Good Poems for Hard Times

Garrison Keillor calls his latest book of verse GOOD POEMS FOR HARD TIMES. He could just as easily have called it MORE GOOD POEMS or FURTHER GOOD POEMS since he has produced another anthology every bit as good or better than his previous GOOD POEMS. These 185 poems from 61 named poets-- there are a couple of anonymous poems and a psalm or two-- were selected from Keillor's "Writer's Almanac" radio show so they are the kind you listen to and grasp the meaning of while waiting for the light to change. These poems are meant to speak to ordinary people through what Mr. Keillor calls "the last presence of honest speech and the outspoken heart."It is worth the price of this book for Mr. Keillor's introduction alone. He opines that America is in "hard times" now with "the levels of power firmly in the hands of a cadre of Christian pirates and bullies whose cynicism is stunning," with the perversion of religion, a tax system that favors the rich, when newspapers decline and the censor abounds. He fears for a future when America has "no binding traditions," when the public cannot name senators and gets their political knowledge through television and their "only public life at Wal-Mart." He says further about what is already taking place: "You lie in a hotel bed at night, remote in hand and surf a hundred channels of television. . . and you can drift for hours among the flotsam and you will never see anything that shows that you're in Knoxville or Seattle or Santa Fe or Chicago and nobody will ever speak to you as straightforwardly and clearly as poetry does." That's pretty scary stuff.Mr. Keillor is totally democratic in his choice of writers. The qualifications for inclusion appear to be that the poet be fairly accessible on a first hearing and not long-winded so you need not look for a Pound or Eliot here. These verses are about the rubber meeting the road. There are some heavy-hitters among the poets included, i.e., the ones we read in the Norton American and English Literature anthologies: Auden, Robert Burns, E. E. Cummings, the beloved Miss Emily, Donne, Frost, Hardy, Keats, Shakespeare, Whitman et al. Also included are important modern names-- Wendell Berry, Charles Bukowski, Raymond Carver, Billy Collins, Rita Dove, Donald Hall, Mary Oliver-- and a host of good poets I had never heard of before. (I found myself often looking up the bio of a previously unknown writer whose poem I had just been taken with.) Although I understand completely that every editor must discriminate and cannot include everybody, I would have liked included maybe a poem by Cavafy or Mark Doty or Paul McCartney.The subject matter of these poems is diverse, from 1977 Toyotas and spiral notebooks to baseball, which is not to say that many of the selections are not profound nor beautiful. One of my favorites is Charles Bukowski's "the con job," obviously about the First Gulf War where "the U. S. ground troops were largely/made up of Blacks, Mexicans and poor/whites/most of whom had joined/the military/because it was the only job/they could find." Another is the beautiful and sad "Affirmation" by Donald Hall where the young "row for years on the midsummer/pond, ignorant and content." And Lisel Mueller's exquisite poem about snow, "Not Only the Eskimos."Finally the biographical sketches of the poets included at the end of this collection usually have a quotation in bold black letters by the writers themselves, often as good as their poems. My favorite is by Lawrence Ferlinghetti: "Like a bowl of roses, a poem should not have to be explained."Thank you, Mr. Keillor, for more good poems.

It was to replace a book I gave as a gift.

I am only writing because I read some horrid review claiming that "not one" poem in this collection moved the reviewer. Then she didn't want to be moved. This book can be a sanctuary for many - particularly those who don't normally turn to poetry - which is why - I suspect - the MEH reviewer - has a problem with it.Read it. Gift it. And buy more poems, y'all. :)

Having Good Poems for Hard Times, by Garrison Keillor on my book shelf is like having a big bouqet of flowers of many colors in my home. I purchased this (and others) from Amazon, and was pleased how fast I found it in my mailbox. There's a poem for everyone between the covers of this book, even for those who've never read a poem before, or say they don't like poetry! From well-known poets of the past to more modern ones I had never heard of, each poem has a special meaning just for me. As it will for you. So I bought a couple more from Amazon, for my friends. Good Poems for Hard Times will make great Christmas presents. I keep my little volume beside my bed, and pick a flower from it whenever I'm in the mood - which is often. Makes me want to read Mr. Keillor's other poetry selections.

This is my favorite collection of poems. Although I am fairly new to reading poetry, and my experience and exposure are limited, I really enjoyed Good Poems for Hard Times, and considerably more so than Keillor's first collection,  Good Poems .I bought the Kindle book this morning (24-05-2009) after downloading and reading the free sample, which included only the TOC and part of Keillor's Introduction, then I read the book start to finish over the course of the day. I can't wait to read it again tomorrow.If you want to read some beautiful poems, some that will bring tears to your eyes, some that will make you laugh out loud, and some that will make you read them two or three times in a row because you like them so much, then buy this book.

I am not a big poem reader. In fact, I'd rather not read any of them, but I had to get this book for an English class I am taking and was pleasantly surprised at how nice some of the poems are. Many of them touched me in some way or another. Of course there were some poems I disliked but that's just how collections of anything works. Would recommend to any who reads poems or anyone trying to get into reading poems.

I wanted to like this collection. There was not one poem in the set that really moved me. I guess I am not on the same wavelength as Mr. Keillor. I look to poetry when things get tough, and this collection just left me cold. The collection that is my gold standard is Staying Alive: real poems for unreal times, edited by Neil Astley. It is perhaps unfair to compare a collection of poems edited and selected by a radio personality with one edited by a famous poetry editor... yet, the title sort of asked for it. If you are looking for poems to see you through tough times, buy the collection by Mr. Astley.

A huge sticker on the front obscured part of the author and title. It was a pain to take off and ripped part of the cover. Besides that this book is great, has wonderful content and I would recommend it to people interested in getting into poetry.

Content was a bit hit and miss. I would have preferred more 'folksy' poetry - Frost, Whitman etc. - but book was worth buying.

beautifully written introduction.Anyone who has doubts about the usefulness of poetry, or any art for that matter, should get this book

It's a book of poems on all subjects. I keep it by my side and usually read one every day.