A Poem in Your Pocket

Welcome to "A Poem in Your Pocket," part of our "A Way with Words" series here on Mind Inclined.

Since you're here, I assume you already are a little intrigued by the idea of memorizing poetry, so I probably don't need to spend a lot of time making a case for it, but let me say just a few things.

Now, I'm a literature professor, so poetry forms a bigger part of my life than it does for most people, but I should add that I started memorizing poetry in earnest only a few years ago, long after I stopped teaching literature regularly and became an administrator. Over those years, I have met my goal of memorizing 100 poems--some long, some short--written over the past 1000 years or so by everyone from the Old English poet Caedmon to Shakespeare and Poe up to the living poet Paul Zimmer.

I've found that knowing these poems well has been very helpful in my writing and thinking. Knowing a lot of poems is like have a large vocabulary. I can call on them to express myself and even to make sense of the world. After all, classic poems are part of the wisdom of the ages. Poets have encountered the world, reflected on it, and shared their insights. Why wouldn't we want to consider their wisdom to make sense of our own lives and our own world?

Besides, poetry can be beautiful and fun and humorous, and who doesn't need more beauty, fun, and humor?

If you’re convinced, watch our video tutorial we filmed in one of the most beautiful spots in Washington, D.C., the Haupt garden behind the Smithsonian Castle. Because I knew we would be filming here, I decided to memorize a poem related to flowers, and I came across a fun one by Emily Dickinson. We hope you enjoy this lesson.

Scroll up to watch the video on Substack, or click the button below to go to YouTube.