The poets hold my heart and always will.
I house affection for every sort of writer, but poets faithfully seem to love me back. Taking up the tools of language and line, rhythm and song, they shave away what is dense and unnecessary to make me both softer and more seaworthy.
The true beauty of a year’s worth of poetry exists at both micro and macro levels; in 2021, these words supplied countless moments to maintain touch with my humanity—and they will beget another year’s worth of poetry, as I keep chasing the form to enjoy more moments of soul.
Concluding a look at my favorite reads published in 2021, I wrote about my favorite poetry titles for Fathom Magazine. The titles are below; click here to read more on each.
Kaveh Akbar, Pilgrim Bell
Amy Bornman, There is a Future
Danny Caine, Flavortown
Kasey Jueds, The Thicket
Adrian Matejka, Somebody Else Sold the World
Paul Pastor, Bower Lodge
Maggie Smith, Goldenrod
Diane Seuss, Frank: Sonnets
Alina Stefanescu, Dor
Han VanderHart, What Pecan Light
You can also catch up on Part One of my year in reading, Nonfiction here. And Part Two, covering Fiction, is here.