Here are four from me, which date to my college days:

Collected poems of Federico García Lorca, Yeats, Wallace Stevens, Emily Dickenson, plus the Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry.

However, I tend to lean on the words and influences of persons considered to be the masters of story and poetry. I pulled four books off the shelf for your consideration.

Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman, 1855 edition – This genius gave so much to the world of poetry. He opened up the craft to common people and gave us all ‘free verse’. Whether you agree with his politics or his life’s preferences is not relevant to the impact of the earthy prose he left. When I read the book I smell the expressions he uses to impact my awareness of life. My grandmother gave me this book which she first acquired in the late 1800’s.

Poe’s Poems published by Ward, Lock, Bowden and Company, 1879 edition- This book was also given to me by my grandmother which she read when in high school. It was the first book of poetry I had ever seen. I dearly love Poe. Although considered part of the Romantic Movement in the early 1800’s, Poe is a true science fiction writer, maybe the first. His delving into the dark side of human nature and his depth of expressive love, longing, and hopelessness is a reflection of his inner turmoil and incompleteness. Things we all carry with us.

Collected Poems 1947-1980 by Allan Ginsberg – What can I say? If you have ever picked up a work by Ginsberg it only fuels the desire to read more. If angst can be expressed poetically then Ginsberg has reached into the American psyche, pulled it out of our posterior orifice and given the world a visceral voyage into what makes good old USA tick. He was is as relevant today as he was in the time that influenced his writing. Reading Ginsberg gives you a reality check.

Robert Frost: Collection of Poems, Prose, and Plays by Robert Frost: Robert, you are our America’s Poet! Frost was a poet when he was in high school and he continued until his death a poetic catalog of everything that we brush up against in society. While a great deal of poetry today strikes a disingenuous or menacing tone, Frost allows one to become part of the optimistic view of life. If you have ever visited or lived on a farm, where people really worked the earth and care for animals with their hands, you have brushed up against Robert Frost. Every poet should read this work and consume the expressive ability he gave us in his writings to feel the how fields of crops speak to us.

Well now, I think that about does it. Thanks for the opportunity. This was an interesting and soul searching prompt.

1) A Poetry Handbook by Mary Oliver

2) The Sounds of Poetry by Robert Pinsky

I have reviewd them here:

http://firmlyrooted.blogspot.com/2008/06/guiding-lights.html

But, the year 1995 was, for me, a profound and pivotal year, with regard to my poetry. I had written casually up to this point of my life, having gotten started in 1961, writing lyrics for original songs for my first rock & roll band — we even recorded a couple of those.

But writing was more in the backgraound of my life. I enjoyed it, but was not compelled to write. However, four powerful events occurred in my life, in the year 1995 that sparked my writing poetry in earnest – and I hasn’t slowed since.

1. The first thing that happened that year; I had a business partner renege on a business contract that caused me significant financial setback, one from which I’m still recovering. That stirred a bitter sense of betrayal in my soul.

2. One of the best things that happened to me in my life then followed, rocketing my spirit sky high. I invited to become part of Lucasfilm LTD! I was exhilarated, having my office on Skywalker Ranch, immersed in the remarkable energy of that environment — it set my creative juices flowing like a raging river.

3. Right on the heels of that remarkable positive shift in my life, I experienced the greatest horror of my life to date. My 18-year-old son Aaron was killed. I was totally devastated to the point of a nervous breakdown. Thankfully, I was blessed by friends and family that drew near, and I was fortunate that Lucasfilm stood solidly by me — but I was in the throws of debilitating depression.

4. In the midst of these tumultuous emotional episodes I discovered something that slowly began to lift me back up. Bill Moyers was doing an 8-part special on PBS entitled: “The Language of Life – A Festival of Poets”. The program slowly pulled me in, show by show, until I was consumed by it.

Torn between unfathomable grief and great creative joy — I was going mad. I finally lost myself in Bill’s series of shows focused on remarkable poets and their work. Subsequently I bought the book that was spawned by that series, and which bears the same title.

I still read it frequently. I also have the audio recorded from the series, with interviews and poets reading their work. For me, it is incredibly inspiring. It saved my life, and accelerated my poetry writing dramatically. I still feel that poetic spark ignited by “The Language of Life – A Festival of Poets”.

1995 was truly the best of times and the worst of times in my life. Thankfully, the ultimate result is a ever-growing passion to write — especially poetry. That, and my art, now fill my spirit — as does the love of my wife and my two surviving children.

Thank you Bill!

The Complete Poems of Anne Sexton has to be on this list. Stumbled on this while reading much dustier assigned poetry in junior high, and the raw power of it all felt like it was going to blow the back of my skull off. There are lines of hers that will always be written on me.

The Dead and The Living, Sharon Olds. This was one I carried everywhere for years, read and read and re-read. Olds has always struck a chord with me, her voice, the shape she gives to her work.

The Great Fires, Jack Gilbert. This one… ah. He just transformed everything for me. This is in my “still carry everywhere” collection. These poems transcend the personal for me; this is god on paper.

And tied, I’ll say, sneaking in a fifth: (1) Long Walks In The Afternoon, by Margaret Gibson. She’s my godmother, and growing up in her company gave a face and reality to the work of poetry. (2) The Brand X Anthology of Poetry. Much beloved, dogeared, pieces scribbled down and passed on to friends. Among other reasons, I love this collection for teaching me not to take poetry TOO seriously.

Four Events that Most Changed My Writing:

1. The death of my father when I was 18

2. My sister giving me a copy of “Picnic, Lightning” by Billy Collins

3. The birth of my two boys, the suns around which I circle

4. The death of my mother when I was 36

The first resulted in some very angry poetry. The second forced me to question if what I was writing was in fact poetry. The third infused my work with an unquestioning sense of wonder over things I previously took for granted. The fourth tempered the third and instilled a more thoughtful look at life (and death).

Sorry to go off topic, but Dave’s post seemed so lonely…