100 Essential Modern Poems Book

Hmm... I don't know. I flatter myself by thinking I'm an intelligent guy, one who is smarter than a majority of people on the planet. I score high on I.Q. tests, anyway. But one area where I feel lost in the woods much of the time is modern poetry. It's like non-representational art--if I can't tell what the painting is supposed to be, I usually don't understand why it's great art. I love literature and I want to have a deeper appreciation of poetry, but most of the poems in this collection left me thinking, "Huh?" I don't know if it's a case of I'm just not able to appreciate the poems--just as I'm not skilled at appreciating a fine wine--or if in fact the Emperor has no clothes. The extensive background information on the poets and the commentary on their poetry was helpful, but not helpful enough. I would conclude that what's lacking is my appreciation of the poets' craft and not the intrinsic worth of the poems, but my wife--who's a much more intelligent person than I--also dipped into the poems and came away with the same feeling of "So what?" Not all the selected poems left me feeling flat or puzzled, though, so I have hope that if I keep at it, my skill at mining poetical gold may improve, and I'll be able to appreciate more of the poems in this book and better understand what makes them "essential."