We have been taught that the language of poetry is symbolic—a difficult code that must be rigorously and carefully deciphered. As a result, poetry’s importance has suffered in popular culture and been abandoned by readers fearful of its difficulty. In lively, conversational prose, acclaimed poet Matthew Zapruder argues against this approach to poetry, demystifying it for ordinary readers and revealing how this misunderstanding interferes with our direct,visceral experience of poetry’s beauty and strangeness, instilling instead a sense of confusion and inadequacy.

In this engaging, informed handbook, Zapurder takes on what poetry—and poetry alone—can do. He explores what poems are, and how we can read them without the aid of teachers or experts, and without anyone’s impressions overshadowing our own. Weaving through his personal experiences with the form, Zapruder persuasively shows why poetry is necessary in an age when information is often confused with knowledge, and how reading poetry can add greater meaning and purpose to our daily lives.

Why Poetry provides a simple method for approaching poems and confronts head-on the obstacles that readers face. Entertaining and engaging, it makes clear that poetry can be read and enjoyed by everyone.