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introductionby Richard Blanco, Academy of American Poets education ambassador and Barack Obama’s second inaugural poetSPAKOften at dinner parties or even at my own poetry readings, someone admits to me, “You know, I’ve never really understood poetry.” In their bashfully honest tone, I hear not merely a confession, but also a question on their mind, curious as to what poetry is or isn’t. I ask them about the last poem they read, and they often answer something like, “I probably haven’t read a poem since high school.” I then explain that it’s not that they don’t get poetry—they just haven’t been reading it. Then I ask if they have a favorite poem; ironically, they usually do, one that they’ve passionately memorized. They do get poetry. When I say that out loud to them, they chuckle, but I can sense something shift in them. Many of us, as I did once, suffer some degree of metrophobia, a recognized fear of poetry. It usually arises when we’re taught to read poetry as cryptic riddles that we must solve in order to understand. But poetry is much more like a song than a riddle.
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
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