My favorite way to start a new poetry class is by having students read aloud a miscellaneous gathering of quotes about poetry. Once we invite all these ideas about poetry into the room—the lofty ones and the technical ones, the ancient ones and the contemporary ones—we can set about the task of discovering what a poem is for us.
As we wrap up National Poetry Month, I thought I’d share some of those quotes in the poetry box, shaking things up a little. For the record, when I ask students which quote is their favorite, inevitably someone chooses Leonard Cohen and heads around the room start nodding. Truth: I still don’t really know what that quote means.
What’s your favorite quote about poetry?
“Poetry has been eating all my problems.”
