Calling all my fellow bookworms, poetry lovers and those simply looking to read something new! If you've been on the hunt for something fresh and exciting in the poetry world, look no further. Start your spring and summer off by reading 10 of my favorite and highly recommended modern collections of poetry.
I've read these all within the last six months and each of these has evoked some emotion from within me that have all left me thinking and wanting to reread. Some were shocking, some made me cry, some made me feel their pain, others had me questioning our society and almost every single one had me smiling. I have found them all reasonably priced on Amazon and own all 10. I highly recommend grabbing one, you won't regret it!
1. Bright Dead Things: Ada Limón
“What I didn't like was how people talked to me
now that I was no longer single; they were nicer.
Men who never looked at me would start up a conversation,
like I was suddenly some safer form of fire.”
- What Remains Grows Ravenous
2. Seam: Tarfia Faizulla
Seam finds the beauty and gives a voice to the 200,000 women survivors of rape and torture from the 1971 Pakistani Liberation War. This collection is necessary and powerful.
3. There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyoncé: Morgan Parker
“All my friends are changing religions and getting laid. I have been too patient.”
-All My Vinyls Weigh a Ton
4. Madness: Sam Sax
Sam Sax explores the connections between desires, addiction and the history of mental illness. Dive into the inner workings of the mind.
5. Don't Call Us Dead: Danez Smith
"did he make a new sea to miss you, kid?
were you a fish swimming in his grief, kid? did you float?"
-elegy with pixels & cum
6. The Verging Cities: Natalie Scenters-Zapico
Falling angels, immigration, marriage, The Verging Cities is a place where the real is surreal.
7. Anybody: Ari Banias
"For example, I was once
a sundress on a splintery
swingset in Texas, and the world
was made of yellow grass"
-Narrative
8.Thief in the Interior: Phillip B. Williams
The airport showed CNN and a Black mother
could not be heard over gate changes, bistro jazz.
-Agenda: I.
9. Whereas: Layli Long Soldier
10. Night Sky With Exit Wounds: Ocean Vuong
“The most beautiful part of your body
is where it’s headed. & remember,
loneliness is still time spent
with the world.”
-Someday I'll Love Ocean Vuong
