Best-of season – 3

Here’s our third round of best-of poetry books for 2021. Some are part of a larger best-of list, so you may have to browse to find poetry titles.

• CBC – The best Canadian poetry of 2021
• Electric Lit – Electric Lit’s Favorite Poetry Collections of 2021
• Hyperallergic – This Be the Verse: Our Favorite Poetry Books 2021 (Mostly)
• Literary Hub – Our 48 Favorite Books of 2021
• Orange County Register – Top 10 poetry books of 2021: ‘Goldenrod’ author Maggie Smith shares her favorites
• Publishers Weekly – Best Books of 2021: Poetry

Happy winter reading!

Best-of season 2021 – 2

Here’s another round of the year’s best-of poetry books:

• The Boston Globe – Best Books of 2021
• The Guardian – The best poetry books of 2021
• Literary Hub / Book Marks – The Best Reviewed Books of 2021: Poetry
• The New York Times – The Best Poetry of 2021
• Poetry School – Poetry Books of the Year 2021

Feel free to comment with the author and title of the poetry book that was most significant to you in 2021 (even if it was not published in 2021).

Best-of season 2021-1

It’s here! As the year winds down, journals, pundits, and publishers trot out lists of their favorite books of the year. Some books make it onto several lists, but if you’re looking for poetry to read or give, this is a great place to begin. Here’s the first of the 2021 best-of lists:

• Biblioasis – Best Canadian Poetry 2021
• Entropy – Best of 2020-2021: Poetry Books & Poetry Collections
• Financial Times – Best books of 2021: Poetry
• The Irish Times – Best poetry books of 2021: A subversion of Wordsworth to a pandemic personified
• LitBowl – Best Poetry Books 2021
• The New York Times – 100 Notable Books of 2021 (includes two poetry titles)
• Reader’s Digest – 21 Best Poetry Books of All Time
• School Library Journal – Best Poetry 2021
• The Telegraph – The 10 best poetry books of 2021 so far

cast your vote

The Choice Awards Opening Round Nominees for Best Poetry 2021 (and all the other literary categories) are now posted on Goodreads. The opening round continues through November 28, 2021; the final round runs November 30 through December 5; the winners will be announced on Thursday, December 9, 2021. Cast your votes for the books you love.

a few more bests

The 2020 best-of posts keep showing up, so here are a few more for your reading list:

• Amanda Earl – Vizpo Dahlings of 2020
• Largehearted Boy – Favorite poetry collections of 2020
• Literary Hub – Booksellers Recommend: The Best Under-the-Radar Books of 2020
• Seattle Public Library – 2020 Poetry Revisited

last best for 2020

While the year’s best-of selections may continue into the early months of 2021, this will be our final post for 2020 and the latest collection of favorites.

• Boston Globe – Best Books of 2020
• Hyperallergic – This Be the Verse: Our Favorite Poetry Books of 2020
• Literary Hub – Rabih Alameddine’s Year in Reading: Poetry Edition
• Morning Star – Best of 2020: Poetry
• The Paris Review – The Paris Review Staff’s Favorite Books of 2020
• PEN America – Literary Awards longlist
• School Library Journal – 2020 Children’s Poetry

Happy reading… and Happy New Year!

Best-of, round 3

Here’s another batch of the best for 2020:

• CBC – The best Canadian poetry of 2020
• The Irish Times – Best poetry books of 2020: New discoveries and final gifts (available to subscribers only)
• Kirkus – Best Picture-Book Poetry of 2020
• Literary Hub – The Best Reviewed Books of 2020: Poetry Collections
• The New York Times – Best Poetry of 2020
• Poetry School – Poetry Books of the Year 2020
• Publishers Weekly – Best Books 2020: Poetry

What’s on your best-of-2020 list?

Best-of, round 2

Here’s another batch of best-of-2020 books. Some lists mix the genres together, so you have to browse or search for the poetry — but they all include poetry and some of the same titles appear on list after list.

• Book Riot – Best Books of 2020
• Esquire – The Best Books to Elevate Your Reading List in 2020
• Five Books – The Best Poetry Books of 2020
• The Guardian – The best books of 2020 – picked by our acclaimed guest authors
• Goodreads Choice Awards 2020 – Best Poetry
• Library Journal – Best Poetry of 2020
• Literary Hub – Our 65 Favorite Books of the Year
• The Undefeated – Our 25 can’t-miss books of 2020

If these recommendations inspire you to shop, please support independent bookstores!

Best-of season!

Let it begin! We’ve been tracking recommendations all year long and now it’s time for the pundits to weigh in on the best poetry books of 2020. Here is the first round of top titles:

• Financial Times – Best books of 2020: Poetry
• The Guardian – Best poetry books of 2020
• The New York Public Library – Introducing NYPL’s Best Books of 2020
• The New York Times Book Review – 100 Notable Books of 2020
• The Telegraph – The best poetry books of 2020
• The Washington Post – Best poetry collections of 2020

noteworthy

If, in your weeks of isolation, you’ve managed to burn through the poetry books on your shelves, here are more, from various reliable sources:

• Bustle: National Poetry Month required reading
• CBC: 29 works of Canadian poetry
• The Guardian: the best recent poetry
• League of Canadian Poets: The Many Gendered Other Reading List
• The New York Times: new this week

Happy reading!