The Feminist Know-It-All: You know her. You can’t stand her. Good thing she’s not here! Instead, this column by gender and women’s studies librarian Karla Strand will amplify stories of the creation, access, use and preservation of knowledge by women and girls around the world; share innovative projects and initiatives that focus on information, literacies, libraries and more; and, of course, talk about all of the books.
Each month, I provide Ms. readers with a list of new books being published by writers from historically excluded groups. The aims of these lists are threefold:
- I want to do my part in the disruption of what has been the acceptable “norm” in the book world for far too long—white, cis, heterosexual, male;
- I want to amplify indie publishers and amazing works by writers who are women, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, APIA/AAPI, international, queer, trans, nonbinary, disabled, fat, immigrant, Muslim, neurodivergent, sex-positive or of other historically marginalized identities—you know, the rest of us; and
- I want to challenge and encourage you all to buy, borrow and read them!
Happy April, and Happy National Poetry Month. Since my dormant love of poetry was reignited, I’ve found it so refreshing and inspiring to read beautiful collections each year and share them with you.
Below are some of the most exciting and extraordinary poetry titles I’ve read in the last year.
In 2021, I tried something a bit different with the poetry list: Instead of the usual blurb, I focused my thoughts about each collection into three words. Readers responded so well to it, I decided to keep doing it. Sometimes the words are nouns, sometimes verbs, sometimes adjectives—and I may have just made up some words too. Since I find it challenging to be succinct, this is a valuable exercise in imagination, reflection and, well, restraint.
Speaking of restraint … I have to seriously think about which titles to include on this list. Many fantastic collections are being released, but unfortunately, I couldn’t include them all. I’ve included the 58 below for a variety of reasons: because they meet my criteria (above), because they are especially unique, because I wanted to shine a light on them, they are from debut authors, indie publishers, or because they stood out to me for any other reason. The ones that are currently available are presented first in alphabetical order; forthcoming titles are then listed by on-sale date.
So I hope you enjoy and find some collections below that will have you reflecting on how poetry moves you, challenges you and represents you.
40 Weeks
By Julia Kolchinsky Dasbach (@jkdpoetry). YesYes Books. 110 pages. Out now.
Seed, split, fruit(full).
*
The Abduction
Written by Maram Al-Masri. Translated by Hélène Cardona. White Pine Press. 100 pages. Out now.
Intimacy, devastation, courage.
*
Alt-Nature
By Saretta Morgan. Coffee House Press. 160 pages. Out now.
Blades, stitches, interludes.
*
American Inmate: The Album
By Justin Rovillos Monson. Haymarket Books. 80 pages. Out now.
Cipher, time, trial(s).
*
Atlas of an Ancient World
By Violeta Orozco (@vletra). Black Lawrence Press. Out now.
Mountains, caves, footsteps.
*
(At) Wrist
By Tacey M. Atsitty (Diné). University of Wisconsin Press. 84 pages. Out now.
Scales, sinew, solace.
*
Back to the Woods
By Cynthia Cruz. Four Way Books. 74 pages. Out now.
Prescience, alchemy, ash.
*
A Beauty Has Come
By Jasmine Gibson. Nightboat Books. 80 pages. Out now.
Possibilities, veracity, interrogation.
*
Besaydoo: Poems
By Yalie Saweda Kamara (@yaliesaweda). Milkweed Editions. 96 pages. Out now.
Kin, alchemy, nocturne.
*
Black Pastoral: Poems
By Ariana Benson (@literari_ana). University of Georgia Press. 94 pages. Out now.
Temporal, whole, unbound.
*
The Blue Mimes: Poems
By Sara Daniele Rivera (@sdr_arts). Graywolf Press. 72 pages. Out now.
Memory, language, voice.
*
Bone Language
By Jamaica Baldwin (@jamaicabaldwin). YesYes Books. 96 pages. Out now.
Broken, flammable, wingful.
*
Cataloguing Pain
By Allison Blevins (@blevinsallisonm). YesYes Books. 100 pages. Out now.
Falling, flushing, floating.
*
Conversation Among Stones
By Willie Lin. BOA Editions Ltd. 96 pages. Out now.
Mystery, remnant, knowing.
*
The Corrected Version
By Rosanna Young Oh. Diode Editions. 68 pages. Out now.
Sacrifices, wishes, wings.
*
the delicacy of embracing spirals
By mimi tempestt (@mimi.tempestt). City Lights Publishers. 144 pages. Out now.
Form(less), conjured, astral.
*
Diary
By Marisa Crawford (@marisa_crawford). Spuyten Duyvil Publishing. 90 pages. Out now.
These little earthquakes.
*
The Disordered Alphabet
By Cintia Santana. Four Way Books. 111 pages. Out now.
Words, wattage, wonder.
*
Dream of Xibalba
By Stephanie Adams-Santos. Orison Books. 132 pages. Out now.
Burnt, stone, shiver.
*
Every Hard Sweetness
By Sheila Carter-Jones. BOA Editions Ltd. 134 pages. Out now.
Masked, weathered, honored.
*
Excuse Me As I Kiss The Sky
By Rudy Francisco (@rudyfrancisco). Button Poetry. 120 pages. Out now.
Ode, obit, orbit.
*
A Fate Worse Than Death
By Nisha Patel (@anothernisha). Arsenal Pulp Press. 160 pages. Out now.
(De)humanization, embodiment, redefinition.
*
How to Be a Good Savage and Other Poems
Written by Mikeas Sánchez. Translated by Wendy Call and Shook. Milkweed Editions. 224 pages. Out now.
Zoque, knowledge(s), resplendence.
*
I Do Everything I’m Told
By Megan Fernandes (@megfern). Tin House Books. 104 pages. Out now.
Ravenous, finite, celestial.
*
The Infinite Loop/El lazo infinito
Written by Oneyda González. Translated by Eduardo Aparicio. Akashic Books, Ltd. 154 pages. Out now.
Contour, depth, resonance.
*
Leaning Toward Light: Poems for Gardens & the Hands That Tend Them
By Tess Taylor (@tessathon). Storey Publishing, LLC. 200 pages. Out now.
Planting, growing, opening.
*
The Limitless Heart: New and Selected Poems (1997-2022)
By Cheryl Boyce-Taylor (@cheryl.arrivalpoems). Haymarket Books. 168 pages. Out now.
Mothers, matriarchs, mamas.
*
Migration Letters: Poems
By M. Nzadi Keita (@nzadikeita). Beacon Press. 160 pages. Out now.
Home, inheritance, Philly.
*
The Moon That Turns You Back: Poems
By Hala Alyan (@hala.n.alyan). Ecco. 112 pages. Out now.
Season, bloom, roar.
*
Nocturne in Joy
By Tatiana Johnson-Boria. Sundress Publications. 108 pages. Out now.
Séance, revival, survival.
*
O Body
By Dan “Sully” Sullivan (@whoisdansully). Haymarket Books. 80 pages. Out now.
Mirrors, shadows, Chicago.
*
Ojo en Celo / Eye in Heat: Poems
Written by Margarita Pintado Burgos (@marga_pintado). Translated by Alejandra Quintana Arocho. University of Arizona Press. 144 pages. Out now.
Constriction, germination, disintegration.
*
Orders of Service
By Willie Lee Kinard III (@williekinardiii). Alice James Books. 100 pages. Out now.
Hymn, polyphony, ascension.
*
The Penguin Book of Spiritual Verse: 110 Poets on the Divine
Edited by Kaveh Akbar (@kavehakbar.kavehakbar). Penguin Classics. 400 pages. Out now.
Sacred, universal, (un)knowable.
*
Poems for Palestine: Recent poems by nine Palestinian poets & actions you can take to stop genocide now
By Publishers for Palestine (@publishers4palestine). Out now. [Free booklet of poetry, artwork, and resources for action.]
Stop the genocide(s).
*
The Postcards I Never Sent
By Lyn Patterson (@poetryntings). Black Lawrence Press. 160 pages. Out now.
Strong, soft, symphonic.
*
Return Against the Flow
By Susana Praver-Pérez. Black Lawrence Press. 158 pages. Out now.
Cycles, waves, roots.
*
The Rivers Are Inside Our Homes
By Victoria María Castells. University of Notre Dame Press. 102 pages. Out now.
Paradise, tempest, exile.
*
Scientific Marvel: Poems
By Chimwemwe Undi (@chim.undi). House of Anansi Press. 96 pages. Out now.
Local, full-throated, soft(ening).
*
Seraphim
By Angelique Zobitz (@angeliquezobitz). CavanKerry Press. 80 pages. Out now.
Periphery, liminality, intersections.
*
A Sweeter Song: Catharsis
By Martina McGowan (@martinamcgowan). Sourcebooks. 224 pages. Out now.
Breathe, release, rise.
*
Theophanies
By Sarah Ghazal Ali (@caesarah). Alice James Books. 100 pages. Out now.
Elegy, exaltation, revelation.
*
Thick with Trouble
By Amber McBride (@ambsmcbride). Penguin. 128 pages. Out now.
Birthing, haunting, hollering.
*
Tiny Extravaganzas
By Diane Mehta (@DianeMehta). Arrowsmith Press. 136 pages. Out now.
Tangled, sensory, shifting.
*
WATCHNIGHT
By Cyree Jarelle Johnson (@cyreejarelle). Nightboat Books. 104 pages. Out now.
Attentive, ceremonial, spectral.
*
With My Back to the World: Poems
By Victoria Chang (@fattery12). Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 112 pages. Out now.
Matrix, repetition, unfinished.
*
woke up no light: poems
By Leila Mottley (@leilamottley). Knopf. 128 pages. Out now.
Obsidian, molten, scalding.
*
The Wonder of Small Things: Poems of Peace and Renewal
Edited by James Crews (@james.crews.poet). Storey Publishing, LLC. 224 pages. Out now.
Curiosity, reverence, reflection.
*
You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World
Edited by Ada Limón (@adalimonwriter). Milkweed Editions. 176 pages. Out now.
Canopy, communion, redemption.
*
You Bury the Birds in My Pelvis
By Kelly Weber (@kellyweberpoet). Omnidawn. 132 pages. Out now.
Queerplatonic, chronic, tender.
*
Fabulosa
By Karen Rigby. Jackleg Press. 76 pages. Out Jun. 10.
Fire, gesture, illusion.
*
Instructions for the Lovers
By Dawn Lundy Martin. Nightboat Books. 96 pages. Out Jun. 18.
Precarity, absence, edifice.
*
Anishinaabe Songs for a New Millennium
By Marcie R. Rendon (White Earth Anishinabe) @marcierendon). University of Minnesota Press. 88 pages. Out Jul. 16.
Sing your healing.
*
mother
By m.s. RedCherries (Northern Cheyenne Nation). Penguin Books. 144 pages. Out Jul. 16.
Stillness, americanness, continuous.
*
Caulbearer: Poems
By Luisa A. Igloria (@ThePoetsLizard). Black Lawrence Press. Out in Aug.
Diaspora, nostalgia, horizon.
*
I Don’t Want to Be Understood
By Joshua Jennifer Espinoza (@sadqueer4life). Alice James Books. 100 pages. Out Aug. 6.
Existence, emergence, transcendence.
*
Cloud Missives
By Kenzie Allen (Haudenosaunee) (@cerena). Tin House Books. 96 pages. Out Aug. 20
Agency, survivance, love.
*
The Hormone of Darkness: A Playlist
Written by Tilsa Otta (@tilsa.ov). Translated by Farid Matuk. Graywolf Press. 120 pages. Out Oct. 15.
Expansive, (extra)terrestrial, archival.
*
And other collections I’m excited to read in the next year:
Black Bell | By Alison C. Rollins (@alisoncrollins). Copper Canyon Press. 136 pages. Out Apr. 23.
Return of the Chinese Femme | By Dorothy Chan (@dorothykchan). Deep Vellum Publishing. 148 pages. Out Apr. 30.
The Lengest Neoi | By Stephanie Choi. University of Iowa Press. 102 pages. Out May 6.
Good Monster | By Diannely Antigua (@nellfell13). Copper Canyon Press. 80 pages. Out May 14.
The Flirtation of Girls / Ghazal el-Banat | By Sara M Saleh (@instasaranade). University of Queensland Press. 120 pages. Out Jun. 10.
A Blind Salmon | Written by Julia Wong Kcomt. Translated by Jennifer Shyue. Phoneme Media. 148 pages. Out Jun. 11.
Magic Enuff: Poems | By Tara M. Stringfellow (@tarastringfellow). Dial Press. 112 pages. Out Jun. 25.
Las Piedrecitas | By Noelia Cerna (@this_is_nevertheless_noelia). Black Lawrence Press. Out in Jun.
A Map of My Want | By Faylita Hicks (@faylitahicks). Haymarket Books. 100 pages. Out Jul. 9.
We the Gathered Heat: Asian American and Pacific Islander Poetry, Performance, and Spoken Word | Edited by Franny Choi (@fancyrhino), Bao Phi, Noʻu Revilla and Terisa Siagatonu (@terisasiagatonu). Haymarket Books. 336 pages. Out Aug. 6.
Bluff: Poems | By Danez Smith (@danez_smif). Graywolf Press. 160 pages. Out Aug. 20.
A Window That Can Neither Open Nor Close: Poems, Plots, Chance | By Lauren Russell. Milkweed Editions. 208 pages. Out Aug. 27.
Zong! | By M. NourbeSe Philip. As told to the author by Setaey Adamu Boateng. Graywolf. 264 pages. Out Sept. 3.
Monster | By Dzifa Benson (@dzifabenson). Bloodaxe Books. 112 pages. Out Dec. 3.
Up next:
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