque eadem hora tulisset._ Anyway, some favorite poems: [ul] [li]Yeats: ["The Hosting of the Sidhe"](http://www.bartleby.com/146/1.html)_Away, come away: / Empty your heart of its mortal dream_ [/li][li]Yeats: [“The Second Coming”](http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/poems/289.html) [/li][li]GMH: [“The Windhover”](http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/poems/35.html) ← This captures the dizzying ecstasy of flight.[/li][li]GMH: [“Spring and Fall”](http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/poems/59.html) ← Read it a few times. A spare, elegant poem about the loss of innocence that comes to everyone.[/li][li]Auden: [“Lay your sleeping head, my love”](http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/poems/307.html) _Lay your sleeping head, my love, / Human on my faithless arm;_ ← The best opening of any poem that I’ve ever read. There’s something about the second line that is searing in the purity of its emotion, all the more intense for the heartbreaking fragility acknowledged. It’s _right_.[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![CBCD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@CBCD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBCD)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2005, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-most-talented-poet/295673/53 "2005-03-26T01:03:44Z")
> [@lizardling](#): > > Anyway, some favorite poems:… > [ul] > [li]GMH: [“The Windhover”](http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/poems/35.html) ← This captures the dizzying ecstasy of flight.[/li][li]GMH: [“Spring and Fall”](http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/poems/59.html) ← Read it a few times. A spare, elegant poem about the loss of innocence that comes to everyone…[/li] > [/ul] OK, it’s time for some sharing amongst us GMH fans. My daughter is named Margaret, after the child in Hopkins’ poem _Spring and Fall_. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2005, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-most-talented-poet/295673/54 "2005-03-26T01:38:13Z")
I don’t know too much about poetry, but my favorite is probably Robert Frost, followed by Poe. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2005, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-most-talented-poet/295673/55 "2005-03-26T02:40:18Z")
Three of my favorites have been mentioned…an odd set e.e. Cummings, Stephan Crane and Alfred, Lord Tenneyson. Margaret Atwood is a very good poet. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-most-talented-poet/295673.md?page=2)