5 Poetry Titles to Add to Your Reading List

By Amanda Kang
LinkedIn

With National Poetry Month upon us, there has never been a better time to explore new titles and authors. Here is a list of five great poetry titles to add to your reading list.

1. Quiet by Victoria Adukwei Bulley

In her debut 2022 collection, poet, writer, and filmmaker Victoria Adukwei Bulley explores what she describes, in a T.S. Eliot Prize Interview, as a “meditation on the interior life, the interior black female life” and this word “quiet,” which has followed her around her entire life. In it, she finds the importance of the interior and how quiet is not only for the self but also collaborative. In the same interview, she asks “What does quiet mean for working with other people to create a more liveable planet?” To this, Bulley imagines a type of progress outside of our connected world and surveillance state that allows “you to communicate so that things can grow before they then become visible to everybody.” 

The nature of dreams is also ever present in Bulley’s work. Her book is dedicated to “my mother who dreamed me first.” Dreams are especially important in “Dreaming is a Form of Knowledge Production,” in which Bulley writes

“Dreaming is a form of knowledge production

& they don’t want it to be that easy for us.

As in: lay your head on a pillow

wake up holding

something new.”

With thought-provoking imagery throughout, Quiet is a bold debut for Bulley challenging Western readers on their notions of immigration, the African diaspora, or even strangers they may see on the train. In itself, Quiet is a dreamlike state in which Bulley envisions a more quietly collaborative way of life that moves our world towards progress. 

2. Couplets by Maggie Millner

The first thing to notice about Maggie Millner’s debut autobiographical novel-in-verse, Couplets, is its form. Written predominantly in its namesake, the speaker seeks to organize her life in oppositional pairs: the two lovers in her life, her shifting sense of sexuality, emotional pain, and pleasure, and her struggle for power.

Millner spends most of the novel attempting to structure these many oppositions into recognizable, palatable forms. However, both Millner’s love story and formal elements refuse to remain orderly. A series of clean, well-rhymed couplets are followed by haibun-style poems, a cross between a haiku and a prose poem. It is in this messier and free-flowing style that Millner reveals the true chaos and confusion of her love story. As Millner herself says, we 

“think life might behave in ways 

that life just won’t behave”

“in retrospect, the shape of things looks more entropic— 

strewn salt—shards of glass—rhapsodic.”

Within all of these formal elements, Millner still manages to find truth within her work. Altogether, Couplets is a strong assertion of the chaos and beauty that Millner finds within her queer identity and what it means to navigate this identity in the 21st century. 

3. Time Is a Mother by Ocean Vuong

Coming off his award-winning debut novel, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, comes Ocean Vuong’s latest poetry collection, Time Is a Mother. In it, Vuong intimately searches for life and meaning in the aftermath of his mother’s death, exploring themes of loss and nostalgia. His work is also always infused with his queer and first-generation Vietnamese identity that impacts all of his relationships, be they familial or romantic. Similar to his other work, Vuong’s collection moves through time as Vuong searches for the remaining traces of his mother and his heritage after her passing. Hoping to connect with her, in “Dear Rose,” Vuong writes

“Let me begin again now

That you’re gone Ma

If you’re reading this then you survived

Your life into this one…”

Altogether, Time Is a Mother is a beautiful read filled with Vuong’s poignant reflections on identity and moving through grief. By moving through his words, the reader comes to understand how the concept of time continues to shelter Vuong and connect him with his family, much like a parent would. 

4. This Bridge Called My Back Writings By Radical Women of Color edited by Cherríe Moraga and Gloria E. Anzaldúa

This Bridge Called My Back is one of the most groundbreaking, intersectional, feminist texts of the 20th century. In it, Cherríe Moraga and Gloria E. Anzaldúa compile the works of poets, essayists, and theorists to create a collage-style book that grants insight into a variety of Third World Feminists, feminists that decenter the colonial lens, viewpoints, and experiences. Their work emphasizes the role women of color play in feminism and the often large gap in lived experience between women of color and their white or male peers. The book famously opens with the poem “This Bridge Called My Back,” written by Donna Kate Rushin. In it, Rushin expresses her frustration in how her identity as a black, queer woman forces her to act as a “bridge” between all communities. 

“I've had enough
 I'm sick of seeing and touching
 Both sides of things
 Sick of being the damn bridge for everybody

Nobody
Can talk to anybody
Without me Right?”

Open frustration at society and their peers is part of what makes This Bridge Called My Back so groundbreaking. In it, the writers express themselves more openly and boldly than is deemed ‘acceptable’ for women of color, even in feminist circles. Each author brings their diverse point of view, expressing far beyond generalized patriarchal violence. They describe the intersection of this violence with other forms of oppression, such as racism, LGBT oppression, and xenophobia. More often than not, these forms of oppression are as present in feminist spaces as they are in patriarchal ones. Altogether, these various viewpoints, paired with rich writing, create a powerful feminist compilation and historical reference point. 

5. How to Not Be Afraid of Everything by Jane Wong

Jane Wong’s first poetry collection is a bold exploration of the Chinese immigrant experience. Using everything and the kitchen sink, Wong’s writing is a cornucopia of rich imagery, especially that of food and family. Wong snapshots various moments in her life, allowing the reader to become emotionally entrenched in her work. One recurring image and title is in the series of three poems, all entitled “The Frontier.” This series chronicles Wong and her family’s journey from the American reality to the harsher American Reality. Natural disasters, poverty, and racial prejudice infiltrate the idealistic vision of immigration. As Wong hardens herself against America and its false promises, she describes the American landscape as full of 

“poison frogs

in slime spurs, gargantuan

rhubarb leaves, nightshade roots

gargling.”

And warns those who stand against her.

“You better watch

where you crawl, creeper.

I am far from done.”

While Wong never gives the reader a straightforward guide to How to Not Be Afraid of Everything, through her confrontation of all things fearful, perhaps we learn to be a bit braver ourselves even without clear answers. 

One of the amazing things about poetry is how it speaks to us emotionally beyond logic or scientific thought. A poem can help bring us out of the darkest times or teach us how to show gratitude for the moments we have. This National Poetry Month, I know that I will for sure be thinking about the many poets who have impacted my life be it through class assignments or flipping through pages at a bookstore. However, if you are still looking for the poet with the right words for you, I encourage you to start by exploring these five poets. You may find the answer to your problems, a moment of peace, or just a great read. Regardless, each one is worth a shot. Happy reading!