Poetry Full Steam Ahead

I’m not sure if people know it or not, but April is National Poetry Month. Toward the end of March, I had a hankering for some poetry in my life. I read two of Amanda Lovelace’s book series, “the things that h(a)unt” and the latest poetry book from Margaret Atwood, “Dearly.” I enjoyed all the books for numerous reasons. I also bought a couple more the other day. Rupi Kaur’s “home body” and Iain S. Thomas’s “the truth of you,” which I look forward to reading soon. I also have some other poetry books that I haven’t gotten around to reading that I’m going to try and plan into this month as well, putting me away ahead of schedule on my reading goal this year. And considering how this year started, I did not think I’d be able to say that.

Poetry is different for everyone. Some people feel that unless the writer creates their poems in a traditional style, they have no place. I think the beauty of poetry is that it’s ever-evolving. As I stated in a previous blog post, I also think poetry is best to read numerous times. Most of the time, I have trouble reading through poetry as if it’s a traditional book format. I read the whole thing in about an hour. I tell myself I’m going to break it up if there are sections, but I rarely do. So that is why I always come back to certain poetry books, or poems in general. They need a look over numerous times! 

I read a ton of Robert Frost in college, and I want to read a ton of Ray Bradbury’s poetry soon. I’ve also enjoyed Edgar Allan Poe’s poetry, “Annabel Lee” being one of my all-time favorites. Recently this all made me realize the small amount of poetry written by women until a couple of years ago in my life. I know plenty of female poets out there, but none were presented to me during my studies, so I did not focus on them. I want that to change, so I’m making an effort for that change. If there are any female poets you think I should read, leave me a comment. I’d love to hear what you think. 

The same goes for males too. I’m not going to strictly just read females, but that’s the wavelength I’m currently riding. I don’t want people to think that, but I will say there is something about knowing having these connections with other female poets that I’ve been digging. So, for now, I’m going to leave you with one of the favorites I recently found of Nikita Gill’s work. 

An Ode To Fearless Women

Defined by no man, you are your own story,

blazing through the world, turning history into herstory.

And when they dare to tell you about

all the things you cannot be, 

you smile and tell them,

“I am both war and woman and you cannot stop me.”

Who is your favorite poet? What’s your favorite poem? Let me know in the comments below.