Poll - Who is your favorite poet?

Many poets have and are living today, famous or not. There are different types of poems; some have structure while others are free verse. Much may be learned about what a poem is, how to write one correctly, rules of poetry, rhyme schemes, etc. Which poet is your favorite? Why did you choose your favorite poet? How is poetry significant to you.

Mary Oliver, truth be told. She was still alive and publishing when I discovered her and her blending of natural imagery and spiritual themes really drew me in. Helps that Beacon Press, the publishing arm of the Unitarian Universalist Association, was her publisher so that her poems were widely used in UU services when I was active in that faith. A Pulitzer doesn't hurt either.

Poetry Friday: Wild Geese | Mary Oliver – Live Love Simple

“The Summer Day” by Mary Oliver – Words for the Year

Out of that list, though? Need to meditate on it a bit. I like most of them, really.

Thank you for sharing another poet, Mendalla, as well as providing a couple links to her poems. I have heard of Mary Oliver but only by name. Thank you for sharing info about her writing style and how she impacted your life.

Quote by Cora

Thank you for sharing another poet, Mendalla, as well as providing a couple links to her poems. I have heard of Mary Oliver but only by name. Thank you for sharing info about her writing style and how she impacted your life.

It's a great thread, actually. I think I tried the same concept (favourite poets) years ago but without the poll and not during a poetry comp. Hopefully, yours gets more traction with those.😊

Quote by Mendalla

It's a great thread, actually. I think I tried the same concept (favourite poets) years ago but without the poll and not during a poetry comp. Hopefully, yours gets more traction with those.😊

Thank you for your kind words, Mendalla.

I took a course on Latin poetry in university (my undergrad major was Classics) and out of that I got a couple favourite poets.

Quintus Horatius Flaccus, known in English just as Horace, wrote poems that were mostly on the shorter end. Some were reflective, some satirical. His Odes are probably his best work, or at least my favourites, but his Epistles get into a bit more detail of his philosophy (he was basically an Epicurean).

Publius Virgilius Maro, aka Virgil, is best known for his epic The Aeneid, especially the romance of Aeneas and Dido which forms the fourth chapter. He also wrote the Georgics and the Eclogues, shorter, more pastoral works.

The two knew each other and were part of a circle of poets around Maecenas, who functioned as kind of Augustus Caesar's minister of culture.

Eight of Horace's odes with both English translations and the Latin original:

Horace: Eight Odes translated by Ranald Barnicot | The High Window (thehighwindowpress.com)

Virgil's Georgics in English translation:

Virgil (70 BC–19 BC) - The Georgics: Book I (poetryintranslation.com)

For The Aeneid, I am fond of Robert Fitzgerald's translation which is still available in print and ebook, I think.

Of the two poets you mentioned, I am more familiar with Virgil. Very outstanding that you took a course in Latin Poetry. How beautiful. I know some ecclesiastical Latin. I have long wanted to learn ecclesiastical Latin as a whole. At some point in the near future I hope I finally do so. Anyway, thank you for sharing all of what you did on the two poets. With your background of knowledge from undergrad courses, especially Latin Poetry, I firmly believe you are very capable of writing a most magnificent poem that would work beautifully with the theme of "Beyond The Veil." Maybe read some of your favorite works by Horace and/or Virgil. That might spark inspiration. I wish the best for you, Mendalla.

I love Poe! He’s weird and dark and I love his use of language.

I am not familiar with a great deal of poetry, but those who have affected me are Frost, Whitman, John Berryman, Wallace Stevens, Pablo Neruda, and the late Nikki Giovanni.

I love Poe in all his dark weirdness, but I am also partial to Frost and Sylvia Plath. I have recently enjoyed reading Amanda Corman's works after seeing her at Biden's inauguration.