(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best american poetry books

I think all the actual suggestions I made in this post would apply here (disregard that it's about buying a poetry gift, you're the 'they' or 'she' in this haha) so I'll paste it in and make a few additional suggestions. But #1 suggestion is to read through Poetry 180 and when you find pieces you like to search those poets in google or at poetryfoundation.com (they also have a great browse function where you can search by theme, 'school', poet, subject, occasion etc)

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There's certainly a wide variety of options, the best options are mostly more poetry to read. All good poets read lots of poetry. I mean, sure, there's probably 3 or 4 out there that don't, but outliers aside, poets read poetry. So there's a couple options, if she only started writing a couple years ago, I would suggest a workshop type text book and a subscription to a nice literary journal like American Poetry Review, Rattle, Ploughshares, Iowa Review, Georgia Review, Arts & Letters, Five Points, Gettysburg Review, Paris Review etc. Depending on the type of poets she likes, different magazines would be better.

One good tact would be to ask them for a few of their favorite poets, maybe say you're thinking about reading more poetry or something, or just ask. Do a google search for their name and "literary journal" or "literary review". If you see that name in any of the above journals I mentioned, get her that subscription. If not, consider getting her one of their collections from Amazon. For anthologies, which are great for young poets especially, because it can help introduce a reader to many similar or dissimilar voices to broaden their reading horizons, and also some of the books I'll be recommending have a strong prompt/craft component to help them continue to develop. I especially recommend the bolded titles, and Seriously Funny, while good, may be a bit complicated for a newish reader of poetry. But I could be misreading what you mean by poetry career and they could be plenty comfortable with it.

Here are a couple that are good options:

Seriously Funny is a great anthology themed after poems that bring wit to serious topics. It's edited by husband/wife poetry duo David Kirby and Barbara Hamby.

Staying Alive has a great variety of poems organized by theme. These are mostly poems published in the last 50ish years, and lean slightly toward being more accessible (easy to understand) than the first anthology.

Contemporary American Poetry: Behind the Scenes was edited by Ryan G. Van Cleave and is more of a textbook (like the next 2). It has a CD with audio recordings of many of the poets in the book and it is broken up by poet, mostly chronologically I believe. It has some craft essays as well. Being a textbook, new copies are expensive, but used are cheap cheap.

The Poet's Companion is edited by Kim Addonizio and Dorianne Laux, both tremendous poets in their own right. This one is more oriented in using poems to spark your own writing, but it does have a good amount of poetry in there, and the craft essays are brief and to the point.

In the Palm of Your Hand: The Poet's Portable Workshop edited by Steve Kowit is also a great textbook for producing your own writing by looking at certain aspects of other poems. Stylistically this is similar to The Poet's Companion, and both are tremendous. Used they're each only $6 with shipping too.

Or, here are a few books that you can't go wrong with: Rose by Li-Young Lee, Tell Me by Kim Addonizio, Rail by Kai Carlson-Wee, The House of Blue Light by David Kirby, American Noise by Campbell McGrath, The Gary Snyder Reader—a huge book, but great, Some Ether by Nick Flynn

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If you find a few more specific poets you like and want to find more of feel free to message me, and if I'm familiar with them I'll shoot you some more suggestions. A couple other poets who get personal and focus on minutiae/details etc would be like Albert Goldbarth, Billy Collins, Stephen Dunn, Matthew Neinow, Nick Latz, Gaylord Brewer, Ted Kooser, Philip Levine and, a couple that do similar with a definitely stylistic approach would be like Bob Hicok, Dean Young, Alex Lemon and Emma Bolden. For other lyrics/audio you may enjoy Leonard Cohen, Paul Simon, Ani DiFranco, Utah Phillips, Sage Francis, Aesop Rock, Atmosphere/Slug, Josh Martinez...

Best of luck on your journey!

I recommend Stag's Leap by Sharon Olds. It came out in 2012 and one the Pulitzer. The collection deals with her impending divorce with her husband and then the process of the actual divorce. Very straightforward and accessible, but also heartbreaking and has a lot of great musings on love and what happens when the love is gone.

http://www.amazon.com/Stags-Leap-Poems-Sharon-Olds/dp/0375712259

The Bigger World by Noelle Kocot is also wonderful. It came out in 2011. She creates these weird realities that feel slightly abstract and bizarre but also very relatable. Much lighter than Stag's Leap, I enjoyed this collection immensely. It was very playful but had a lot of great melancholic moments.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Bigger-World-Noelle-Kocot/dp/1933517522

Engine Empire by Cathy Park Hong is another great collection. It was published in 2012. There are three main sections to this book, all these slightly different realities. First is like old west, so a lot of ballads and narratives. Second takes place in an imagined factory town in China, I think this section follows a worker who works in a factory reproducing famous pieces of work. Third section is an imagined future where people have become even more ingrained within technology, slightly dystopian depending on your point of view. What I like a lot about this collection is you can see how she changes her styles and forms of writing to reflect what she is writing about in any given section.

http://www.amazon.com/Engine-Empire-Cathy-Park-Hong/dp/039334648X

Flies by Michael Dickman was published in 2011. I personally really enjoyed this. The collection deals mainly with the death of Dickman's brother. It's very bizarre and dark. He kind of creates this "grief world" and kind of shoves you in it. It felt very personally and honest to me. Poems require a bit more unpacking than the other collections, but really great stuff.

http://www.amazon.com/Lannan-Literary-Selections-Michael-Dickman/dp/1556593775

One of my favorite collections I read last year was The Earth Avails by Mark Wunderlich. I think it was first published in 2014. For this collection he took an old german prayer book and translated/repurposed the prayers in it into his own poetry. If you like nature/natural stuff this would be great. There is a weight and spirituality to the poems that I really liked. The poems do not feel super modern, but feel fresh. Really, really beautiful writing.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Earth-Avails-Mark-Wunderlich/dp/1555976662

Hustle by David Tomas Martinez, also published in 2014, is a very accessible collection and easy to read. The back of the book says, "Hustle documents the author's latino youth in San Diego, California. An inferno of stolen cars, silent sex, and murdered valedictorians," I feel like this is the best description of the collection. Really vivid imagery and wonderful, straightforward story telling.

http://www.amazon.com/Hustle-David-Tomas-Martinez/dp/1936747774

Last recommendation is Trickster by Randall Potts. This is another collection from 2014. Tbh I can't remember a way to characterize this except for mythic (not sure exactly why that word is popping to my head), but I do remember really enjoying it.

http://www.amazon.com/Trickster-House-Poets-Randall-Potts/dp/1609382846

Hope this helped! Hope you enjoy whatever you end up reading. Poetry is the best.

Poems About Anything And Everything By Dennis A. Massei
Featuring my personal favorite: Thank God For Moms Like You

Your Tender Touch, the gleam in your eyes,
set off a glow brighter than sunny skies;
The advice you give, with the good deeds you do,
thank God for moms like you:
Your gleaming smile, the love in your heart,
you convey to us, that's where it all starts;
The touch of your hand paints a picture so true,
why we all thank God for moms like you:
Your caring thoughts and the little things you say,
your presence we hold so dear, day after day;
Your love to us, and our love to do,
thank God for moms like you:
The love we feel is so strong,
Mom, you're very seldom wrong;
And if I die before this world is through,
I at least thanked God for moms like you.

Published by Outskirts Press 01/31/2013
Available at: www.damasseienterprises.com at a discounted price.

http://www.amazon.com/Poems-Anything-Everything-Dennis-Massei/dp/1478714220/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1361015636&sr=1-1&keywords=poems+about+anything+and+everything
Please write a review.
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/poems-about-anything-and-everything-dennis-a-massei/1114286807?ean=9781478714224

Please write a review.
www.outskirtspress.com/anythingandeverything

Most of the characters in Jayber Crow get their own novels in his Port William series, but you've read the best one imo. His poetry is wonderful, I'd recommend the collection titled "This Day: Collected and New Sabbath Poems". His collection of essays titled "Sex, Economy, Freedom, & Community" is spoken of highly by people who speak of such things, but I've not read it. I am a fan of his essay collection "What Are People For?".

You're not going to find much better writing than Jayber Crow. One way in which these other titles are superior (imo) is that Berry's poetry and non-fiction is more reflective of his own personal experience than Jayber Crow ever was. Berry is married, and his writing on marriage is beautiful, but we didn't see much of a real marriage through Jayber's story. His poetry about marriage has left me in tears and I'm a single 22 year old, so if you're actually married I can only imagine it'll be even better.

Wendell is the man!

Replying to myself and my list is all over the place but these all made me happier (and no affiliate links here people):

Devotions by Mary Oliver - this book of poems was the nicest thing I gave myself this year

My new favorite necklace stand

Bluetooth shower speaker - I start my day with a positive podcast each day now

Tea Tins - I drink an insane amount of teas and these keep the quality up

Wine opener - Do I really need this? Do I even drink enough wine to justify this? Questions I asked when I was younger and more naive because this was the best thing I ever asked for, especially ahead of hosting a bridal shower

Puzzles. Last Christmas I decided my husband and I would do puzzles and drink cocoa and eat Moose Munch while listening to happy music or watching classic movies, many of which were Christmas themed. Best idea ever. I plan to make kits of these for a few people I'll be seeing at the beginning of the month and therefore they can enjoy their Christmas gift all month long.

Microfiber washcloths. Such an upgrade.

2 books, the book of longing by Leonard cohen
and Still Water by Art Garfunkel. The song also had a mildly tropical & surreal feel which reminded me of Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

I listened to the second song you linked with lyrics and wow, is that your voice? Great lyrics and voice quality and speaking of Art Garfunkel, your song reminded me of him. Here's my favorite song by him: https://youtu.be/cGyQmH9NZcw. Morrisey came to mind to.

I wish I could help with advice on video but I'm not very technical. If you ever would like poetic reference or lyrics help please hit me up, I'm a wordsmith. If you get a fan page or online store for hardcopy presses/cassettes of your music, you've got a fan and a half here so send me info as it comes.

Edit: after googling your fine album, I was happy to see a FB page and online purchase availability. Would still love to know if you'll get your music out on hardcopy?

Hey guys!

I just published my first book of poetry. I think it turned out really cool. Thematic blurb below:

"Couples therapy sessions slowly morphed into solitary therapy sessions. My therapist kept coming back to the question of my passions, and where I was headed. I knew it was writing. So I wrote. I wrote my pain of loss. I wrote my confusion about the existential questions that plagued me as someone who grew up in the bible belt, but had a hard time swallowing the bigotry I saw. I wrote my struggle through heartbreak and single life. I wrote my triumphs in self-confidence, and ultimately I wrote a new love story, with a new person. Ultimately, it's not about meeting the right person; instead, it is about finding out that you are quite capable of loving yourself, and anyone else loving you is just a wonderful sprinkle on top."


Available here: Amazon
$9.78

I'm also doing special copies where I include a personalized poem, a typewritten copy of that poem, and a free download to my spoken word album for $12. DM me if you're interested.

Not sure if you're looking for primary or secondary sources, but here's a reading list of primary Sufi texts if you're looking to get into it.

• The Secret Rose Garden by Sa'd ud Din Mahmud Shabistari. This is a short and excellent primer into Sufi mysticism. I highly recommend starting here before moving on to heavier stuff like Rumi.
  
  
• The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Another short book that I'd recommend reading before hitting the heavier stuff. Stay away from the Edward Fitzgerald translation.
  
  
• Rumi. If there was an official holy book for Sufism, then it would be Rumi poems. Unfortunately, there are a lot of awful translations of Rumi out there, so if you have a serious interest in Sufi mysticism, then I strongly recommend investing in a quality translation. I've done extensive research into this and found that Reynold A. Nicholson has the best translation. I recommend his box set of Rumi's complete works.
  
  
• The Qur'an. Obviously not Sufi-specific, but referenced often enough in other works that it's worth reading for greater understanding.
  
  
  

This is riveting. My dearest sympathies to your girlfriend. Thank you for being there for her. I hope she gets all the help and support she needs. A dear teacher my brother had published a book of poetry documenting her experience with it as well. I hope one day, she'll write or do something creative and cathartic to cope as well. Much love to you both.

Off the top of my head...

Pound's Literary Essays

Zukofsky's A Test of Poetry

Ciardi's How Does a Poem Mean

... have all been useful to me. Otherwise, since there are particular poets you're interested in, you should definitely check out any (auto)biographical books that may be available.

For the record, if you haven't already read him, I'm a big Louis Zukofsky fan; given your list, I think you'd like his stuff. "A" is probably my favourite poem generally, and they very recently released the new edition of it. Part 9 (if I remember correctly) is composed of quotes from Das Kapital and he has some very significant Marxist influences. If you're interested in reading up on Marxism, too, I can recommend some excellent critical books - although, as it stands, Schumpeter's Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy is really good general view of things.

Hope this helps!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062015273/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

All the Millay you could ever want (or enough to keep you reading for quite a while). Approximately 740 pages of her work for $13 new. Enjoy!

Also a college student here. I just bought one from Amazon for 12ish bucks and it’s pretty good (didn’t have ‘I, being a woman’ though, oddly) but you can buy it used for around $4.

Collected Poems https://www.amazon.com/dp/0062015273/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_nueNAbY7VTVZS