Great post. I'm still pretty new to poetry, but from what I've read of your poet suggestions, it seems very good.

I might suggest Bukowski to someone just getting into poetry. It seems like he's a bit of a love-hate from what I've gathered, but he's pretty accessible and touches on some darker, personal themes.

In regards to your conclusion, I think that a big question (one that I still have trouble with) has to do with determining what makes "good" poetry good? How do I know that what I'm reading is good poetry, especially in free verse? How do I know that it even is poetry? How do I know that the free verse I write (or any form of poetry for that matter), would be considered good by others? What makes a "classic" poem classic?

Oh, and it'd be fantastic if you were into making those other posts on reading and writing poetry. This one was really helpful and welcoming, I'd love to see what you have to say on other topics. Anyway, thanks for the post!