Let me tell you something about the dangers of beautiful poetry collections written by women: In my first-year poetry seminar, my (I’m sure well-intentioned) professor asked me to speak with him one day after class, where He politely asked me whether or not I had plagiarized a recently submitted essay on Emily Dickinson. Horrified, I looked at the offensive essay he was holding in his hands. Sure, he had asked for 500 words on a particular poem, and I had written seven pages of poems that I thought were better, but I couldn’t help it! It was my first really experience reading Emily Dickinson, and I was totally hooked. I explained so much to him, and though his expression remained incredulous, the matter was dropped. (Although, after the incident, he switched from a letter-based grading system to a check/plus grading system, to avoid having to do more than skim through future seven-page essays, I suspect.)
so, a word to the wise: beware of the charm of fascinating women poets: their language will suck you in and you will fall completely in love with their beautiful poetic imagery, and the next thing you know you will be writing extra-long analytical essays and getting lines like “hope” is the thing with feathers – / that perches on the soul tattooed on the inside of his right arm. Or, he could just be careless and totally enjoy the obsession. like me.
here are 11 beautiful poetry collections by women poets to get you started.
You are reading: Poetry books for women
1. scrapping by robin beth schaer
As 2015’s debut poet, robin beth schaer has me totally excited to see what she gives us next. her poetry is a kaleidoscope of almost electric images, with shades of past, present and future; fancy; Science fiction; and philosophy. Exploring environmental disasters alongside the everyday tragedies of everyday life on planet earth, shipbreaking is all about the beautiful, messy, and dangerous ways we all live in this world.
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2. teaching my mother how to give birth by warsan shire
I couldn’t be more in love with warsan shire if I tried, and poetry fans the world over seem to agree. shire was london’s young poet laureate in 2014, and her collection Teaching my mother how to give birth, has literally gone viral, on youtube, through facebook posts and through excerpts from 140 characters sprinkled on twitter. Interested in home and displacement, and the experiences of immigrants and refugees, Shire’s poetry speaks of trauma, politics, feminine strength, and travel both around the world and to oneself.
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3. the common language dream by adrienne rich
Author and activist Adrienne Rich spent her career writing what, in my opinion, is some of the most beautiful and necessary poetry of all time. the dream of the common language was written as a manifestation of that same dream that the title describes: discovering universal communication through art and poetry. Feminist to the core, this collection covers everything from women forgotten in history to same-sex romance and women’s relationship with nature. everything rich wrote was awesome, but the common language dream is by far one of my favorites.
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4. the collected poems of emily dickinson by emily dickinson
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If just hearing the name “emily dickinson” brings back unpleasant memories of high school English class, then I implore you to give it another chance now that you’re an adult. (did you read my little anecdote from the beginning?) the woman wrote magnificently about everything: life and death, love and loneliness, society and isolation, the natural world and the spiritual. emily dickinson’s collection of poems shows this poet that she was once experimental and that she was writing completely ahead of her time, and she’ll love it. I swear.
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5. ariel by sylvia plath
another classic that no poetry lover can do without, critics and reviewers alike have said that through reading ariel, readers can watch sylvia plath become the maximum expression of herself as a writer, and it is true. Filled with such intensity of spirit, Plath is perhaps darkest in these poems, which explore love, depression, epic journeys, and the emotional resonance of everything in Plath’s world. definitely not an uplifting collection, but a true and beautiful one.
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6. bright dead things by ada lemon
each lemon seems poignantly aware of its own mortality in its latest collection of poetry, bright dead things, and the world it describes is made all the more beautiful for it. Mindful of the present, yet aware that our time on this earth is only temporary, Lemon takes readers on a journey of the evolution of the self: growing up and aging, falling in love and falling apart, the geographies we leave behind and the places that remain. with us for life. the writing is vibrant and the images are precise.
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7. his book: poems 1988-1998 by jo shapcott
while any one of jo shapcott’s many books of poetry might be considered “most beautiful” reading, the works collected in her book: poems 1988-1998 give you an excellent summary of three of his best: galvanize the baby, phrase book and my sleeping life. Unexpected, strange, and at times surreal, Shapcott’s poetry describes everything from mummified bodies covered in metal to seasonal changes in the natural world. there really is no other poet like shapcott writing today.
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8. the voyage of the venus sable and other poems by robin costa lewis
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an exploration of how the body of black women has been used, portrayed and imagined throughout history, the journey of the venus sable is a collection of lyrical poems that delve into issues of race, sexuality, and personal empowerment. Exploring a painful history while celebrating her own racial heritage, Robin Cost Lewis has written a first-of-its-kind collection of daring, difficult, and beautiful poetry.
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9. the world’s wife by carol ann duffy
The World’s Wife is undoubtedly Carol Ann Duffy’s most recognized work, and for good reason, but if you love this collection, you won’t want to miss any of her others either. Written in the imagined voices of wives, sisters, and girlfriends of world famous (and sometimes mythical) men, this collection explores love and male/female relationships with irony, humor, and surprise. it’s beautiful in an unexpected and daring way.
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10. elf by tracy k. blacksmith
writer tracy k. Smith is a relatively new poetic obsession of mine, and I wish it hadn’t taken me so long to discover her because she’s just stunning, flawless, provocative, political, and just about every other quality one loves in their daily dose of poetry. smith’s collection, duende, is absolutely a collection of poetry for poets (and many other readers as well) that chronicles a writer’s journey through historical narrative and poetic traditions, and explores the place of poetry both politically and personally. .
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11. happiness by mary oliver
Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Mary Oliver has always written about love and nature, but through the eyes of a woman who is constantly in awe of the world, no matter how long she has spent in it. Though her writing rarely travels beyond her native New England landscape, this particular collection immerses itself less in the natural world and more in oneself. if happiness , oliver explores what it means to love another person: what desires we make known and what secrets we will keep forever in the turbulent stillness of our hearts.
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image: fotolia
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