Poetry is something of a specialist subject for many people but it shouldn't be. Next time you stumble across a poetry anthology have a browse — you are bound to discover rhymes you enjoy.
During the past week or so, The Guardian and The Independent have both decided to educate their readers about different poets.
While The Guardian selected seven great poets of the 20th century, The Independent allowed itself a more generous timespan, with poets ranging from Chaucer to Thomas Hardy.
The Guardian linked up with Faber to produce seven splendid booklets which fit quite snugly into my jacket pocket.
I can't fault the production values but the choice of seven poets is bound to prompt debate.
The seven finalists were: TS Eliot, WH Auden, Sylvia Plath, Philip Larkin, Ted Hughes, Seamus Heaney and Siegfried Sassoon.
But what about the poets who failed to make the cut? An alternative seven could have been: John Betjeman, Wilfred Owen, Edward Thomas, Dylan Thomas, Tony Harrison, Simon Armitage and Douglas Dunn.
And that still would have left me struggling to squeeze in Ken Smith, Andrew Motion, the current Poet Laureate, RS Thomas, Paul Durcan, Norman McCaig and Roger McGough.
Children love poets like Roger McGough and Edward Lear because the nonsense verse they write tickles their funny bones.
Some people shy away from poetry because they think it is all about death but I disagree — I think it's a very vital part of the language.
I've just noticed that there are no women poets among my own favourites so perhaps you could recommend some.