How to Read A Poem and Fall in Love with Poetry

　　How to Read a Poem is an unprecedented exploration of poetry and feeling. In language at once acute and emotional, distinguished poet and critic Edward Hirsch describes why poetry matters and how we can open up our imaginations so that its message can make a difference. In a marvelous reading of verse from around the world, including work by Pablo Neruda, Elizabeth Bishop, Wallace Stevens, and Sylvia Plath, among many others, Hirsch discovers the true meaning of their words and ideas and brings their sublime message home into our hearts. A masterful work by a master poet, this brilliant summation of poetry and human nature will speak to all readers who long to place poetry in their lives.

Preface
Message in a Bottle
A Made Thing
A Hand, a Hook, a Prayer
Three Initiations
At the White Heat
Five Acts
Beyond Desolation
Poetry and History: Polish Poetry
after the End of the World
Re: Form
A Shadowy Exultation
Soul in Action
"To the Reader at Parting
The Glossary and
the Pleasure of the Text
A Reading List and
the Pleasure of the Catalog
Permissions             
Index
For Discussion