The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice. Find a quote from page 56.
Check out the links for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Participants don't select their favorite, coolest, or most intellectual books, they just use the one they are currently reading. This is the book I'm reading right now:
Book Title: Ten Poems to Change Your Life by Roger Housden
Book Beginning:
Good Poetry has the power to start a fire in your life. The first poem in this book, Mary Oliver's "The Journey", begins like this:
One day you finally knew what you had to do,
and began, though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice---Friday 56 (46)
I opened my book of Rumi poems, and the pages fell open to this one ("Zero Circle")
-Then a stretcher will come from grace to gather us up.Comments: This is my second time reading this poetry book. It was the first of many Ten Poems books I read by Roger Housden. I really like them because the author explains the poems and puts them into context and draws attention to the symbolism. The quotes above include an except from a poem each, in italics.
Post Script: Several folks have commented that they don't like or understand poetry, but wonder if this book would be a good place to start. My answer is yes. I, too, didn't understand poetry nor how to read it until I read this book and the several other similar volumes in the Ten Poems series by Housden. I found my copy at a used book store, since it was published in 2001 you might find one at your local used bookstore, too. Here is my original blog post written after my first time through the book in 2013: Ten Poems to Change Your Life review. I actually like the review I wrote for a subsequent volume better. Please feel free to check that one out, too: Ten Poems to Set You Free.
Hey, while you are at it help yourself to one more, Ten Poems to Heal Your Heart.
I hope you, too, can find your way to poetry which really speaks to you.
