March 8, 2008
As part of an effort at soul-salving, I am resuming my poetry memorizing routine. I’m just going to start with a new list, including some that I already know though I haven’t sat and recited them to myself for a long time. For me, memorizing is a way to burrow into and under the words. The poems I choose aren’t necessarily "great" in a canonical sense, they are the ones that grab my tongue and ears and won’t let go, sometimes obviously with a poem like Hopkins’ "Spring and Fall" and sometimes with more subtlety as in "Song" by Seamus Heaney. I don’t have a prodigious memory by any means, so I prefer shorter works where the language adds to my ability to recall, even if it’s not necessarily rhyming.
Up now is "Musée des Beaux Arts" — a poem I’ve always loved. Not sure what I’ll do next– suggestions?
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