30 Poems To Memorize

by David Kern (Editor)

Featuring some of the most essential poems ever written, 30 Poems to Memorize (Before It’s Too Late) is a book for people who believe that the mind is worth filling with beautiful things. Each poem, which has been carefully selected by a panel of poets, educators, and scholars has been chosen for its memorizable-ness, for the properties within the poem that make it worth learning by heart–and keeping there. And alongside each poem is a brief but thoughtful essay that explores the poem, identifying questions to ask, images to contemplate, and forms to revel in.

Here you will find sonnets by Shakespeare, Donne, and Keats; legendary verse from Hopkins, Dickinson, and Wordsworth; classics from Frost, Eliot, and Auden; and memorable stanzas from modern masters like Wilbur, Kenyon, and Espaillat–and many others. In short, the poems in this anthology are worth spending time with. They are the kind of poems you will go back to, the kind that become a part of how you see and experience the world.

We each have a limited amount of time to fill our minds–and our souls–with good things. Here’s one tool to help.

Including poems by Homer, Shakespeare, John Donne, George Herbert, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Emily Dickinson, T.S. Eliot, W.H. Auden, William Wordsworth, Wendell Berry, Jane Kenyon, Langston Hughes, Dana Gioia, Elizabeth Jennings, Rhina Espaillat, W.B. Yeats, John Keats, Paul Laurence Dunbar, A.E. Stallings, Robert Frost, Wallace Stevens, Percy Shelley, Richard Hayden, Richard Wilbur,

With essays by Anthony Esolen, Maurice Manning, James Matthew Wilson, Sally Thomas, Jessica Hooten Wilson, A.M. Juster, Christine Perrin, Jeffrey Bilbro, Heidi White, Ian Andrews, Emily Andrews, Brian Phillips, Matthew Bianco, and David Kern.

Featuring an introductory essay on how to read a poem by Sally Thomas.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, Classics

Paperback

First published May 15, 2020

Reviews

[Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I admit I have never been a big fan of poetry. But I am self-aware enough to realize that my failure to appreciate its value is a reflection of my own deficiencies, rather than a categorical condemnation of the form.

This splendid little book has recently helped me to expand my horizons. It contains 30 poems by 24 different poets. Each chapter provides a brief biographical sketch of the poet, the text of the poem, and a short analysis and discussion of the poem. As a poetry neophyte, I found these explanations and expositions extremely helpful. They enhanced my appreciation for each poem immensely. While I readily admit that I have no intention of memorizing all of these poems (I’d be happy with a half dozen, and am currently working on my third), just slowly ruminating on each one has been an engaging and soul-expanding experience.

I would like to believe that I am reasonably adept at understanding deep thoughts and following complex arguments, but I generally do not wish to struggle over the intended meaning of each sentence I read. But poetry requires a different mindset. One that am not accustomed to. Or even particularly enjoy. At least not initially. The appreciation for poetry seems to require a willingness to patiently ponder. And read and reread. And chew on. And read out loud. And then ponder some more. My type A personality seems to rebel against this necessary inefficiency. I am more accustomed to—and have been trained for—a type of goal-oriented reading that quickly absorbs the literal meaning of the text so that its translation may then be forwarded to my internal truth-detecting neural processors for review. Of course this is an exaggerated simplification— I can and do appreciate the beauty of language in well-written literary novels, but poetry has still been largely beyond my range of vision. But this book has proved to be a practical and invigorating remedial aid.

So if you have never really enjoyed reading poetry and have wondered why others do, and if you are willing to stretch yourself a little, this book is a wonderful introduction for the novice, like me. Poetry really does have something to offer. It turns out poetry truly does speak to the human heart.

Highly recommended.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely wonderful collection of poems and accompanying essays. It contains many old favorites of mine but also many I had never read before and now love. The essays are by a variety of authors and poets and are all insightful, helpful, and well written. I especially love the focus on memorizing poems and the helpful tips the essays give on memorizing their respective poems. I will be returning to this collection again and again!

[Rebekah Barkman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I slowly savored this book and really enjoyed the broad overview of poetry from the best poets across the ages. I enjoyed the short biographical sketch of each poet, and the essays which accompanied each piece of poetry was helpful for me as a novice in the poetry world. I definitely won’t be memorizing all 30 of these poems, but there are some that I dearly love and will be memorizing.

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful compilation of beloved poetry. The title caught me because my mother, a lover of poetry, encouraged me to memorize poems. Yes, got paid .... but payment was based on completing sections, not just a few lines. And, inevitably, after I recited, Mother would ask me what that recitation was all about. I have bits and pieces of poetry running thru my head ... they seem to just appear at deserving moments. I recall awaking the 2nd time after a surgery, being in pain because it was a few minutes before the nurse appeared to give me a shot. I started reciting poetry ... and it was helpful in getting me thru those moment. I worry that memorization, esp. of poetry, is a lost thing. It was good to see a book that selected great poetry that could also be more easily memorized. If you have children .... use this to give them a lifetime gift.

[Amber Huston · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely book of poems to memorize with essays that go alongside them.

On the back cover:
"Don't you just love poetry that gives you a crinkly feeling up and down your back?" -Anne of Green Gables

[Marina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an introduction to poetry for me and it was just the right book - 30 poems with a brief bio about the author and a brief write up about the poem itself and why it stands out as a poem that everyone should memorize. I haven’t memorized any of them, but it’s a start!

[W. H. Merriman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though I have “finished” this book (what a funny and absurd term, a book that you’re finished with isn’t worth reading at all), I am not going to put it down for a long time, and I’ll only put it down when I have the poems bound on my heart and mind! This is a lovely book with an excellent selection of poems that transcends any one tradition. The essays too are insightful and elucidating. Wonderful book. Highly recommend for poetry lovers or for those who want to learn to love poetry.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven’t read a lot of poetry, but this was a good introduction and I really enjoyed reading all these different poems of all styles.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! Each chapter contained a biography of the poet, a poem, and then a literary analysis. It contained poets long-loved and more contemporary names, creating a wonderful collection. I highly recommend this if you want to read poetry but don't know where to start.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply delightful! The selection of poems is a happy blend of old favorites and new treasures, and the essays added to the enjoyment.

[Zach Busick · Rating 3 out of 5]

About half the essays were illuminating and interesting, but many were pedantic and a bit pretentious. The essays on Homer felt more like they were trying really hard to convince me that Homer (and Odysseus and Achilles) were secretly Christians of unthinkable virtue, than actually telling me anything new about the poetry. But a lot of them were helpful in understanding the poetry. I love when a poem seems opaque and impossible to understand, and then a short essay can light it up and all of a sudden you “get it”. A few of these really did that for me

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a lovely poetry primer. Each poet has a short biography, his or her poem(s), and an essay for each poem that explain both the nuts and bolts of the poem (rhyme, meter, form, etc.) and fleshes out its meaning. There are sidebars with important terms, like sonnet or Modernism. Each poet also has a beautiful woodcut image. I found a couple poems in here I knew already and many more to live and learn by heart. I finished this book feeling more confident about reading poetry myself and eager to memorize more poems and let their beauty and truth soak into my mind and heart.

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a gorgeous book! I wish there were a second volume! I read it slowly, over two months, and loved the format: a bio (with a hand-drawn illustration) of each poet, one or two of their main poems, and an essay about it, many of them written by some of the classical thinkers and educators I love to learn from! I loved having the poetry unpacked and mulled over for me, SO often I did not really grasp the content until I read the essay and then I was flipping back and rereading. It's exactly how I love to learn.

[Hayley Croft · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has helped me so much to grow in understanding and appreciation of poetry. For each poem there is a biography of the author and an essay that examines both the mechanics and the themes of each poem. I found several new favorite poets and reviewed some familiar ones. I took my time reading it and enjoyed memorizing several of the poems.

[Z · Rating 5 out of 5]

The perfect introduction to the best of Western poetry, including essays explaining the structure and meaning each poem and a helpful introduction to poetry for beginners. I’ve memorized several already, and Herbert’s become a favorite ever since I read (and memorized almost without conscious effort) his breathtaking ‘Love (III).’

[Elisabeth Webber · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have used this book for the past year with my Classical Conversations Challenge 3 class. The poems have been just the right mix of old and new. It is a great blend of familiar poets and poets I would like to spend more time with in the future. My class has enjoyed the selection so much that I ended up buying each student their own copy at Christmas. Phenomenal!

[Kevin Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great collection of poems and accompanying essays. The essays from a variety of talented writers helped me understand these poems better and have informed my approach to encountering other poems beyond this volume.

[RAW · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haven’t read many poem anthologies or even poems, but this was a great collection. I learned so much about forms and enjoyed the variety of authors who gave interpretations which made things much richer. Between school and MT we have done 15 of them.

[Sam Strickland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve only memorized one new poem as a result of this collection, but I have found that the selections of poems are excellent, the advice on memorizing judicious, and the essays, though varying in approach, helpful.

Two cheers for memorization and repeated approach to texts!

[Darby Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was EXACTLY the poetry book I needed.
A curated selection, background on the poet, lovely essays to teach me about the poem, and poems specifically picked bc they are good to memorize so I can carry their beauty and wisdom with me for life. Thank you thank you thank you

[Seth Woodley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great collection of poems with helpful analysis and commentary.

[Myersandburnsie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely, I read the poems aloud for my children and read the biographies and commentaries for myself. I will add this to my daughter’s formal poetry class next school year.

[Daniel Yutzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book for its wide sampling, and also for the insightful commentary that was included for people like me who don’t read a lot of poetry.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few of the poems selected weren't my favorite—but most are excellent, as are many of the essays on each poem. Well worth a read.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really beautiful collection of poetry and essays.

[Heather Nossaman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This took me three years to finish which is probably as it should be. It was a calm and peaceful read that helped me fall asleep, in the best of ways!

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, this book is beautiful-the writing, the artwork, the whole bit. I also think this is an excellent introduction into poetry; at least it was for me. The explanations/reflections of the poem were incredibly helpful-not only to the poems they were referencing but also in understanding poetry in general. Even if you do not have a desire to memorize the poems I highly recommend reading this collection.

[H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful selections, insightful biographies, and engaging literary analysis that allows readers to return and dwell on key themes from each poem. The emphasis on memorization is important.