Rating: 
Summary: An excellent introduction to the pleasures of poetry
Review: A mentor of mine always used to say "There are two kinds of people in this world!" and he would then expand on whatever dichotomy was on his mind at the moment. He might well have said that there are those who "get" poetry, and those who don't. I have always been firmly in the latter camp, but perhaps am more recently moving toward the former. Though I still have quite a ways to go, this book really helped move me along. This is a very well-written introduction to the joys of reading poetry. Besides presenting the reader with examples of many different types and styles of poetry it's just very enjoyable to read this author's writing. While my reaction to the poems in the book is not even on the same scale as the author's very visceral, emotional responses, I feel like I nevertheless grasped enough of his reaction to know what he was feeling, and what he was getting at in his description. But I'll admit that some of the poems I read over and over again trying to detect some of *his* response in *me*, and I rarely did. I think this has more to do with my naivete, and I sort of envied the author's obvious depth of feeling in response to these poems. Anyway - it's a great read and if you're a lover of poetry or even just curious about it, I recommend this book highly.
Rating: 
Summary: But... How to Read a Poem?
Review: Edward Hirsch has written a meticulous analysis of the art of poetry, imbued with an authentic love of the form. From page to page he dissects and interprets; his enthusiasm remains high throughout. Not just the poetry, but also the poets themselves are lavished with heroic praise, their craft transcending the mortal. Their words are golden strands of virtue more appropriately whispered into the ears of gods.
But, but...
For those of us uneducated in the art of poetry there is a much more basic level of understanding that has to be achieved first: Why no punctuation? Why do sentences break in mid-breath? How does one find the meter in a poem? How does one read poetry without the stops and starts from line to line? Perhaps we should have learned this in school, but we didn't, so we bought this book.
This is a good book, really, but it is not what its title suggests. It should rather be entitled "The Love of Poetry", or "Falling in Love With Poetry", or "Furthering Your Love of Poetry", or something else emotive. "How to Read a Poem" sounds mechanical, the basics, just what those uneducated among us get when we do a keyword search on how to read a poem.
Select another book in order to learn how to read a poem, then graduate to this one once you comprehend the basics.
Rating: 
Summary: rewarding
Review: I read "How to Read a Poem and Fall in Love with Poetry" by Edward Hirsch as part of an ongoing study of the Psalms that I am engaged in (The Psalm are poems after all). Hirsch's book is oceanic. The waves of Hirsch's passion for the written word break again and again over the reader. It is not an "easy" book. Still, there is much to that can be taken away from these pages. My favorite image is that of a poem being a spell that is cast by its author (using this imagery, the Psalms are then spells cast by God through the hands of humans who are steeped in the raw earthiness of their experience--spells cast to bring future generations up in the training of prayer). The suggested reading list at the back of the book is worth the price of the book all by itself. "How to Read a Poem and Fall in Love with Poetry" is a great book that more than rewards the reader for their effort.
Rating:
Summary: rewarding
Review: I read "How to Read a Poem and Fall in Love with Poetry" by Edward Hirsch as part of an ongoing study of the Psalms that I am engaged in (The Psalm are poems after all). Hirsch's book is oceanic. The waves of Hirsch's passion for the written word break again and again over the reader. It is not an "easy" book. Still, there is much to that can be taken away from these pages. My favorite image is that of a poem being a spell that is cast by its author (using this imagery, the Psalms are then spells cast by God through the hands of humans who are steeped in the raw earthiness of their experience--spells cast to bring future generations up in the training of prayer). The suggested reading list at the back of the book is worth the price of the book all by itself. "How to Read a Poem and Fall in Love with Poetry" is a great book that more than rewards the reader for their effort.
Rating:
Summary: Rich and Chocolaty
Review: I really enjoy reading Hirsch because he has a romantic love affair with poetry and his enthusiasm is infectious in the extreme. This is an excellent introduction to what poetry is and what it can do. Hirsch focuses on the romantic/spiritual side to poetry, his favourite poets being Whitman and Emerson. He does get a bit carried away with this at times and is best introducing new and obscure pots such as the modern Greek poet Cavafy. It is not the sort of book you read over three days. I found myself reading very slowly, like eating a big rich chocolate dessert.
Rating:
Summary: Worth Buying Twice
Review: I was utterly charmed by this book, but unfortunately lost my copy half way through. I bought a second, determined to have it on hand to be a primary guide as I try to learn more about poetry. For those of us with "literal" minds, Hirsh's words offer plenty of reasons to persevere over what may at first seem to be imponderable communications. He emphasizes the excitement of puzzling out messages poets leave for us and the thrill of the feelings they elict in response. This is a very good book to have if you are growing into poetry or have wondered what all the fuss was about.
Rating:
Summary: You will underline the whole thing
Review: In his acknowledgments, Hirsch states that "this book was conceived as a whole." That's a little hard to believe; there is only a slight sense of overall organization to the volume. Readers might be better served by approaching this as a collection of separate but related essays in which Hirsch offers his interesting and perceptive thoughts on individual poems and on poetry as a genre. These essays do not offer any sort of step-by-step approach to reading poetry (as a reader might infer from the title), but by modelling his own readings of well-selected poems, Hirsch will both inspire and inform you. This is not a beginning-level book, but those with a modest knowledge of poetry will find this to be an enjoyable next step, and the glossary and reading list at the end are valuable resources.
Rating:
Summary: Great Essays on Poetry!
Review: This book is an in-depth, very personal collection of essays on poetry, and specifically on how to read, understand, and appreciate a poem on its own terms ... Hirsch doesn't just define each kind of formal poem (sonnet, villanelle, sestina, etc.), he tells the reader why each form is important, and lets the reader know something of each form's history... this alone is invaluable ... but what really makes this collection spellbinding is that Edward Hirsch talks about some of the many poems that he has fallen in love with, from his boyhood in Chicago, to more recent times ... he talks about each poem in an in-depth manner, recalling his first experiences with each poem, and how each poem impacted him, as a reader .... very powerful and enlightening sequences ... Edward Hirsch is a great, great poet. But, because he was writing a book on reading poety, he felt it wasn't appropriate for him to include any of his own poetry. I applaud this decision. No writer is ever as objective about his own work as he is about the work of others. So Hirsch, to maintain his theme of reading poetry (not writing it), pours over poems from the past and the present with care, precision, passion, and love. This is a fabulous book on literally, "How to Read a Poem and Fall in Love with Poetry." I highly recommend this book to everybody.
Rating:
Summary: You will underline the whole thing
Review: This book is not only for beginners. I am not a beginner, and i enjoyed every word of it. It reinforced everything i feel about poetry but can't put into words. Hirsch is a master at expressing what a single poem can do, and the powers of poetry from around the world.
Rating: 
Summary: not for beginners!
Review: this is not a 'beginner's guide to poetry'. this was my expectation, and i found the book too difficult to wade through. perhaps i will return to it, once i have a firmer grasp on the basics of poetry. also, the author's florid, overwrought, style grew quickly tiresome. his use of the word 'unbearable' to describe at least three separate poems (or parts of poems), for example...... please!
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