This Way to the Sugar by Hieu M. Nguyen is a beautiful and brutal poetry collection about the author’s experience as a gay midwestern Asian American. It’s very accessible but also extremely dark at times - be sure to look up content warnings beforehand.
You can also never go wrong with Richard Siken. I think Crush is probably the most accessible of his works.
Salt by Nayyirah Waheed, Heaven or This by Topaz Winters, and Sugarplum by Darshana Suresh are some shorter accessible poetry collections that might help you acclimate to the genre!
Poetry: Billy Collins. He also has a livestream on FB on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Poetry anthologies. Right now I am enjoying two edited by James Crews: The Path to Kindness, Poems of Connection and Joy; How to Love the World, Poems of Gratitude and Hope. Mary Oliver.
For poetry, try reading Mary Oliver - she's very approachable. Also Billy Collins. And I love the book "All the Small Poems and Fourteen More" by Valerie Worth - great little snippets and observations, mostly of the natural world.
I don't really have any reading goals this year - my book reading was down last year because I've subscribed to more newsletters, but I'm ok with that!
reading this newsletter as a sign that I should too read more poetry and essays as I've been trying to do for years. I have settled for 30 books this year but I'm not sure if I should count the webnovels and manga/manhwa/manhua that I also read? They're so easy to consume I finish them in hours which makes me feel like I'm cheating
I read The Attachments last year (or the year before?) and still think about it. It was the sweetest book without actually being syurpy if that makes sense.
I am also hoping to read more poetry and am excited about Poetry unbound : 50 poems to open your world / Pádraig Ó Tuama. There is a Poetry Unbound podcast as well.
My favorite recent poetry compilation is Set Me On Fire: A Poem for Every Feeling, edited by Ella Risbridger. She has a great introduction about how she made the book for people who don't like poetry. And her notes throughout are wonderful.
I'm doing the Reading Glasses 2023 reading challenge as well as some of my own goals: 3 backlist books, finish a series, read a honker (> 500 pages), read a book that's been on my TBR 3 years or longer, and work on getting through my owned TBR pile. I always love your recommendations!
I'm currently reading "And Yet" by Kate Baer, which I have found really accessible so far. I also consistently return to "No Matter the Wreckage" by Sarah Kay, who you can also watch do a lot of spoken word on YouTube. I found her videos first, so it was a unique experience to read her poetry and hear her voice as I went.
You Obsessed Over “White Lotus”
This Way to the Sugar by Hieu M. Nguyen is a beautiful and brutal poetry collection about the author’s experience as a gay midwestern Asian American. It’s very accessible but also extremely dark at times - be sure to look up content warnings beforehand.
You can also never go wrong with Richard Siken. I think Crush is probably the most accessible of his works.
Salt by Nayyirah Waheed, Heaven or This by Topaz Winters, and Sugarplum by Darshana Suresh are some shorter accessible poetry collections that might help you acclimate to the genre!
Poetry: Billy Collins. He also has a livestream on FB on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Poetry anthologies. Right now I am enjoying two edited by James Crews: The Path to Kindness, Poems of Connection and Joy; How to Love the World, Poems of Gratitude and Hope. Mary Oliver.
A book with white lotus vibes? Sound good. Attached also seems pretty cool. Thanks for the recommendations :)
Ross Gay! Essays AND poetry. Always and forever.
For poetry, try reading Mary Oliver - she's very approachable. Also Billy Collins. And I love the book "All the Small Poems and Fourteen More" by Valerie Worth - great little snippets and observations, mostly of the natural world.
I don't really have any reading goals this year - my book reading was down last year because I've subscribed to more newsletters, but I'm ok with that!
If you haven’t read Leigh Stein’s poetry, it is really fun and accessible!
reading this newsletter as a sign that I should too read more poetry and essays as I've been trying to do for years. I have settled for 30 books this year but I'm not sure if I should count the webnovels and manga/manhwa/manhua that I also read? They're so easy to consume I finish them in hours which makes me feel like I'm cheating
Another excellent post - thank you!
I read The Attachments last year (or the year before?) and still think about it. It was the sweetest book without actually being syurpy if that makes sense.
My two favorite contemporary poets: Eve Ewing and Chen Chen. Can't recommend them enough. Very accessible, and both are marginalized voices.
I am also hoping to read more poetry and am excited about Poetry unbound : 50 poems to open your world / Pádraig Ó Tuama. There is a Poetry Unbound podcast as well.
My favorite recent poetry compilation is Set Me On Fire: A Poem for Every Feeling, edited by Ella Risbridger. She has a great introduction about how she made the book for people who don't like poetry. And her notes throughout are wonderful.
I received "You're Invited" from Book of the Month last year, and I haven't started it yet. You just got me very excited about it!
I'm doing the Reading Glasses 2023 reading challenge as well as some of my own goals: 3 backlist books, finish a series, read a honker (> 500 pages), read a book that's been on my TBR 3 years or longer, and work on getting through my owned TBR pile. I always love your recommendations!
White Lotus >>>>
I'm currently reading "And Yet" by Kate Baer, which I have found really accessible so far. I also consistently return to "No Matter the Wreckage" by Sarah Kay, who you can also watch do a lot of spoken word on YouTube. I found her videos first, so it was a unique experience to read her poetry and hear her voice as I went.