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HOW I READ THE POEMS IN THOSE THICK POETRY ANTHOLOGIES
by J.R. Solonche
I read the title. I read the first line. If they are identical,
I skip it.I find the last line. If it is fewer than two pages away from the first,
I read it.If Aristotle’s name appears,
I skip it.If the poem was written by William Carlos Williams,
I read it.If the poem looks as though it were written by William Carlos Williams,
I read it. You never know.If the poem has an epigraph in French,
I skip it.If the poem is dedicated to anyone named Jim,
I skip it.If the poem has Emily Dickinson’s name in the title,
I skip it.If the poem has Walt Whitman’s name in the title,
I skip it.If the poem has Pablo Neruda’s name in the title,
I skip it.If the poem has Pablo Neruda’s name in the title but is a translation from the Spanish,
I read it.If the poem contains a quotation from a German philosopher other than Schopenhauer,
I skip it.If the poem mentions a pick-up truck,
I skip it.If the poem mentions Kansas,
I skip it.If the word metaphor is in the poem,
I skip it.If the words natural light are in the poem,
I skip it.If the poem mentions red wine,
I read it.If the poem mentions white wine,
I skip it.If the title of a sestina contains the word sestina,
I skip it.If the title of a sestina written by Elizabeth Bishop contains the word sestina,
I read it twice.
J.R. Solonche is coauthor of PEACH GIRL: POEMS FOR A CHINESE DAUGHTER (Grayson Books). His poems have been appearing in magazines, journals and anthologies sinc the 1970s. He teaches at SUNY Orange in Middletown, NY.
