5 Essential April Releases by Women Poets
From Sappho to Sexton, women have always had an enduring and important role in the poetry genre. In 2021, fierce female poets are continuing to expand their presence by writing about many of today’s most pressing feminist issues, including body image, gendered violence, and the intersections between gender and race. Carve out space on your bookshelf for these five essential collections to look forward to from some of poetry’s most evocative and pioneering female voices.
Waterbaby by Nikki Wallschlaeger
Release Date: April 6, 2021
An expert lesson in metaphor, Nikki Wallschlaeger’s third collection, Waterbaby, communicates grief, family, and memory through the central theme of water. Praised as “a book for this moment” by NPR, the the urgent collection takes on intense topics like white supremacy and slavery through a personal lens, reckoning with ancestral roots while envisioning a new future for Black womanhood.
The Apricot Memoirs by Tess Guinery
Release Date: April 13, 2021
Multimodal artist Tess Guinery started work on The Apricot Memoirs as part of a break from her design business—and as an exercise in creativity and play. Guinery’s liberating and whimsical “no-rules” approach is on vibrant display throughout the collection, which digs deep into complex subjects like personal growth, motherhood, and spirituality, all while maintaining an experimental and carefree approach. As they flip through its brightly colored pages, readers of The Apricot Memoirs will feel inspired to embrace their inner child and embark on their next adventure.
How Far You Have Come: Musings on Beauty and Courage by Morgan Harper Nichols
Release Date: April 27, 2021
How Far You Have Come marks the latest release from inspirational, Instagram-savvy poet Morgan Harper Nichols, who has amassed more than a million followers through her optimistic, reflective poems and illustrations. In this collection, Nichols invites readers to look past their challenges, fears, and doubts. She pushes them to embrace and celebrate their many triumphs.
The Life by Carrie Fountain
Release Date: April 27, 2021
In her third collection, The Life, award-winning poet Carrie Fountain accomplishes one of the most poetic tasks: bringing a reverent, sharply observational focus to life’s most mundane details. By writing from the domestic sphere, Fountain spotlights the quietly beautiful, almost holy moments between a mother and her children.
The Naomi Letters by Rachel Mennies
Release Date: April 27, 2021
The Naomi Letters powerfully wrestles with the intricate relationships between sexuality, religion, cultural identity, and mental health. Written in the form of letters between the speaker and another woman, the collection illustrates vulnerable, long-distance love through the lenses of Judaism, bisexuality, and anxiety.
