Rating: 
Summary: variety of voices and moods
Review: If you enjoy Garrison Keillor's "A Writer's Alamanac," as I do every morning when it arrives in my email inbox, you will relish this collection of poems. A variety of voices and moods, of experiences and dreams, await you as you turn the pages. Some of the works are by obscure poets; others are by widely known, established writers.
"Good Poems" was recommended to me by a newspaper columnist who received it as a birthday gift. The book makes a great gift for someone who savors good writing--perhaps one of the "English majors" Garrison is always gently parodying on his radio program.
Five stars.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Collection of Poems!
Review: "Elizabeth Bishop was a woman, ditto Emily Dickinson, and she can take your head off with one line. . ." That is Garrison Keillor's description of Ms. Dickinson as he debunks the term "Women's lit" as one of the dumb ideas of his generation in his brief introduction to this collection of "good" poems he has gleaned from his radio program "The Writer's Almanac." T. S. Eliot he describes as a "great stuffed owl" who "didn't get out of the house much." Allen Ginsberg was "something of a gasbag" while Anne Sexton is a "hot number." Opinionated? Yes, but I find I agree with Mr. Keillor more times than I don't. I read this obviously honest and thouthful introduction three times and then called up friends who love poetry and read portions of it to them.Mr. Keillor includes a lot of poets here, many of whom I did not know previously. You guessed it. There are no Ginsberg or Eliot selections included. The criterion is that the poems should have "somehow stuck" with Keillor and with "some of the listeners." Keillor obviously is guided by the time restraints of his radio show since the poems must be short. (I do not believe for a moment that he does not care for Matthew Arnold's "Dover Beach," a poem probably too long to include here.)The anthology is short on 19th Century poets although Ms. Emily does take first place with eight selections. Even though Mr. Keillor would not be happy with long-winded paise, suffice it to say that, as the Brits would, that this book is altogether "lovely." And, Mr. Keillor, you are one of those Americans who make me happy I live here. Didn't you say it best in one of your essays, something about seeing the firelights of other gentle people?
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Summary: Truly Delightful - From the Author of "BrainChild"
Review: "Good Poems" contains some of the finest works that I've ever read. Whether you are an avid reader of poetry, or someone who has just been introduced to it, you will not be disappointed with this collection. From The Psalm Book, to William Shakespeare, to Billy Collins, all are sure to enjoy. From the very beginning, one's attention is captured by the wickedly irreverent and funny poem by Thomas Lux, entitled "Poem in Thanks." In it, he starts out by addressing his prayer to "Lord Whoever..." and ends it by thanking the Lord for the (expletive) birds singing! I particularly enjoyed "This is Just To Say", a whimsical piece by William Carlos Williams, and the equally witty retort of the same name by Erica-Lynn Gambino: "I have eaten the plums that were in the icebox
and which you were probably saving for breakfast
forgive me they were delicious so sweet and so cold" to which, Ms. Gambino replies: "I have just asked you to get out of my apartment even though you never thought I would
forgive me you were driving me insane" Whimsical, spiritual, somber, and profound (Emily Dickinson - Tell all the Truth, but tell it slant...), this selection by Mr. Kellor is arranged in such a way that one will be taken on an emotional roller coaster ride. "Good Poems" is a 'Must Have' for all lovers of well arranged words.
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Summary: HERE IS AN ANTHOLOGY OF POETRY....
Review: ....that's worth its weight in gold! Brings together a marvelous choice of past and present, old and new, and is full of surprises! Poetry lover or no, buy this now!
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Summary: Yes, they are
Review: A couple of generations back, publishers used to put out fat poetry anthologies - half of them edited by Louis Untermeyer - for families to put on their bookshelves to elevate the cultural tone of their home. These edifying works were organized by "subject" (God, Seafaring, Romance, Hope, Nature), and leaned heavily toward poems from prior centuries, or poems which exhibited a comforting folksiness, or wore uplifting morals on their sleeves. There's a far larger public today which is actually prepared to read poems for pleasure, and Garrison Keillor has put together a poetic omnibus, also arranged by subject (I particularly like the group of poems on "Yellow" followed by the ones on "Snow"), which is otherwise quite the opposite of the old workhorses. Yes, prior centuries are represented, but the center of gravity lies among good modern poets, most of them still living, most of whom you never had a chance to read in school. They have been selected for both memorability and straightforward style. There are often flashes of humor, and trendily obscure versifiers need not apply, but there's no lack of depth or sophistication. (Think Billy Collins, who is well represented here.) Those of us who already read a lot of poetry, and those of us who suffered with glazed eyes through opaque symbols in English class, will both find fresh pleasures, simple ones and subtle, in this treasury. It's what a poetry anthology should be: a sampler, a taster's counter at the many-flavored ice cream shop of verse. You can find old friends and new ones, and learn who you want to explore in depth later on. And this anthology lays out a richer feast of new friends than any other I've encountered. As a bonus, there's Keillor's bluntly opinionated preface, in which he trashes Marianne Moore in favor of Elizabeth Bishop, "Saint Sylvia" in favor of Anne Sexton, and T.S. Eliot on general principles. It was a hoot even though I disagreed with him on two out of three.
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Summary: Good for Keillor; good for us
Review: A fine anthology. One that I suspect will attract new readers of poetry due to Keillor's name on the cover. Readers will be rewarded with a nice breadth of styles from which to choose.
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Summary: Refined Warmth
Review: Although I am not one of the most experienced readers or writers of poetry, I do read quite a bit and can vouch for how a set of poems has impacted me and my direct surroundings. I agree with many of the good things said about this book in previous reviews. It may not be the most advanced or challenging set of poetry to read, but challenge and intellectual intrigue are not my primary concern when reading poetry. I'm impressed if I can flip through a set of poems, enjoy many of them on first read, and gaze at a few of them with utter respect for the apparent simplicities and subtle complexities. It is hard not to respect a poem that grows warmer with every tread. Whether the reader agrees with the types of poems placed in the collection or not, this set does its job well. I *can* flip through this set of poems in a short 3-5 minute break and something may catch my eye. I feel that he has picked good poetry for people--in general--to read. Let me exemplify: I was at the airport newstand looking at the usual Computer magazine section as usual (The Poetry journals I enjoy aren't sold at smaller newstands), and out the corner of my eye, I saw my friend holding _Good Poems_. He is not especially interested in poetry, but he just picked this up out of curiousity. It may have been something about the blatant title, or the fact that this was sort of unique on the newsstand, but he liked a poem in it. I grabbed a copy for me to look at and reading some titles I recognized in the contents, I was beginning to be impressed. This isn't mediocre poetry as some reviews have described it. It's precisely what the author said, there's something Good about them that is warmly, but stubbornly presented to an audience much larger than I would have expected...now whether that's the poet's goal or not is irrelevant. I think Keillor did a fine job--thank's for catching my friend's and my eye!
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Summary: Title Says it All
Review: I don't normally read poetry. It's one genre I'm very ignorant about but I like Garrison Keillor's story telling and figured I might like the same type of poetry he likes. I was right! Although I didn't enjoy every single one (and who can expect to in a compillation of more than four hundred pages) but I did enjoy or take meaning away from enough of them to count this book as a page turner.
Rating:
Summary: Delightful stress reduction therapy
Review: I have this book and CD audio. I love to read poetry, but to hear it is luxury. What a great gift. What a delightful collection of my favorite poets: Dunn, Collins etc. -- too many to name. My favorites are Robert Bly reading two poems on disc one and Ginsbery reading Whitman.
Rating:
Summary: Good Collection of Good Poems
Review: I liked this collection because it contained alot of poetry that I was never taught in school. And some of it is straight forward it isn't trying to hide behind huge words that the average person doesn't use. I like that kind of poetry too but sometimes I think it's a little more gutsy to write simple straight forward to the average person. Because sometimes people end up hating poetry because of poetry that seems to just exist to show off big words. And that would be too bad because poetry is so beautiful and enjoyable. I would also recomend the first book by a new poet who writes more on the simple side of things.
It is called Moments in Life:A Book of Poetry (ISBN-0595293859) and it is by Tyler S. Wilson. It is of course available on this site.
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