BEAUTIFUL & POINTLESS Paperback – February 22, 2012

I'd have given the book five stars but for the stale and standard selections of poet/poem examples for a book with such a provocative yet agreeable title. The points inside needed to be made out loud, so to speak; so there, too, if you are baffled by the oxymoron of poetry in society today, maybe its usefulness to you and others, you will like the argument by Orr. He is nevertheless stuck in a time warp or the poetry bubble when it comes to the poets and poems discussed. I realize that analysis of poetry, good analysis that is, may be in the same category: beautiful and pointless, if the dogs at the gate to the castle of the venerated stays closed. The examples discussed in this book hint that this is true.I certainly have my favorites, too, like this and other critics, with an eclectic mix of practitioners, dare I say artist masters of the genre, who invent new joy and beauty. Poetry can be so difficult that new inventions are appreciated decades later if at all. Meanwhile, they live outside the sacred bubble/castle starving in the streets. Don't think any of these are starving but still among my very very very favorites:  Send in the Clown: Live Radio Broadcasts of Performance Poet Hedwig Gorski , Intoxication: Heathcliff on Powell Street , Pity the Bathtub Its Forced Embrace of the Human Form , and many from overseas with their fresh perspectives, especially form god-forsaken areas of the globe we fat-cat americans can't even fathom.Maybe I want my poets to suffer first, then they will have something pointed and beautiful to say. Countless exceptions to this rule exist, such as Maya Angelou, who has suffered but does not strain too much at language to intensify its beauty. What is really the formula to create beautiful poems that are evocative, necessary, and read? The debate Orr contributes to so well at times is so much more beautiful than the poems available to us, so even if you don't read poetry, read this book.

I think the best gift this book gave me was to introduce me to THE VINTAGE BOOK OF CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN POETRY. Mr. Orr was generous in his listings of contemporary poets and it is to them and other currently emerging poets that we need to save modern poetry. I liked how he wrote this as a non-fiction piece that depended upon prose to appeal to poets!In all fairness, or perhaps unfairness, I compared this book to Frances Mayes' THE DISCOVERY OF POETRY which I consider the top shelf(as in LEVEL vodka)version of a poetry text(as it were).Mr. Orr's book could have been actually longer with more examples of the contemporary poets, like Lowell and Bishop, and I would have been very happy. Spiced with more W.C. Williams, Hecht, and Ashbury examples, I believe his book would have been greatly enhanced.In my opinion emerging modern poets need more exposure to what makes the current masters and mistresses tick. The forms of poetry are evolving very fast! And we need to ensure that our young poets and even those who are embracing poetry writing in their later years are getting the point: It is to write, write some more, revise, write again and again, as if your very life depended upon it.

David Orr writes with the good sense of humour one would expect with a great and entertaining english teacher.Coming into this book I was hoping the author would include examples of poetry from today as well as including earlier examples from non-contemporary poets for serious reflection. Orr delivered both, exceptionally grand for my reading tastes and enriching my awareness of other great poets, like Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell.For contemporary poets, just try and read the ambition chapter without getting knots of excitement for your own poetry writing. This book is wonderful for the up and coming poets of today and for those who have heard a lot about poetry but haven't really understood how it's supposed to look or feel like. Not surprisingly, both parties might be one and the same. Strong recommendation.

Need to read it again. On first read, I felt angry -- I hope I missed his point, maybe I didn't get it. Yet I've loved David Orr's reviews of poetry in the "Times" -- the best reviews I've seen anywhere lately. Have to withhold the last 2 stars until I've read again.

I enjoyed David Orr's book very much, but like most poetry e-books, the Kindle format leaves alot to be desired. Poetry is not like prose, the arrangement of the lines is essential and should not be changed arbitrarily because the page size changes, or because the font changes. As it is, you can creat chaos within a poem by changing your Kindle's font size. This is a problem not unique to this book--most poetry has not yet been re-worked for Kindle in an effective way. I cannot recommend the Kindle edition of this book--go to the print instead.

Agreat guide for aspiring poets and insights to modern poetry writers.As a poet I read David Orr's column in the NYT and alwaysappreciate his take on Modern Poetry.

What a fine book. Gracefully writen. Knowledgeable. And far more complimentary than today's poetry deserves. A problem with current poetry is that most of it is just so UNmemorable. Not sure exactly when the quotability quotient of American poetry started dropping, but it happened during the lifetime of this poetry lover.

Insightful, well written. A must for poetry writers, for perspective and craft.