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.
April is 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 my thoughts with you.
Below are some of the most exciting and necessary collections published late last year and forthcoming in 2022.
Last year 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 (okay, or phrases—this is hard!). Readers responded so well to it that I am doing it again this year! 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 66 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.
By Kemi Alabi (@kemiaalabi). Graywolf Press. 80 pages. Out now.
Choral, righteous, regenerative.
By Paul Tran (@speakdeadly). Penguin Poets. 112 pages. Out now.
Deliberate, immediate, ash.
By Raquel Salas Rivera (@rugamarspr). Beacon Press. 160 pages. Out now.
Colonized, treated, unchained.
By Natalie Wee (@natweewriter). Arsenal Pulp Press. 80 pages. Out now.
Form, echo, affect.
By Brionne Janae (@BreezyJanae). Northwestern University Press. 80 pages. Out now.
Confession, heirloom, bloom.
By Warsan Shire (@warsan_shire). Random House. 96 pages. Out now.
Evocative, kaleidoscopic, transcendent.
By Ebony Stewart (@ebpoetry). Button Poetry. 112 pages. Out now.
Discovery, understanding, power.
By Jessica Helen Lopez. University of New Mexico Press. 112 pages. Out now.
Fresh, sharp, guttural.
By Akosua Afiriyie-Hwedie (@akosuazah). Button Poetry. 48 pages. Out now.
Voice, self, birthwrite.
By Betsy Aoki (@baoki). Tebot Bach. 69 pages. Out now.
Integral, functional, game face.
By Aaiún Nin (@aaiun_nin). Astra House. 96 pages. Out now.
Love, audacity, bravery.
By Renia White (@reniawhite). BOA Editions Ltd. 80 pages. Out April 19.
Collective, unrest, choice.
By Claudia Castro Luna (@ClaudiaC_L). Tia Chucha. 80 pages. Out now.
Witness, testament, space.
By adrienne danyelle oliver (@dr.adriennedanyelle)*. Finishing Line Press. Out now. (Also check out oliver’s the body has memories out now from Nomadic Press.)
Fragility, embodiment, light.
By Akwaeke Emezi (@azemezi). Copper Canyon Press. 64 pages. Out now.
Spirit, source, sanctuary.
By Solmaz Sharif (@solmazny). Graywolf Press. 72 pages. Out now.
Possibilities, waiting, shimmering.
By Margo Tamez (@indigifem). Turtle Point Press. 152 pages. Out now.
Timebending, landguage, sovereignty.
By Cynthia Dewi Oka (@freedewi). TriQuarterly. 112 pages. Out now.
Aunties, interludes, thorns.
By Jenny Qi (@JQiii). Steel Toe Books. 98 pages. Out now.
Bravery, loss, love.
By Ra Malika Imhotep (@lilcottonflower). Red Hen Press. 120 pages. Out now.
Moody, fugitive, still.
By Aurielle Marie (@YesAurielle). University of Pittsburgh Press. 120 pages. Out now.
Innovative, unapologetic, electric.
By C.T. Salazar (@ctsalazar_). Acre Books. 78 pages. Out now.
Lyrical, spirited, enduring.
By Sarah Mangold (@sarahemangold). Fordham University Press. 96 pages. Out now.
Wild, evocative, seen.
By Jane Wong (@paradeofcats). Alice James Books. 100 pages. Out now.
Legacy, survival, joy.
By Jane Yolen. Holy Cow! Press. 88 pages. Out now.
Faith, insight, urgency.
By Hannah Emerson (@hannah.emerson.poetry). Milkweed Editions. 96 pages. Out now.
Flight, sense, yes yes.
By Saida Agostini (@saidaagostini). Alan Squire Publishing. 68 pages. Out now.
Mythology, ancestry, triumph.
By Luivette Resto (@LuivetteResto). Flowersong Press. 88 pages. Out now.
Vulnerability, restoration, imagination.
By Helenna Santos (@helennamsantos). Self-published. 97 pages. Out now.
Angst, road trip, magic.
My Grief, the Sun
By Sanna Wani (@sannareya). House of Anansi. 112 pages. Out now.
Risk, reach, live.
By Angela Trudell Vasquez. Finishing Line Press. 40 pages. Out now.
Bridges, home(lands), heritage.
By Alexis V. Jackson (@alexis_a_poet). Kore Press. 104 pages. Out now.
Fresh, bedeviled, sanctified.
By Traci Kato-Kiriyama (@traciakemi1). Writ Large Press. 264 pages. Out now.
Expansion, collectivity, ascension.
By Brynne Rebele-Henry (@brynne_rh). University of Pittsburgh Press. 72 pages. Out now.
Legacy, longing, connection.
By Asnia Asim (@asniaasim). Finishing Line Press. 44 pages. Out now.
(Dis)quiet, intimacy, longing.
By Jennifer Huang (@jcjklmnop). Milkweed Editions. 96 pages. Out now.
Enveloped, exhausted, enough.
By Keli Stewart (@kelistewartpoet). Bronzeville Books. 80 pages. Out now.
Born, lost, found.
By Gayl Jones. Beacon Press. 200 pages. Out now.
Epic, magic, revelatory.
By Jason Purcell (@jasonvpurcell). Arsenal Pulp Press. 96 pages. Out now.
Pain, precarity, invocation.
Two Lines Press. 192 pages. Out now.
Memories, dreams, changes.
By Glenis Redmond (@glenismakingpoetryreign). Finishing Line Press. 30 pages. Out now.
Stubborn, ancient, named.
By Jhani Randhawa. Gaudy Boy. 144 pages. Out now.
Fluid, cascading, transcendent.
By Ana Portnoy Brimmer. YesYes Books. 126 pages. Out now.
Decolonialism, resistance, futurity.
By Lindsay Choi (@exboyfriend__). Futurepoem Books. 96 pages. Out now.
Language, layers, invention.
By Danni Quintos (@dleighquint). BOA Editions Ltd.. 112 pages. Out now.
Candor, courage, no joke.
By Andrea Abi-Karam (@wolf_hour). Nightboat. 112 pages. Out now.
Unbridled, essential, queer AF.
By Cheryl Boyce-Taylor (@cboycetaylor). TriQuarterly. 104 pages. Out now.
Aging, archiving, beauty.
By Ama Asantewa Diaka. Ecco. 96 pages. Out now.
Heartbreaking, fist-clenching, redemption.
By Hope Wabuke (@hopewabuke). Haymarket Books. 80 pages. Out April 26.
“Black/Mother/Diaspora” – Matthew Shenoda, author of Tahrir Suite
By Laura Villareal (@earthandstars). University of Wisconsin Press. 80 pages. Out April 26.
Sharp, celestial, free.
By Emily Rose Cole (@EmilyColeWrites). University of Wisconsin Press. 80 pages. Out April 26.
Scars, separation, spells.
By Victoria Chang (@vchangpoet). Copper Canyon Press. 144 pages. Out April 26.
Waka, ache, release.
By Farzana Doctor (@farzanadoctor). Freehand Books. 96 pages. Out May 1.
Ageing, searching, never alone.
By Marwa Helal (@marwahelal). Nightboat. Out May 3.
White space, omission, (de)limitation.
By Asantewaa Boykin (@asantewaarn). Nomadic Press. 80 pages. Out May 7.
Impermanence, warning, divinity.
By Shelley Wong (@shhellywong). YesYes Books. 81 pages. Out May 10.
Expansion, revision, realization.
By Ada Limón (@adalimon). Milkweed Editions. 120 pages. Out May 10.
Brittle, solitude, flight.
Written by Maya Abu Al-Hayyat (@mayaabualhayyat) and translated by Fady Joudah. Milkweed Editions. 88 pages. Out May 10.
Wide, witty, defiant.
By Noor Hindi (@MyNrHindi). Haymarket Books. 80 pages. Out May 31.
Interrogation, intersection, provocation.
By Kamden Ishmael Hilliard. Nightboat Books. 98 pages. Out May 31.
Singular, multiple, full.
By Jewelle Gomez (@VampyreVamp). BLF Press. Out June 7.
Streetcars, sovereignty, sisters.
By Sun Yung Shin (@sunyungshin). Coffee House Press. 128 pages. Out June 14.
Origins, threshold, descent.
By Maya Marshall (@mayaamarshall). Haymarket Books. 80 pages. Out June 28.
Justice, rage, peace.
By Zeina Hashem Beck (@zeinabeck). Penguin. 112 pages. Out July 5.
Vagabond, revolutionary, unbreakable.
By Safia Elhillo (@mafiasafia). One World. 144 pages. Out July 12.
Rebellion, liberation, multitudes.
By Tatiana Luboviski-Acosta. Nightboat Books. 106 pages. Out July 12.
Struggle, submission, survival.
And coming in fall:
- Always a Relic Never a Reliquary by Kim Sousa, Black Lawrence Press, out in August.
- Ask the Brindled by Noʻu Revilla, Milkweed Editions, our August 9.
- Song of My Softening by Omotara James, Alice James Books, out August 16.
- Urbanshee by Siaara Freeman, Button Poetry, out August 22.
- Golden Ax by Rio Cortez, Penguin, out August 30.
- The Rupture Tense: Poems by Jenny Xie, Graywolf Press, out September 6.
- Togetherness by Wo Chan, Nightboat Books, out September 6.
- Bluest Nude: Poems by Ama Codjoe, Milkweed Editions, out September 13.
- summonings by Raena Shirali, Black Lawrence Press, out in October.
- Relinquenda by Alexandra Regalado, Beacon Press, out October 11.
- The Symmetry of Fish by Su Cho, Penguin, out October 11.
- Bittering the Wound by Jacqui Germain, Autumn House Press, out October 15.
- The Threshold: Poems, written by Iman Mersal and translated by Robyn Creswell, FSG, out October 18.
- Concentrate: Poems by Courtney Faye Taylor, Graywolf Press, out November 1.
