A common apprehension about poetry is that poems are like puzzles that need to be solved to understand them, or that readers need to crack their secret codes in order to fully appreciate them. This view of poetry often prevents readers from simply enjoying a poem on its own merits. If we stop worrying about ‘getting it’, we can open ourselves up to poetry’s ability to tell a story, remind us of past joys, or to simply enjoy how a poet plays with language.

Like any other form of art, the more you interact with it, the more you’ll see that there is a rich variety of poetry that can appeal to anyone’s interests or experiences. You’ll soon see that not all poetry is scary or requires a deep knowledge of the form to engage with it. To celebrate National Poetry Day, here’s my prescription of poetry recommendations for those who are new to, or curious about, poetry.

• A great place to start to get a broad view of what’s happening in New Zealand poetry is to dip into an anthology. Like a biscuit sampler box, there’s sure to be something to suit every taste: Short Poems of New Zealand (edited by Jenny Bornholdt); Te Awa Kupu (edited by Kiri Piahana-Wong and Vaughan Rapatahana); Katūīvei Contemporary Pasifika poetry from Aotearoa New Zealand (edited by David Eggleton, Vaughan Rapatahana and Mere Taito); and the online anthology Ōrongohau | Best New Zealand Poems.

• Before it was committed to the page, poetry had its roots in oral storytelling traditions. Reading poetry out loud or listening to it can be a different way of enjoying it, and help bring its rhythms and musicality to life. Check out Remember Me: Poems to Learn by Heart from Aotearoa New Zealand (edited by Anne Kennedy) and Rapture: An Anthology of Performance Poetry from Aotearoa NZ (edited by Carrie Rudzinski and Grace Iwashita-Taylor) to find poems that are perfect for reading out loud.

• If you usually gravitate towards short stories or novels, you might find verse novels or book-length sequences an approachable middle ground for exploring poetry: The Artist by Ruby Solly; Fox Spirit on a Distant Cloud by Lee Murray; Chinese Fish by Grace Yee; Root Leaf Flower Fruit by Bill Nelson; This Paper Boat by Gregory Kan; Briefcase by John Adams; and Song of Less by Joan Fleming.

• The natural world is a popular theme in our nation’s poetry. Many recent collections and anthologies take inspiration from the environment and our relationship with it, sometimes using nature as a metaphor for other topics or issues: Anthology (n.) a collection of flowers by Gail Ingram; At the Point of Seeing by Megan Kitching; Flow: Whanganui River Poems by Airini Beautrais; Koe: An Aotearoa Ecopoetry Anthology (edited by Janet Newman and Robert Sullivan); and No Place to Stand: An Anthology of Climate Change Poetry from Aotearoa New Zealand (edited by Jordan Hamel, Rebecca Hawkes, Erik Kennedy and Essa Ranapiri).

• One misconception about poetry is that it’s all old and dusty. Not true! Contemporary poets often use informal language, slang, and pop culture references to help make their poetry more relatable to modern-day readers. The following books are very much grounded in the here and now: Big Fat Brown Bitch by Tusiata Avia; Killer Rack by Sylvan Spring; Āria by Jessica Hinerangi; and Manuali'i by Rex Letoa Paget.