Poetry challenged

[eloquentwthrage]

I've been having trouble with my Monday assignment for my yearlong challenge, which is to read OPP (Other People's Poetry). As I read, I find myself very critical of the poet from pretty much the moment I start. I think, "Wow, that's ugly," and "That metaphor means nothing to anyone anywhere except this poet," and "Ewwwww!" Occasionally, I've found

Comments

[peregrin8]

Other People as in peers, current unvetted writers, or as in any poets ever? I mean, do you have the same reaction to Adrienne Rich, Pablo Neruda, WB Yeats?

[eloquentwthrage]

No, of course not. But I don't read Neruda because I don't like translated poetry, and I've read enough Yeats before to know I do something very different and am not looking to model myself after.

I've picked up some single-poet books randomly, and some collections. As I said, I've found some good stuff. I just can't keep myself from being so critical of marginal poetry. And honestly, even "vetted" poets get on my nerves for sometimes writing so obscurely that I blame them partially for why people don't like poetry today.