I’m a big fan of the late Poet Laureate Richard Wilbur, a twentieth-century formalist who swam against the tide of free verse and nonetheless won two Pulitzer Prizes. Get a copy of his Selected Poems 1943-2004 to see poetry that’s graceful and urbane. Don’t miss his mesmerizing “A Baroque Wall-Fountain in the Villa Sciarra,” his warm “A Barred Owl,” or his beautifully ominous “Year’s End” (my all-time favorite poem).

Another good collection of poetry is Good Poems, Garrison Keillor, ed. (Yes, I know: Garrison misbehaved. If you don’t want to enrich him, buy the book used. You can get one for as little as $1.50.)