# How do you get into poetry if you think you don't like it? Canonical: https://zestasy.com/wiki/getting-into-poetry/ Section: Zestasy Wiki > Books & ideas · Updated: 2026-10-14 · Publisher: Zestasy *Zestasy Wiki: our reference answers. Checked for facts and sources; less curated than the magazine.* Start small and modern: short, clear poems by living or recent poets, read one at a time, ideally aloud. Forget what school taught you about decoding hidden meanings and ask simpler questions, such as which line you'd keep. An anthology designed for newcomers, like Billy Collins's Poetry 180, is an easy way in, one poem a day. Most people who "don't like poetry" actually dislike a particular experience of it: being handed a difficult nineteenth-century poem at fifteen and asked what the poet really meant. That's like judging food by a school dinner. Poetry is mostly short, often funny, and asks for a few minutes, not a degree. ## Start with short, clear poems The way in is not the canon, it is clarity. Contemporary poets writing in plain language about ordinary life (kitchens, buses, dogs, mothers, bad weather, love going right and wrong) are the best gateway. Short is good: a poem you can read twice in a minute gives you the pleasure without the homework. A useful sign: poets who are known for being accessible and funny. Billy Collins, who was US Poet Laureate from 2001 to 2003, was the first winner of Poetry magazine's Mark Twain Prize for humour in poetry in 2005, according to [Wikipedia's profile of Collins](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Collins). Humour in poetry is not a contradiction; it is a tradition. ## Use an anthology made for newcomers As Poet Laureate, Collins set up Poetry 180, a programme for American secondary schools with one poem for each day of the school year. He then turned it into a book, Poetry 180: A Turning Back to Poetry, published in 2003 ([Penguin Books Australia](https://www.penguin.com.au/books/poetry-180-9780812968873) lists it with contributors including Lucille Clifton, Naomi Shihab Nye, Sharon Olds and Charles Simic). The publisher describes it as 180 contemporary poems that give pleasure straight away, which is exactly what a sceptic needs. Whatever anthology you pick, the principle is the same: someone with good taste has done the sifting, and you can skip anything that doesn't speak to you. Any good library will have a shelf of them. ## Read it aloud Poetry is built for the ear. Reading a poem aloud, even under your breath, makes the rhythm and line breaks make sense in a way silent reading often doesn't. Read slowly. Pause briefly at the end of each line, longer at the end of a stanza. Then read it again: a poem is meant to be reread, and the second time is where it opens. Listening works too. Many poets have recorded their own work, and hearing the poet's voice is often the moment a poem clicks. ## Ask better questions Forget "what does it mean?" for now. Try instead: - Which line would you keep if you could only keep one? - What picture did it leave you with? - Where did it surprise you? - Did it make you think of someone? If the answer to all four is "nothing", move on without guilt. Not every poem is for you, the same way not every song is. ## Make it a small habit - **One poem a day.** With breakfast, on the train, before sleep. A daily poem email or an anthology on the bedside table makes this effortless. - **Copy out the ones you love.** Writing a poem by hand slows you down to its speed. A [commonplace book](https://zestasy.com/wiki/commonplace-book/) is the perfect home for them. - **Follow poets, not "poetry".** When one poem grabs you, read more by that poet. That's how taste grows. - **Try poetry in another language.** If you are learning Italian, short modern poems with the translation alongside are a lovely bridge between the two languages. ## FAQ ### Does poetry have to rhyme? No. Much modern poetry doesn't rhyme at all, and relies on rhythm, line breaks and images instead. Rhyme is one tool among many. ### What if you just don't understand a poem? Then it may not be the right poem yet. Read it aloud once more, look up any unfamiliar word, and if it still says nothing, try another. Plenty of poems take years to land. ### Should you start with the classics? Later, if you like. Starting with contemporary poems trains your ear and builds confidence; older poems feel much less forbidding after that. ### Is it cheating to read poems online? Not at all. Reputable poetry organisations and magazines publish poems free online. When you find a poet you love, buy their book. ## Sources - [Wikipedia: Billy Collins](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Collins) - [Penguin Books Australia: Poetry 180](https://www.penguin.com.au/books/poetry-180-9780812968873) ## Related - [What is a commonplace book?](https://zestasy.com/wiki/commonplace-book/) - [Do you miss something when you read a book in translation?](https://zestasy.com/wiki/reading-in-translation/) - [How do you get out of a reading slump?](https://zestasy.com/wiki/reading-slump/) - [What should you read to help you learn Italian?](https://zestasy.com/wiki/books-to-learn-italian/) - [What is a personal essay, and where should you start reading them?](https://zestasy.com/wiki/what-is-a-personal-essay/) - [All Books & ideas answers in the Wiki](https://zestasy.com/wiki/#books)