Poetry as a Long-Term Commitment
 

I was wondering if you guys have a poet that you like and think others should know about
My only request is that they be published and of literary merit (no Shel Silverstein stuff). If you have a poem or a poet, or just advice for someone who is serious about writing poetry, please post.

My reason for making this thread:
To write good poetry, regardless of your style you need a firm foundation and understanding in poetry and its construction. I've noticed that this holds true regardless of how much a good poet hates or avoids the rules that apply to poetry. For the final in my last English class we had to pick a poet and present - those were our only guidelines. Although the presentations varied quite a bit since each student had to guess what the teacher's expectations were, one thing held true the entire time: the poet had read a lot of poetry before they excelled in their writing.

Although my major isn't in the English department, I enjoy writing poetry and want to continue to write. However, if I'm going to put the time and the effort into constructing the stuff I want it to be good. So during the free time I have I'd like to expand the number of poets and poems I've analyzed to get a stronger understanding of poetry in as a whole. I already know how I like to write, but to improve I think I should know more about how others write.

I like this thread. Of course, particular poems are critiqued as requested in the Poetry thread, and specifics are discussed there, but I think a thread for favourite published/famous poets, and general writing, is a good idea.

I like Yeats, of course, but most everybody does... other favourites are William Blake (so conceptually ahead of his time it's fucking amazing), Philip Larkin, Robert Frost and of course, Ted Hughes, whom words cannot even begin to describe in all his astoundingness.

Shel Silverstein always gets a bad rap, but whatever, I don't care enough to defend him.

I like Robert Frost, William Carlos Williams, Petrarch, Edgar Allen Poe, and most of the English romantic poets -- Wordsworth, Coleridge, Blake, Byron, etc.