Reading a poem and falling in love with poetry can be a very personal and subjective experience. Here are a few tips that may help you get started:

Start by finding a poem that speaks to you on a personal level. Look for poems that touch on themes or experiences that resonate with you, or that evoke strong emotions.

Take your time as you read the poem. Don't worry about understanding every word or phrase right away – allow yourself to savor the language and rhythm of the poem.

Pay attention to the structure and form of the poem. How is it organized? Does it have a regular rhyme scheme or meter? How do these elements contribute to the overall meaning or effect of the poem?

Consider the imagery and figurative language used in the poem. What do the words and phrases conjure up in your mind? How do they contribute to the mood or theme of the poem?

Think about the speaker of the poem. Who is telling the story or expressing the thoughts and feelings in the poem? How does the speaker's perspective shape the way you interpret the poem?

Reflect on your own reactions and feelings as you read the poem. How does the poem make you feel? What memories or associations does it bring to mind?

By engaging with a poem in this way, you may find that you begin to appreciate and enjoy the art and beauty of poetry. ( )

Edward Hirsch wrote an excellent book about reading poetry. Beginning my foray into poetry this book was helpful as a guide and also a source of entertainment (Hirsch gets a bit hyperbolic at times). The guy clearly loves poetry and shares through his emotional and intellectual responses to poems the proper way to approach verse. I read in another review that the first seven chapters are the strongest, most coherent. The first seven chapters follow the thesis of the book and the remaining examine facets of poetry (like post-war Polish poetry) that interest Hirsch as an individual. I found the latter chapters engaging and stimulating but certainly not nearly as instructive as the first seven. ( )

I feel this book's title does not truly describe what it offers. It is a book of essays that takes as it's topic the subtle enchantment poetry produces; it is a book length paean to the art of poetry. It is not particularly effective as an introductory volume on poetry for the ignorant layman, as Hirsch's analysis is informed by a lifetime spent spent reading and writing poetry, and as a result can seem unapproachable at times. However, Hirsh's enthusiasm and love for poetry is infectious, and I came away from the book with a greater appreciation and respect for the art form.

This book left me with a lot to learn about the form and history of poetry, which I had expected to learn more about during the course of this book, it successfully delves into the essence and the romance of poetry. This book left me with a desire to learn more, and to read more poetry. Although this book may not have been what I expected, it was highly successful in the end. ( )

The title of this book is misleading. It does not tell a beginner (or an experienced reader, for that matter) how to read a poem. I wish the publisher had called it "How to Fall in Love with Poetry."
The author shares his own views on reading and interpreting poems. And he seems to assume that his audience has read a lot of poetry. I mean a LOT.
An enjoyable read, but frustrating in being written for an audience not like me. ( )

I mostly used this book to discover new poems to love. Among them: Yehuda Amichai's "A Pity. We Were Such a Good Invention," Delmore Schwartz's "Baudelaire," the last lines of Robert Frost's "Desert Places," Nazim Hikmet's "Some Advice to Those Who Will Serve Time in Prison" and "On Living," Tadeusz Rozewicz's "In the Midst of Life," Wislawa Szymborska's "Children of Our Age" and "Reality Demands," WCW's "Aspohdel, That Greeny Flower," and reawakened my interest in Anglo-Saxon poetry. ( )