There are many ways to celebrate National Poetry Month. Former Santa Barbara poet laureate David Starkey has opted for reviewing one book of poetry a day.
Yes, that’s one book, not one poem.
To be fair, Starkey, who is currently a book reviewer for the Santa Barbara Independent, is doing something truly wonderful: putting poets’ books into the spotlight. This can help make their work known and also help them earn income.
But I wonder if any fellow poetry lovers see a bit of a problem here? Is reading a book of poetry in a single day really a way to appreciate poetry?
Jean Cocteau famously wrote “Every poem is a coat of arms. It must be deciphered.” Is a day enough time to decipher – and savor – what could amount to dozens of poems?
Whatever you believe, and however you experience and take in poetry, there is one thing for sure: sharing beloved poems is a great thing.
Read on and add some (more) poetry to your life with Starkey’s book list, whether you enjoy the poems one at a time, or in one big poetic rush.
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