fp intro to verse

Initially I always recommend that a person interested in reading (and writing, eventually) poetry learn the technical side of it. When I teach classes on poetry it's the first thing I make sure the students are familiar with. The reason for this is because it allows you a deeper understanding and appreciation of a poem and for the talent of a poet; consider that every good poem written in verse has a metrical scheme for a reason, consider that the form used serves a purpose: each nuance to the metre, each inverted foot is purposeful. It's the nuance, and the hand for it that a good poet has in manipulating his medium that makes it worthwhile to understand and appreciate. They add affects, emphasize or symbolize and so on. These are things you won't and can't notice nor appreciate if you're not even aware they're happening.
Learning these things is done easily enough. There are dozens of books out there to teach you.
Suggestions:
>Poetic Meter and Poetic Form - Paul Fussell
>Western Wind: An Introduction to Poetry - David Mason & John Frederick Nims
>A Poetry Handbook - Mary Oliver
>Rhyme's Reason - John Hollander
>The Ode Less Traveled - Stephen Fry (it's useful and worth reading despite the author of it)

Next I'd suggest starting with the Greeks. No, not just a meme. So many poets reference and allude to greco-roman mythology that you'll miss out on a lot if you're not familiar with it. If you want to read them from 'firsthand' sources, look into:
>Homer
>Hesiod
>Horace
>Virgil
>Ovid
Otherwise, a guide to classical mythology is sufficient.
>Mythology - Edith Hamilton
>The Greek Myths - Robert Graves
>Gods and Heroes of Ancient Greece - Gustav Schwab
Now, consider that mythology plays a large role in many poetic traditions, and it exists outside the Greco-Roman branch. Yeats for example draws largely on Irish tales in his early poetry, but I'd say greek and roman myths are at the forefront of influence in English poetry. Biblical allusions are also extremely prevalent in English verse, so it couldn't hurt to be familiar with the Old and New testaments either.
Of course, you can read poetry without reading myths and look up references as you go, but you might not pick up on some of the more subtle ones.

After that one could begin with an anthology, a comprehensive overview of English poems from the beginning to contemporary that you can skim through to get a feel for your taste. Norton's Anthology of Poetry spans from Chaucer up through the last few decades, but it mostly drops you in with little background, so if you're not confident in your ability to understand context it might not be your favorite option. Alternatively Harold Bloom offers his collection of "The Best Poems of the English Language", which includes quite a few poets from Chaucer through Frost, and he prefaces each poet with biographical background and usually commentary on his or her poetry. There are also collections of poetry that focus on specific periods and movements, so if you have an idea of what era of poetry in particular you like you might start with one of those.
After you've looked through an anthology and understand better your own preferences, you can pick through the poets you enjoyed and study them further individually, then branch back out by reading poets similar to them, reading about their period and others in the period, read those they influenced or were influenced by, and so on.

Finally, there's an unlimited amount of secondary texts that'll contribute to your reading of poetry. Essays, letters, handbooks, etc. Commentaries on poetry itself, poetics, conversations between poets, all sorts of things. Some of my favorites that you may be interested in are:
>A Poet's Glossary - Edward Hirsch
It's in the name; a glossary of poetic terms and phrases concerning poetry and its tradition. Very useful for looking up things you may forget or reading through and learning things you might not have known. Somewhat friendly in tone so it's approachable as something more than just mechanical definitions.
>Princeton's Encyclopedia of Poetry
Like Hirsch's glossary of poetic terms, but more comprehensive and more academic in tone.
>Letters to a Young Poet - Rainer Maria Rilke
Rilke talks about what it means (to him) to be a poet and his process of poetry and the nature of it.
>In Defense of Poetry - Percy Bysshe Shelley
Shelley discusses what he thinks poetry is and what poetry does and means.
>The Anxiety of Influence - Harold Bloom
Bloom's take on influence and how a writer interacts with his predecessors.
>ABC of Reading - Ezra Pound
A manual for reading and on literature. Pound discusses the importance of literature and what it does, how it's done, why it's done, and how he thinks it should be done.
>The Routlege Anthology of Poets on Poets - David Hopkins
A collection of poems, letters, etc by poets regarding the medium of verse, what it means etc, and of poets discussing other poets. Very interesting, and gives you a feel for how the tradition developed and morphed throughout the ages.
>Bloom's Critical Studies/Bloom's Major Poets
Essays and studies on various movements and poets, edited and introduced by Harold Bloom.
 - say on Criticism - Alexander Pope
Cute poem by the notoriously cheeky Pope, commenting on critics and poets.

Odds are if you have a favorite poet they've had something to say about the medium. A few Google searches will surely provide you with something to read if you're interested.Now, I don't mean this as a "this is the proper way to do it" type thing, but simply my personal recommendations on how to get the most out of your experience. You can always just grab an anthology and start there, dive right in. You're free to skip steps if you feel necessary. Ultimately poetry is an intimate experience, and you're meant to interact with it however you feel fit. Above all else, enjoy the medium.