let's learn more about your poetry likes/dislikes

Really, I can just think of more poems I've like that were written by men. And more that I've disliked. I just come across more man-written (what, like chiseled in stone and darkened with dirty motor oil?) poesy.

I've got a compilation called that Rattle Bag (a remarkably far-reaching beast of a book compiled by Seamus Heaney and others) where I've dogeared all the poems I like to come back to (actually it's the third copy of the book I've owned, so I've dogeared them several times), and its a pretty disparate bunch of stuff. The only consistent thread I notice in the folds is that a disproportionate number of them are on translations of Polish and Czech (mainly Miroslav Holub) poems, and that most of the ones I've marked are short. Little gems. I love Richard Brautigan, though I don't think he appears in the anthology.

It's not a secret... I think that Edna St. Vincent Millay has written the best poetry since Shakespeare. I know there are lots of other poets, but if I had to choose, it would be ESVM & WmSH.

I like poetry that reflects how I feel.
...that extends how I feel.
...that is universal.
...that is life-affirming.

I prefer it to be reasonably short and I like it to rhyme.
It should have good rhythm and be even better when read aloud.
I love simile, metaphor, inventive description and a bit of humor.
I want strong words and clear thoughts.
I want the poetry to sing.
I want it to be memorable.
I want it to make me laugh or make me cry.

Thanks, patiodog and piffka - i've got another poll on splitting out poetry a different way - trying to get things sorted so we can have a more organized poetry forum.

Your input so far has been very helpful.

Hi ehBeth!! -- I voted for 'anonymous', just because I don't have a gender preference. The poetry I like to hear can be written by men or women.

Peace and Love - i also picked anonymous, partly because of the fun of guessing whether it was a man or woman who wrote some older poetry.

I can not choose .. so many men
have set down beauty cast in words
so many women ... the perfect phrase
they paint a picture without a brush