Where Do I Begin?
Starting out with any new subject, especially one as large as Perl, can be somewhat daunting. I've tried to gather resources for both the absolute beginner and for people who have done a little programming before. Whatever your experience level, I'm sure you'll find something useful to guide you through the basics, or expand your knowledge of this versatile and fascinating language.
Getting Perl
In the Getting Started section, you'll find tutorials on downloading and installing Perl. If you're working with a Windows system, I would advise using ActivePerl - read about installing ActivePerl and the basics of Perl for Windows in the Getting Started section. If you have access to a Unix or Linux system, chance are that Perl is already installed and ready to go.
Learning the basics
If you're new to programming and to Perl, I'd recommend you start with my 'Beginning Perl' series in the Perl Tutorials category:
Beginning Perl Tutorial - Data Types
You can also find several more tutorials and beginner's guides in the Perl Tutorials category.
Where do I go from here?
Perl's applications are almost limitless. From working with databases to building interactive chat bots, the variety of things you can do is simply stunning. It's also a very practical language for people in the web, scientific, and system administration communities.
I hope you'll come to enjoy the language like I do, and I encourage you to contact me anytime for advice, help, or just to talk about Perl.