Choosing a poetry anthology

If you are just getting into poetry, or coming back to it after a long absence (as I am) one of the best ways to dive in is to buy an anthology. But which one? There are more poetry anthologies on the market than you can shake a stick at.

First off, do some searching to see if there are any poetry anthologies that are local to your area. Many cities and regions offer anthologies of poems about the area where you live, or by local poets (or both). I love reading anything written locally, and supporting local authors! A lot of small press journals have a heavily local focus, which can really help make the work relatable.

Next, decide what kind of poetry you want to start with. Are you interested in the literary classics, like Shakespeare or T. S. Eliot? In romantic poetry throughout the ages? Or in contemporary poetry by living poets like Maya Angelou and Billy Connolly? This will help you narrow down which kind of anthology you are hunting for.

Once you have a better idea of what you are looking for, you can go seeking a specific anthology. I find that Amazon can be very helpful in this respect, because they have great search tools, and you can sort by average reader review. (Feel free to make your actual purchase at any website or store you like. It's only fair.)

For example, a search for "classic poetry anthology" sorted by average review turns up William Harmon's The Classic Hundred Poems, which is a truly great resource if you want to have the top 100 most well-respected poems in English Literature at your elbow.

Another resource is poets.org, which has a great curated list of poetry anthologies broken down by category. And finally, I recommend David Orr's Beautiful and Pointless for newcomers to poetry, it's a great resource for anyone trying to orient themselves in this literary genre.

Image courtesy Flickr/Em Ka Be