17 best poetry books to add to your bookshelf pronto
Despite all the technology you can want at your fingertips thanks to our phones, there's something about a book that can provide some much-needed escapism. While a beach holiday seems unlikely this year, we're all about curating a summer reading list and for 2021, we've got our eyes on the best poetry books to enjoy.
A great poem can evoke the biggest of emotions in even the most steadfast of people, and whether it's joy, injustice, race or gender, poetry can explore all aspects of life. While a novel tells a story from the first to last page, an anthology can offer something new with each poem and can be read straight through or enjoyed across months.
Reading can also be part of our self-care, and after a difficult year living through a pandemic, we're in desperate need for a spot of relaxation. It’s important for our mental wellbeing and we all know it’s been proven to help aid sleep, which, we don't know about you, but since emerging out of lockdown, has been hard to come by. Poetry can also be a look back through history, create hope for the future and confront injustices facing people from different cultural and racial backgrounds across the globe.
But where to start? Whether you're a budding poet yourself seeking inspiration or new to the genre, we've found the absolute must-haves for your reading collection.
For fans of icon Dr Maya Angelou, there's Still I Rise or for a history-making speech that stole the show at the 2021 presidential inauguration there's The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem by Amanda Gorman. For a timely reminder of how wonderful the NHS is, pick up a copy of These Are The Hands: Poems from the Heart of the NHS that pays tribute to healthcare workers, and for a raw, honest look at identity and race, Teeth In The Back Of My Neck by Monika Radojevic, one of the winners of the #Merky Books New Writers’ Prize, is essential reading.
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After more books content? We've got sleep books, cookbooks, romance novels, true crime books, autobiographies, vegetarian cookbooks, mental health books and adult colouring books. We've also got coffee table books, summer books, vegan cookbooks and books by black authors. Don't say we don't treat you.
All are available to shop now, so get stuck and in and start adding to your reading list, for summertime and beyond. Here are the best poetry books of 2021 to shop now...
The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem by Amanda Gorman
The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem, £9.99, Amazon
22-year old Amanda Gorman became the youngest poet ever to perform at a presidential inauguration when she spoke at Joe Biden's swearing-in ceremony and has since become a household name. Re-read her inspiring words with a foreword by none other than Oprah Winfrey.
To The Women: Words To Live By by Donna Ashworth
To The Women: Words To Live By, £7.99, Amazon
As a short book of poems and essays, Donna Ashworth wrote her second body of work to inspire, motivate and comfort women from all walks of life. It's a beautiful collection to add to your reading list and one to gift to the women in your own life.
These Are The Hands: Poems from the Heart of the NHS edited by Deborah Alma and Dr Katie Amiel
These Are The Hands: Poems from the Heart of the NHS, £9.99, Amazon
This touching anthology pays tribute and celebrates NHS healthcare providers caring for us from birth to death, exploring the deep sadness to overwhelming joy from the tireless work by student nurses to retiring neurosurgeons to cleaning staff, and everything in between.
How To Wash A Heart by Bhanu Kapil
How To Wash A Heart, £9.99, Amazon
How To Wash A Heart was awarded the TS Eliot Prize in 2020, a book in which poet Bhanu Kapil explores the complicated relationship between an immigrant guest and a liberal host, all while delving deep into racism, violence, and the experiences of diaspora communities.
Teeth In The Back Of My Neck by Monika Radojevic
Teeth In The Back of my Neck, £8.29, Amazon
Monika Radojevic debut book was one of the winners of the #Merky Books New Writers’ Prize, created by rapper Stormzy to celebrate under-represented writers. In Teeth In The Back Of My Neck, she draws on her Half Brazilian and half Montenegrin heritage, covering the complexity of your identity being spread across the world.
The Historians by Eavan Boland
Late Irish poet Eavan Boland, who died in 2020, won the 2020 Costa Poetry Award for The Historians, her final work. A spellbinding book that peers into the lives of women, from suffragists to Irish women fighting, and winning, for the right to vote.
The Forward Book of Poetry 2021 by Various Poets
The Forward Book of Poetry 2021, £7.32, Amazon
You're in for a treat with this book, a collection of the best work from 2021's UK poets and as the Forward Prizes is one of the most prestigious awards for poetry in the country, you're guaranteed to find a new poet to love.
Dancing By The Light of The Moon: Over 250 Poems To Read, Relish And Recite by Gyles Brandreth
Dancing By The Light of The Moon: Over 250 Poems To Read, Relish And Recite, £9.34, Amazon
For a poem fitting for every occasion, make sure you add this book to your shopping cart ASAP as author Brandreth has collected 250 of the best-loved poems in the English-speaking world.
The Panic Years by Nell Frizzell
The Panic Years, from £4.99, Amazon
This relatable book is all about the years between adolescence and menopause and the pressure and panic it creates for women and those wanting to, or not, have children. Tackling womanhood and motherhood, it's raw, honest and hilarious in equal measure.
Rendang by Will Harris
Shortlisted for the TS Eliot Prize for Poetry 2020, Rendang sees author Will Harris explore cultural memory through the lens of his Anglo-Indonesian heritage, taking a look at the complicated nature of identity, race and language.
Poor by Caleb Femi
Poor by Caleb Femi, £7.20, Amazon
Femi delves into life for young Black men growing up in Peckham, South London, exploring community, gentrified neighbourhoods and language through a mix of poetry and photography.
Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass by Lana Del Rey
Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass, £10.29, Amazon
The debut poetry book from singer Lana Del Ray has nearly 6,000 five-star reviews on Amazon, proving she multi-talented. In her first anthology, Del Ray describes her poems as 'eclectic and honest', and we think this would make a lovely gift for a friend.
Don't Call Us Dead: Poems by Danez Smith
Don't Call Us Dead: Poems, £10.06, Amazon
Don't Call Us Dead is by award-winning poet Danez Smith, where he imagines an afterlife for Black men shot by police, a place full of safety and love that wasn't afforded to them on earth, confronting racism and all the injustices facing Black Americans.
A Poem For Every Night Of The Year by Allie Esiri
A Poem for Every Night Of The Year Book, £19.99, Oliver Bonas
For a daily dose of poetry, this is a collection of 366, one for every night of the year, each one linked to the date they appear. Make it part of your bedtime routine by reading the works of Shakespeare, Maya Angelou, Lewis Carroll, Tennyson, Yeats, A. A. Milne, Carol Ann Duffy and more.
Save when you shop for poetry books with these Oliver Bonas discount codes.
And Still I Rise by Dr Maya Angelou
And Still I Rise, £8.99, Amazon
Inspirational and lyrical poet, Dr Maya Angelou is one of the greats, loved and lauded by the likes of Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey and Toni Morrison. And Still I Rise is 32 short poems, divided into three parts, focusing on rising above difficulties, challenges, and discouragements, across race and gender.
Set Me On Fire: A Poem For Every Feeling by Ella Risbridger
Set Me On Fire: A Poem For Every Feeling, £8.99, Amazon
Whether you want to read poetry about love, loss, heartbreak, grieving or the end of the world, this anthology by Ella Risbridger is full of new voices from poets spread across the world. A book you can always go back to and will never want to put down, it's an enjoyable read on every page.
The Air Year by Caroline Bird
Poet and playwright, Caroline Bird takes a closer look at the fear of commitment, motherhood, shame, and panic for an emotive reading of her book The Air Year, capturing intimacy, love and the depths of the human experience.
