5 Sizzling September 2024 Releases
A transitional month, September invites us to reflect on summer and to look forward to fall. It’s full of in-betweens and wistfulness, like a humid day leading into a chilly night. The collections we’ve hand-picked mirror this vibe, traversing a wide range of nuanced emotions, geographies, and identities. Curl up with them at home or take them with you as you tap into the month’s back-to-school energy, or transition into your next adventure.
1. The Best American Poetry 2024, edited by David Lehman and Mary Jo Salter
Release date: Sept. 3
The Best American Poetry series continually publishes some of the most widely sold and read poetry anthologies. The idea is the same each year: A diverse array of some of the best poems published throughout the last year by American poets, spanning both online and print journals and magazines, new and established voices, and formal and free-verse poetry. The result is a fascinating survey of where the genre is going, what themes feel most prescient, and the role poetry plays in our current times and daily lives. Each year a different poet curates these pieces. This year, readers can look forward to seeing what Guggenheim Fellow and National Book Critics Circle Award nominee Mary Jo Salter chose.
2. Soon and Wholly by Idra Novey
Release date: Sept. 3
Soon and Wholly is poet, novelist, and translator Idra Novey’s first collection in a decade, the wait raising anticipation for readers. Novey, who previously won the National Poetry Series prize, explores the specifics and the personal angle of global issues in her work—in this case, a rapidly warming planet and what it means for the myriad of people living across it. The book provides an immersive and evocative snapshot of what the experience of global warming looks like in different countries, for families and individuals, and in both city and rural settings, plus delves into how it affects our perception of ideals like childhood, hope, and the future. The tone straddles urgency and slow-moving, pastoral lyricism, juxtaposing moments of panic and despair with moments of beauty, appreciation, and relief.
3. Exit Garden State by John Hennessy
Release date: Sept. 15
Exit Garden State, John Hennessy’s third collection, is a meditative and imagery-fueled gaze into childhood and ancestry. The speaker looks back at an upbringing in New Jersey and New England, then further into family histories that span Lisbon and Dublin. Alongside these literal geographies, Hennessy confronts vast emotional terrains—how parenthood brings forth new feelings about one’s own adolescence, the persistent experience of loss, and how relationships inevitably shift and change as we age.
4. The Sky Was Once a Dark Blanket by Kinsale Drake
Release date: Sept. 15
Winner of The National Poetry Series, The Sky Was Once a Dark Blanket—Kinsale Drake’s debut collection—is a stunning example of the way place can play a central role in poetry. The whole collection depicts and is deeply informed by the Southwest, a lush and distinct backdrop that enriches themes like Native identity, pop culture, family across generations, and queerness. Drake ties her relationship with these ideas to her long-standing and vital relationship with music, making for a collection that’s both sonic and scenic.
5. A Vessel Born to Float by Yazmin Watkins
Release date: Sept. 24
A Vessel Born to Float marks another poetic debut, making September the perfect month to add new voices to your shelf. This collection is a beautiful and vibrant ode to everything Black Girl Magic, revealing the healing and revolutionary power of true self-love.
This September, welcome a transition from the heat of summer and as you enter a new season, either just in the weather, or in your life, find comfort and excitement in a new poetry collection. Happy reading!
