Poetry is a definitely underrated genre in literature, so here are some excellent, must-read collections of poetry that are perfect for any reader.
- Where the Sidewalk ends –Shel Silverstein
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I feel like I could not recommend a better starting poetry collection than one of the first that ever got me into reading– Where the Sidewalk Ends. I can vividly remember sitting in my elementary school library and having the librarian read this to our class. Shel Silverstein is an iconic children’s poet and cartoonist, and Where the Sidewalk Ends is a great place to start with his collections. This poetry collection takes us on a journey to a mystical other world between the sidewalk and the street, and it teaches this bittersweet tinged theme of what it means to grow up. Highly recommend this one for when you need to reconnect with your inner child and younger self.
- The collected poems of sylvia plath
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Switching to a bit of a darker note, another excellent collection is The Collected Poems of Sylvia Plath. Anyone who knows me knows that I love every bit of Plath’s works. This collection includes all of her works from when she started publishing up until her death spanning classic works like The Colosseum to Ariel. Her poetry definitely takes a more lyrically dark note, but Plath’s ability to write is so beautiful I could not help but include her on this list.
- Voyage of the Sable Venus –Robin Coste Lewis
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Voyage of the Sable Venus is definitely a newer collection for me to add to this list, but after reading an excerpt of this collection in my English seminar class last fall and then devouring this collection in two days, I knew it would be a perfect addition to this list. This collection takes readers on a journey through the cultural and artistic interpretation of black womanhood through the author’s own life and the historical stereotypes and depictions of art. I really enjoyed learning about how the art of the past showcased the black female figure’s role through history and highly recommend this one!
- Night Sky with exit wounds –ocean vuong
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Vietnamese novelist and poet Ocean Vuong is quickly taking the literary world by storm with his debut On Earth We Are Briefly Gorgeous gaining much traction in the book community (including with myself). His debut poetry collection is no exception. Night Sky with Exit Wounds is a collection that explores queer identity, family, and immigration and really speaks to what it means to be a queer immigrant of color. This collection is not for the faint of heart and definitely made me ugly cry numerous times, but Ocean Vuong beautifully interweaves this story of light and life against a backdrop of hardship and “exit wounds” that stuck with them to this very day. Highly highly recommend.
- the princess saves herself in this one –Amanda Lovelace
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If you are looking for a quick, hard-hitting, feminist collection of poetry, I recommend The Princess Saves Herself in this One by Amanda Lovelace. This semi-autobiographical collection really turns the trope of the princess stuck in a tower on its head and focuses on a poetic journey of self-rescue and becoming one’s own savior. The best part is, if you enjoyed this collection Amanda Lovelace published a couple of other volumes where she flips classic female stereotype tales with her Women Are Some Kind of Magic series.
- the complete works of emily dickinson
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This would not be a poetry collection recommendation list without a collection by Emily Dickinson. Anyone looking to find a good place to start when it comes to reading poetry would be wise to choose this iconic writer. Her works, all published posthumously, feature poems spanning themes of love, death, and nature.
- violet bent backward over the grass — Lana del rey
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If you want a lyrical poetry collection that is beautiful inside and out, I highly recommend Violet Bent Backward Over the Grass by Lana Del Rey (yes that one). The best part of this collection is that Lana Del Rey recorded a studio album reading the poems inside this book. The book itself is filled with a variety of poems, haikus, and photographs that make for a pretty different poetry reading experience. For my Lana fans this is definitely a good place to start.
- If not, winter: Fragments of sappho — Anne Carson
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If Not, Winter is the fragments written by the classic poet Sappho translated by modern, renowned poet Anne Carson. This is definitely a harder poetry collection to read but features a beautifully well constructed collection of Sappho’s original Greek verse alongside English, as if you are reading the first publication of Sappho’s majorly lost works.
- Leaves of Grass –Walt whitman
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This one is for my Dead Poets Society people (if you know you know). Leaves of Grass is a classic collection of poetry exploring themes of body and soul, democracy, mortality, and nature. This book takes the classic mountain man and pioneer Walt Whitman and goes through what is natural and unnatural about the world around him. He’s definitely a lyrical writer with heavy prose, but finishing this book puts you on a new level of poetry, that’s all I’ll say.