[JonDavies]

Anyone do this? I've been thinking of doing this lately, maybe getting into some Robert Frost as I liked him in school

If anyone else does this and knows any good contemporary poets to read please comment

[tone]

Not just poetry - but anything well written/ researched/ expressed. I am a massive bookworm and will read anything from history to poetry to novels and lots else in between. Do I take direct inspiration from it? Mostly not, at least in a conscious way, but occasionally something will inspire a song. That's not the reason I read though.

Trouble with recommendations is books are as personal as songs when it comes to who likes what. But since you asked, my favourites at present are Paul Theroux, Charles Bukowski and Ian McEwan.

If you don't know what you like, go to a charity shop or car boot sale and buy half a dozen titles on impulse. If you don't like them after an hour or so, give them away. Rinse and repeat till you find your groove.

[The S]

Not just poetry - but anything well written/ researched/ expressed. I am a massive bookworm and will read anything from history to poetry to novels and lots else in between.

This. But yeah, I read, among other things, a lot of poetry. I started out some years ago, only to see if it could get me to become a better lyricist and songwriter. It was tough in the beginning, I could hardly muster getting through a single poem. Today, it has a life of its own outside my musical ambitions. I read it because I love it. That doesn't mean I love every poem nor poet, It's just like music, painting or whatever art you like, it's best when you in some way can relate to it.

Right off the top of my head;

Thomas Hardy
Ben Jonson
Charles Bukowski
Arthur Rimbaud
Emelie Dickinson
Robert Burns
E.E Cummings
John Keats
William Blake

This to name a few. There's a million other really great literary giants out there. But like Tone say, it's all a matter of taste.

Surf the net like a madman and you will find who you like eventually. That's exactly what I did and it even got to the point that my wife one day told me "This night-surfin' the net for p...oets has got to stop!"  

We all got domestic issues in various degrees I'm sure, but I might be the odd one out on this particular one!  

Cheers,

Peter

[JonDavies]

Thanks for the recommendation guys - I've read Enduring Love by Ian McEwan and enjoyed it. I've been wracking my brain trying to remember poets we studied in school who I enjoyed. W.H. Auden was good I remember

I'll check out all poets and authors suggested

[Mike67]

I wrote a couple of lyrics for a friend, which were inspired by a line from John Keats poem: La Belle Dame sans Merci: 'The sedge has withered from the lake, and no birds sing.'

One went:

As moonlight falls without a sound;
Lies soft upon this broken ground.
As sedges wilt in waters still,
And morning birds no longer sing;
As poets turn their thoughts to prose,
Everybody knows,
She’s gonna break my heart.

And the other:

Above the town, amid the sedges and the peat,
Where gritstone and poets chance to meet.
Passed the farms and the millstones, fallen down,
And the churchyards ruins to the town.

I love it when we get deep.

Mike

[jacksimmons]

Reading definitely sorts me out inspiration wise when I'm in a dry spell. I read and write poetry as well as songs and often the two cross over. I start off writing a poem that turns in to a song and vice versa. Some of my favourite, relatively contemporary poets, are T.S Eliot, Robin Robertson, Plath, Mary Oliver & Sharon Olds. Give 'em a read, you can find a lot of stuff online at places like poetryfoundation and poemhunter

[delb0y]

Never been one for poetry - though I feel I ought to like it. I just don't get it, I'm afraid. Lack of brain cells no doubt. If I had to choose I'd probably say Edgar Allen Poe, Thomas Hardy, and Pam Ayres.

But I am also a huge bookworm. Generally have about six books on the go - fiction / non-fiction / biogs / how-to-play guitars. I like a good story in whatever I read.

[tone]

Reading definitely sorts me out inspiration wise when I'm in a dry spell. I read and write poetry as well as songs and often the two cross over. I start off writing a poem that turns in to a song and vice versa. Some of my favourite, relatively contemporary poets, are T.S Eliot, Robin Robertson, Plath, Mary Oliver & Sharon Olds. Give 'em a read, you can find a lot of stuff online at places like poetryfoundation and poemhunter

Ah yes, TS Eliot, I'm glad you mentioned him first cos I didn't want to sound all arty farty, but the lovesong of j alfred prufrock remains one of my favourite poems to this day.

[JonDavies]

Emily Dickinson, Thomas Hardy and William Keats have all stood out in particular from what I've read (which isn't much... Really just scratched the surface of their best ofs)

I'm going to sit here and keep harvesting suggestions... Please chatter away

[The S]

I didn't want to sound all arty farty

Don't worry about it, just by posting in this thread, we're all doomed anyways!!!  

[Sing4me88]

Reading is a magnificent catalyst for inspiring lyrics. I must confess that I' not big into poetry per se but have a huge admiration and appetite for poetry that has came out of the context of national liberation and anti-colonial struggles and political struggles like that of the Black Panthers. I'm not really into the Wordsworth's of this world. The same applies to reading I guess. I love reading history, memoirs and biographies about liberation struggles and anti-colonialism (especially Frantz Fanon and Steve Biko)but not so big on non-fiction - a few obvious caveats like Orwell and The Ragged Trouser Philanthropist aside. I'm also digging a bit of philosophy literature - really good to open the mind to new perspectives and takes on life, power, the world, the human race etc.

Oddly absolutely none of this is reflected in the lyrics I write. I shoot for trashy pop lyrics with very little substance. The reading that I find useful for this is social media, problem pages in magazines, urban dictionary - its amazing some of the left-of-field hooks that come out of such a weird collection of 'reading'....

[JonDavies]

Just to give you guys an update during the course of my poetry exploration I have jotted down around three things that could become future songs inspired by poems. This is definitely a route I'll go down

Sing4me88 I studied philosophy at A level (dunno where you're from but that's ages 17 and 18) and enjoyed it... Some of the literature is a bit dense though

[The S]

This is definitely a route I'll go down...

Good on ya! I'll see you down the road then. 

[jacksimmons]

Reading definitely sorts me out inspiration wise when I'm in a dry spell. I read and write poetry as well as songs and often the two cross over. I start off writing a poem that turns in to a song and vice versa. Some of my favourite, relatively contemporary poets, are T.S Eliot, Robin Robertson, Plath, Mary Oliver & Sharon Olds. Give 'em a read, you can find a lot of stuff online at places like poetryfoundation and poemhunter

Ah yes, TS Eliot, I'm glad you mentioned him first cos I didn't want to sound all arty farty, but the lovesong of j alfred prufrock remains one of my favourite poems to this day.

Prufrock is one of my favourite poems of all time. It's entry level for a reason! Eliot in general though has such a musical quality it's hard not to draw something away for songs, even if it's subconscious. I really love Preludes and the Waste Land, too.

[Paulski]

Edgar Albert Guest - good for prosody study and folk inspiration.
T.S. Eliot of course - "I'll show you fear in the dust!"

Had a run a few years ago at writing music to existing public domain lyrics. It was fun to try and even though I didn't get too far (most eligible poems are > 75 years old so the language is dated) I still think it would be worth doing.

Paul