When choosing books to review, I often gravitate toward flashy covers, catchy titles and adventurous plotlines. Even when I browse a bookstore for my own pleasure, I am inexplicably drawn to the fast paced offerings of the bestseller shelves. It was therefore with great hesitance that I recently reached for this long-forgotten anthology, one of those books that was purchased with every intention of reading, but had given way to different novels of the moment.
"An Invitation to Poetry," edited by Robert Pinksy and Maggie Dietz is anthology of poetry unlike any I have before encountered. Not organized by time period, or geography, the poems in this book are tied together by one common thread: they have all been enjoyed and cherished. Preceding every entry is a quotation from a "normal" poetry reader: Pamela, a research historian from Maryland; Sister Maria Christina Sanchez Escobar from New York; Jason Wolfe, a student from Colorado. Many great and familiar classics take on new meaning when accompanied by these personal narratives. While most people have at some point read William Shakspeare's Sonnet 73 (That time of year thou mayst in me behold), Christine McDonnell, a 53-year-old teacher from Brookline, brings a personal and touching reflection on the poem, and what it has meant to her, from her high-school years to her time spent with her cancer-stricken husband.
For every Christine McDonnell, there is also a Rick Pernod, who writes about "I Knew A Woman" by Theodore Roethke: "Ahhh...Sly, sexy, metaphysical, funky, satirical, beautiful." Indeed, the strength of An Invitation to Poetry lies in its immense scope. Just as the people introducing each poem vary drastically, so do the poems themselves, ranging from the likes of William Shakespeare and John Milton to e.e. cummings and Sylvia Plath. I reminisced through old favorites brought to light again, like Margaret Walker's "For My People"; reveled in discovering new poems written by familiar authors, like "i carry your heart with me..." by e.e. cummings; and found many a new poem and author to love, from the 14th century Ikkyu to the much more modern Philip Larkin.
I would give "An Invitation to Poetry" a 10 out of 10. For the poetry novices, Invitation offers a delectable taste of the joys and raw emotion that poetry has to offer, through the words themselves and through the perspective of the many voices present. For the connoisseur, this book is a tasteful amalgam of traditional and modern, the much loved words of the greats coupled with fresh viewpoints. For those in between, like myself, Invitation is a chance to slow down the pace of reading, and life, for a bit, savoring the familiar and the new in this balanced anthology. This book certainly lives up to its name, a welcoming and captivating book and an invitation that I certainly encourage all to accept.
Mari Miyachi is an Andover resident and student at Phillips Academy.
