8 February Poetry Releases To Be Excited About

Despite being the shortest month of the year, February brings us a full list of new poetry collections to look forward to. From laugh-out-loud funny to intensely introspective, this month’s roundup runs the emotional gamut. Get ready to feel all the feels with our eight picks for February’s most exciting new poetry releases. 

Beethoven Variations: Poems on a Life by Ruth Padel 

If you have a love for poetry and classical music, Ruth Padel’s latest collection will be a home run. Written in four movements, this poetry collection is told from the perspective of a musical genius. Using letters, diaries, sketchbooks, and conversation books he used as his hearing declined, Padel reimagines Beethoven from childhood through late life. Available Feb. 2. 

God I Feel Modern Tonight by Catherine Cohen 

Comedian and writer Catherine Cohen captures millennial ennui with a biting wit in her debut poetry collection. God I Feel Modern Tonight embodies the best friend with no filter—the one whose sense of humor is the life of the party and the reason you’re in hot water. Audacious, absurd, and laugh-out-loud funny, the collection manages to move readers in a ride both fun and profound. Available Feb. 2. 

Love By Night by SK Williams 

If you love a collection that tells a story, Love By Night should be next up on your reading list. Written as a conversation between two points of view, this dreamy collection takes readers on a journey through the constant change and flux of relationships and true connection. Available Feb. 2. 

Doppelgangbanger by Cortney Lamar Charleston

Doppelgangbanger is poet Cortney Lamar Charleston’s second and highly anticipated collection. The performance of Black masculinity in American society falls under the microscope in this witty and musical work. With playful language and a sense of vulnerability, readers join the speaker on his journey to an authentic self. Available Feb. 9. 

Love and Other Poems by Alex Dimitrov

Between Twitter DMs, text messages, and phone calls, Love and Other Poems is the go-to collection for an intimate Valentine’s Day read. Joy triumphs in the face of despair, and love becomes our best invention in this hopeful collection. Available Feb. 9. 

No Knowledge is Complete Until it Passes Through My Body by Asiya Wadud

Inspired by the work of artist and performer Okwui Okpokwasili, this compelling collection explores how our bodies are connected to forms of knowing. Drawing on history and the natural world, Wadud evokes themes of endurance, duress, claustrophobia, and stillness. Incantatory and hypnotic, this collection moves with the body in near-spiritual waves. Available Feb. 9. 

Popular Longing by Natalie Shapero

With a sharp wit and sense of humor, poet Natalie Shapero does not disappoint with her third collection, Popular Longing. Shapero takes the mundane to absurdist heights by deconstructing power systems we’ve grown so accustomed to that they’ve faded into the background. War, ego, institutions, and relationships come under fire in this fearless and funny collection. Available Feb. 16. 

Exhausted on the Cross by Najwan Darwish, translated by Kareem James Abu-Zeid

Najwan Darwish’s highly anticipated second collection lives up to Darwish’s reputation as one of the foremost voices in Arabic literature. At once passionate and matter-of-fact, this collection takes readers on a breathtaking journey through a multitude of histories, cultures, and geographies. Available Feb. 23.