Reader discussion: Spoon River Anthology

Public reader discussion about Spoon River Anthology in the WeRead Catalog by Edgar Lee Masters.

Spoon River Anthology companion?

By rustyDesk2002

Hey, I have a question for people who know a lot more about literature than I do. For most of my life I’ve kind of hated poetry. It never really landed for me, and honestly it stirred up feelings I didn’t want to deal with, so I stayed away from it. Maybe now that I’m older and better at recognizing my own emotions, that’s starting to shift. случайly, I read a few poems from Spoon River Anthology and I actually liked it a lot. I love how all the voices connect to each other. A lot of the people in it remind me of people I grew up around, and it makes me feel lucky I didn’t go through some of the stuff they talk about. So I guess my question is: is there something that goes along with Spoon River? Like a companion or deeper look at it, kind of like what you can find for books like Canterbury Tales? I feel like I might be missing some things since poetry is still pretty new to me.

What are the best IL festivals and events?

By doglake

It feels like every small town around here has some kind of festival every weekend in the warmer months, but a lot of them are pretty underwhelming. We didn’t figure out which ones were actually worth it until we’d lived in our last hometown for a couple years (I don’t really use Facebook, which seems like the only place people look for this stuff now). Since we’re still pretty new to Illinois, I was wondering what everyone’s favorite annual events are—ones that are actually worth checking out. When do they usually happen, and what do you like about them? Doesn’t matter what part of the state—just hoping to hear from folks all over so we can see what’s out there. Thanks!

What’s your favorite fun fact about Illinois?

By Sonnet_Hardcover77

We grow more pumpkins than any other state.

[Discussion] Disillusioned with Poetry

By Narrow-Rabbit

Just finished my first year studying English literature at uni, and I’ve noticed my summer reading list is full of novels and plays I actually want to read, but I can’t really make myself get into poetry again. It feels weird, because poetry used to be my absolute favourite. At school I was really into Keats and Auden, and by the time I got to uni I was basically obsessed with Yeats… now I’m just stuck. I can’t seem to find any poetry I actually want to explore. A lot of what I see coming out now feels like it’s mostly trash to me (Rupi Kaur etc.). And I’m also kind of sour on free verse as a whole—not because I think the form is inherently bad, but because it’s so often treated like poetry just means “no prosody, no metre, no rhyme” and that stuff is part of what makes it poetry, whether people admit it or not. I guess I’d love to hear what other people think: - Are there any poets who try to capture reality in a way that feels more like what novelists or playwrights do? Like if that kind of poet exists, I’d actually want to read them and maybe get my interest back. - Also, do you think poetry is basically a dead medium? I’ve got some ideas about that, but I’m not sure they’re right, so I want to hear other takes.

[OPINION] What are some of your favorite narrative poems?

By happy-laurel61

I’m really into poems that kind of tell a story, even if the plot is simple sometimes. Like The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe or Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti. That said, it feels like this kind of straightforward narrative poem is pretty hard to find lately, at least in modern poetry. If anyone has recommendations, I’d love to hear them.

Poetry fans, what are some must read poetry collections?

By faintLynx

I picked up Bukowski’s *The Pleasures of the Damned*, Ginsberg’s *Howl*, *Caddish and Other Poems*, and a nice second-hand Betjeman collection the other day. I’ve only gotten through the Bukowski so far and it’s amazing — honestly no idea why I hadn’t read him before. I already have an Eliot collection that I really like, and a Hardy one that’s just kind of alright, but I didn’t realise it was mostly his nature poems, so it doesn’t really have the more bitter side of him. I do like “Neutral Tones” though, that’s a really good poem. So, who do you all like? Who’s basically essential, and who can you skip?