A.O. Scott

Modern Poetry by Diane Seuss.

My reading in 2024 was kind of all over the place because my job is kind of all over the place.

Hi, I'm A.O. Scott, and I'm a critic at large for the New York Times Book Review. A book that I really loved in 2024 was a collection of poetry by Diane Seuss. The book is called Modern Poetry. And the thing that I really like about this book is that it's very accessible.

This book, in a very unusual and original and I think moving way, says, reader, you may have no idea what the hell modern poetry is, but here's what it means to me. And what it means to her is so personal and revealing and funny. She's such an inventive poet just in terms of what she does with form, with rhyme, with language.

And I think that you don't have to care or know anything about poetry to enjoy it. It serves almost as a kind of introduction to poetry in a funny way. Great book. Great book. Highly recommend it.