5 Poetry Collections to Add to your Re-Read List
The best poetry collections are the ones that become old friends—the ones we revisit time and time again. Poetry connects us to ourselves and the emotions we don’t always know how to express. And we can always find something new, even in a collection we have already read before. Something that spoke to us the first time may resonate differently with the passage of time. The best poets know that their words often walk alongside readers through the good and the bad.
As you add to your poetry to-be-read list, I encourage you to start a “to re-read” list as well. Allow yourself to peel back the layers of your favorite poems and see what new and exciting things await you in the process. Here is a Read Poetry-approved list of five books worth a second read that can help get you started.
1. to drink coffee with a ghost by Amanda Lovelace
This collection is a vulnerable look into Lovelace’s complicated relationship with her mother. She welcomes you into her story as she explores the complex duality of love and hate and how the lines between the two can become very blurred. It’s heartbreaking but also hopeful as Lovelace navigates her painful past and fights to find healing and move forward. This book allows readers to walk and re-walk the path from grief to growth alongside Lovelace and experience the magnitude of emotion she skillfully conveys through each poem.
2. Songs With Our Eyes Closed by Tyler Kent White
Songs with Our Eyes Closed is another deeply vulnerable collection that walks through love and loss. This book is special because each poem explores the depth of its subject matter in an honest and intentional way—yet in the midst of the heavier poems are lighter lines with glimmers of hope and inspiration. With differing tone, length, and style, each poem has something unique to offer its readers. It is definitely worth a deeper look.
3. Pillow Thoughts by Courtney Peppernell
Pillow Thoughts is like a favorite album from your youth. When you revisit it, you are struck immediately with that nostalgia and comfort and are reminded of what drew you to it in the first place. Peppernell’s words are personal, yet so relatable as she discusses a myriad of emotions with reflective wisdom. Like a favorite song, there’s a section for every season and scenario.
4. Soft Thorns by Bridgett Devoue
In Soft Thorns, Devoue opens up her heart to readers as she shares some of her most personal experiences with the hope that others can find healing alongside her. Line after line, you’ll find common ground with the poet as her emotions and struggles resonate with yours. This is a collection that shows the power of sharing our stories with one another and the potential for growth and learning.
5. Love & Misadventure by Lang Leav
This classic collection from Leav will remind you of all the reasons you’ve come to love her poetry. She has an incredible gift when it comes to expressing the realities of complex emotions in a way that grabs at every hurting heart. Her poems are deeply impactful and profound while also being hopeful and inspiring. Dive back into this book and fall back in love with the early works of one of your favorite writers.
This is just the beginning of a much longer list. As you compile a “re-read” list of your own, try and think about some of the writers who have impacted you most, and give their collections another look. You may be surprised at how much more they have to offer as you look at their words through new eyes and in different seasons of life.
What books are on your “to re-read” list? Let us know in the comments.
