8 Books For Poetry Lovers

8 Books For Poetry Lovers

Hello beautiful ones. I wanted to speak on a few poetry books that I think you would enjoy. Some of these poets are newer poets and some have been around for quite sometime. I have really enjoyed poetry over the years and if you are reading this post then I know that you would enjoy these books too. Poetry is one of those genres that make you think deep, analyze words and enjoy an adventure through a writer's words. I hope that you find something below that you would want to read and tell me your thoughts about in the comment section.

Title: The 100 Best African American Poems *I Cheated

Edited: Nikki Giovanni

Synopsis: "A startlingly vibrant collection that spans from historic to modern, from structured to freeform, and reflects the rich roots and visionary future of African American verse. Lift up Black voices with these magnetic poems, an exciting mix of most-loved classics and daring new writing. From Gwendolyn Brooks and Langston Hughes to Tupac Shakur, Natasha Trethewey, and many others, the voice of a culture comes through in this collection, one that is as talented, diverse, and varied as its people."

Nikki Giovanni created a collection of poetry from multiple poets into one book for you to devour. Honestly, a lot of the poets in this book I wanted to show off their poetry books but this poetry list would have been super long haha. If you are looking for a stunning collection of many Black poets throughout history, this book is the best for you. It will give you poets from the past with a splash of modern poetry.

 Title: Corazon

 Author: Yesika Salgado

Synopsis: "Corazón is a love story. It is about the constant hunger for love. It is about feeding that hunger with another person and finding that sometimes it isn’t enough. Salgado creates a world in which the heart can live anywhere; her fat brown body, her parents home country, a lover, a toothbrush, a mango, or a song. It is a celebration of heartache, of how it can ruin us, but most importantly how we always survive it and return to ourselves whole."

Yesika Salgado is a poet where I own each one of her poetry books. I love reading her style, her words and her truth. She speaks about her culture, her love life and what it means to be her through her poet book Corazon. So, I highly recommend reading her many poetry books. I am usually one of her readers that order her books before it is even released to the world.

Title: If They Come For Us

Author: Fatimah Asghar

Synopsis: "From a co-creator of the Emmy-nominated web series Brown Girls comes an imaginative, soulful debut poetry that collection captures the experiences of being a young Pakistani Muslim woman in contemporary America. Orphaned as a child, Fatimah Asghar grapples with coming of age and navigating questions of sexuality and race without the guidance of a mother or father. These poems at once bear anguish, joy, vulnerability, and compassion, while also exploring the many facets of violence: how it persists within us, how it is inherited across generations, and how it manifests itself in our relationships."

If They Come For Us is such a wonderful poetry book that touches on what it means to be a young Pakistani Muslim woman. You will get visuals along with poetry but this book you will not want to put down. She had many poems that I resinated with me and made me explore my own needs and wants. 

Title: Nepantla: An Anthology Dedicated To Queer Poets Of Color

By: Christopher Soto

Synopsis: "In 2014, Christopher Soto and Lambda Literary Foundation founded the online journal Nepantla, with the mission to nurture, celebrate, and preserve diversity within the queer poetry community, including contributions as diverse in style and form, as the experiences of QPOC in the United States. Now, Nepantla will appear for the first time in print as a survey of poetry by queer poets of color throughout U.S. history, including literary legends such as Audre Lorde, James Baldwin, June Jordan, Ai, and Pat Parker alongside contemporaries such as Natalie Diaz, Ocean Vuong, Danez Smith, Joshua Jennifer Espinoza, Robin Coste Lewis, Joy Harjo, Richard Blanco, Erika L. Sánchez, Jericho Brown, Carl Phillips, Tommy Pico, Eduardo C. Corral, Chen Chen, and more!"

Nepantla: An Anthology Dedicated To Queer Poets Of Color is such a great collection dedicated to queer poets throughout history. I absolutely loved this collection and think it is just like the collection of 100 Best African American Poems but with queer poets of color. It is a stunning poetry collection in different styles and topics. I had to add this to my list because it needs to be devoured by any poetry reader. Christopher Soto added so many poets and he did a great job with recognizing queer poets of color.

Title: Emily Dickinson Poems Vol.1

Author: Emily Dickinson 

You already know that I had to list an Emily Dickinson poem collection. She is one of my favorites with her language, descriptive poems and engaging storytelling with poetry. This collection is really nice but you can also find many collections of hers on multiple platforms.

Title: Citizen Illegal

Author: Jose Olivarez

Synopsis: "Poet José Olivarez explores the stories, contradictions, joys, and sorrows that embody life in the spaces between Mexico and America. He paints vivid portraits of good kids, bad kids, families clinging to hope, life after the steel mills, gentrifying barrios, and everything in between. Drawing on the rich traditions of Latinx and Chicago writers like Sandra Cisneros and Gwendolyn Brooks, Olivarez creates a home out of life in the in-between."

José Olivarez is definitely a poet that you should gravitate towards. His poetry book Citizen Illegal is absolutely amazing. He speaks on what it means to be Mexican and American as well as everything in-between. He grabbed my attention immediately through another poetry book collection called The Breakbeat Poets. I think that you would love to read this poetry book that will make you laugh, think and even want to learn more.

Title: Black Girl Call Home

Author: Jasmine Mans

Synopsis: "From spoken word poet Jasmine Mans comes an unforgettable poetry collection about race, feminism, and queer identity.
 
With echoes of Gwendolyn Brooks and Sonia Sanchez, Mans writes to call herself—and us—home. Each poem explores what it means to be a daughter of Newark, and America—and the painful, joyous path to adulthood as a young, queer Black woman.
"

Jasmine Mans captured me through her poetry from beginning to the end. There wasn't a piece of poetry that didn't resinate with me and she was able to make me reminisce about my childhood, teen years and moments in my adulthood all within a medium poetry book. There are moments of humor, joy and sadness as you read from Black Girl, Call Home. I am so glad that I purchased this book and I highly recommend it for anyone that is looking for insight into what it is like growing up as a Black woman.

Title: The Carrying

Author: Ada Limon

Synopsis: "Vulnerable, tender, acute, these are serious poems, brave poems, exploring with honesty the ambiguous moment between the rapture of youth and the grace of acceptance. A daughter tends to aging parents. A woman struggles with infertility—“What if, instead of carrying / a child, I am supposed to carry grief?”—and a body seized by pain and vertigo as well as ecstasy. A nation convulses: “Every song of this country / has an unsung third stanza, something brutal.” And still National Book Award finalist Ada Limón shows us, as ever, the persistence of hunger, love, and joy, the dizzying fullness of our too-short lives. “Fine then, / I’ll take it,” she writes. “I’ll take it all.”"

Ada Limon. Ada Limon. Ada Limon. I love her style, her play with words and how she speaks on deep topics in such a clever way. Her first poetry book Bright Dead Things captured my soul and The Carrying made her into a favorite poet of mine. She is a storyteller and speaks in such a way that makes you want to hear from her more. She has won awards and I can definitely see why. I had to add her to the list, that I recommend you read.

 

Poetry is one of those genres that can grab you and make you feel even more connected to the writer through their words. Poetry is definitely about connection to me and these books that I spoke about in this post left me wanting more from the poet. I chose poets that speak with a unique voice and created a beautiful poetry book that I believe any one would love. What poetry books would you recommend? Until next time..Happy Summer Reading!

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