plenty to read

Further recommendations for your overburdened bookshelf:

• Book Authority – 20 Best New Poetry Books To Read In 2023
• little infinite – 5 Poetry Collections To Look Forward To in 2023
• read poetry – 7 January 2023 Poetry Collections to Start Off the Year
• read poetry – 6 Spectacular February 2023 Poetry Releases
• Shade Literary Arts – 2023 Forthcoming Poetry Books by Queer People of Color
• Vulture – 31 Books We Can’t Wait to Read in 2023

If you’ve been moved by a book of poetry, recent or otherwise, leave a comment with the author and title!

finalists: Oregon Book Awards

Congratulations to the five Oregon Book Awards poetry finalists:

• Matthew Dickman of Portland, Husbandry (W. W. Norton & Co.)
• Michele Glazer of Portland, fretwork (University of Iowa Press)
• Janice Lee of Portland, Separation Anxiety (CLASH Books)
• Amy Miller of Ashland, Astronauts (Beloit Poetry Journal)
• Eric Tran of Portland, Mouth, Sugar, and Smoke (Diode Editions)

The winner will be announced live at the 2023 Oregon Book Awards Ceremony, hosted by Luke Burbank, at Portland Center Stage at The Armory on Monday, April 3, 2023. See the complete list of finalists in all categories.

your 2023 bookshelf

The poetry publishers are setting a brisk pace for 2023 and the reviews and recommendations are rolling in. Here’s the first round for 2023:

• Book Riot – Holiday Downtime: Poetry Books to Inspire Year-End Reflection
• The Guardian – The best recent poetry – review roundup
• The Millions – Must-Read Poetry: Winter 2023
• ParrySound – Round-up: 4 new books of Canadian poetry to start 2023
• Poetry Book Society – Spring 2023 Selections
• Publishers Weekly – Spring 2023 Announcements: Poetry
• Washington Independent Review of Books – On Poetry: January 2023

the last of the best

Here is the last of the 2022 best-of posts, and the last post of 2022.

• Alta Journal – Best Poetry Book
• Book Scrolling – The Best Poetry Books of 2022 (A Year-End List Aggregation)
• Kirkus – Best Teen & YA Poetry & Verse of 2022
• School Library Journal – 31 Days, 31 Lists: 2022 Poetry Books for Kids

Thank you for visiting The Poetry Department, for leaving your comments, and for adding your poetry to the riches of life here in Cascadia, here on Earth. More poetry in 2023!

recommended

We will probably have one more “best-of” list before the end of the year, but meanwhile, the pundits continue to suggest worthwhile titles for your overburdened shelf. Here are a few more:

• Electric Literature – 10 New Poetry Collections by Latinx and Caribbean Writers
• The Guardian – The best recent poetry – review roundup
• Santa Barbara Independent – Poetry Books for the Winter Season
• Washington Independent Review of Books – On Poetry: December 2022

‘Tis the season. Cozy up with a book.

Best-of season No. 3

Here’s the third round of recommendations for the best poetry books of 2022:

• Book Riot – 10 of the Best Poetry Collections of 2022
• Electric Lit – Electric Lit’s Favorite Poetry Collections of 2022
• Literary Hub – The Best Reviewed Poetry Collections of 2022
• Newsroom ReadingRoom – Xmas: the best poetry books of 2022
• read poetry – 22 of Our Favorite Poetry Books from 2022
• The Yale Review – Our Most-Read Poems of 2022

Your recommendations and comments are always welcome!

best-of season

It’s always fascinating to see which titles show up once and which ones land on list after list. Here is our second post of 2022 poetry book best-of lists:

• CBC – The best Canadian poetry of 2022
• Library Journal – Best Poetry of 2022
• The Miramichi Reader – Best Poetry of 2022
• The New Statesman – The best poetry books of 2022
• The New York Times – The Best Poetry of 2022
• Our Daily Read – The best poetry books of 2022
• The Poetry Society – Poetry Books of The Year 2022
• San Francisco Chronicle – The Chronicle’s favorite fiction, poetry and nonfiction books of 2022
• The Washington Post – The 5 best poetry collections of 2022

See the first list here.

more books

We may be well into best-of season, but the general recommendations keep on coming. Here are a few more recent titles for your list:

• Book Riot – 9 Unforgettable Prose Books Written by Poets
• The New York Times – Newly Published Poetry, From Iman Mersal to Robert Pinsky
• NPR – Two poetry collections find beauty in unexpected places
• Orion – 14 Recommended Poetry Collections for Winter 2022
• Poetry Super Highway – Holiday Recommendations
• read poetry – 5 Dazzling December 2022 Poetry Releases

go to Portland!

Portland, Oregon, is celebrating independent presses at the Portland Indie Book Fair on Saturday, December 10, 2022, Noon – 5pm. Meet authors, see publishers, browse (buy!) books. It’s free!

While you’re in Portland, enjoy the Christmas Ship Parade.

and so it begins…

It’s that time again: BEST-OF season. The pundits are weighing in on their favorite poetry books of the year. Here’s the first batch:

• Financial Times – Best books of 2022: Poetry
• The Guardian – The best poetry books of 2022
• Publishers Weekly – Best Books of 2022: Poetry
• School Library Journal – Best Poetry 2022 | SLJ Best Books
• The Telegraph – The 20 best poetry books of 2022 to buy for Christmas
• The Times – 5 best poetry books of 2022
• Times of India – Top poetry books of 2022

What was your favorite poetry book of 2022?