The World's Wife, by Carol Anne Duffy

TITLE: The World's Wife
AUTHOR: Carol Anne Duffy

I confess I don't really get poetry. I don't dislike it, or anything, but I just don't have the skills or practice to appreciate it. The World's Wife, by Britain's new Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy, was the book chosen this month for my book club, and I really had no idea how I would react to it.

"Poetry by Britain's Poet Laureate" sounds awfully stuffy, doesn't it? But stuffy is the very opposite of what this book is. Duffy is funny and irreverent, without sacrificing any depth.
How funny? This is one of the poems. Each of them is written by the wives of famous historical or mythical figures, and this one is by the wife of Icarus:

Mrs. Icarus

I'm not the first or the last
to stand on a hillock,
watching the man she married
prove to the world
he's a total, utter, absolute Grade A pillock.

I still wouldn't say I completely get poetry, but this was a very good place to start.

MY GRADE: A B+.