Top 4 Poetry Books of 2019

It's that time of year again--time for the "Best of 2019" lists. Each year I try to streamline it a bit more, but I'll probably never be one of those book bloggers who can distill her reading down to one post at the end of the year. Since I'm set to finish over 200 books this year, and since it's hard for a short poetry collection to ever hold its own with a weighty novel, memoir, or nonfiction book, I've decided to split them out into their own post. If you discount re-reads (and I do) I didn't read five books of poetry that blew me away, so this year's list has only four items on it. I read well over 1,000 poems again this year, because poetry is in my soul, I guess. I also did a lot of re-reading of my favorite collections (nine in all), about half of which stood up to the passage of time, though individual poems will always have special spots in my heart.

Monument, Natasha Trethewey

United States Poet Laureate in 2012 and 2013, Trethewey's 2018 Monument is a wonderful book full of poems about identity. The daughter of a black mother and white father, she sometimes struggles to find her place in society.

Only As the Day Is Long, Dorianne Laux

Long one of my favorite female poets, Laux's 2019 collection of new and older poems is stellar. My favorite poetry collection of the year.

Sincerity, Carol Ann Duffy

Although I remember the impression of the book more than the book itself, I remember being blown away by the poems in this collection.

The Kingdom of Ordinary Time, Marie Howe

A wonderful collection of subtle poems, Marie Howe does not disappoint with this older collection from 2008.

BONUS

Ordinary Light, Tracy K. Smith (memoir)

I also read a wonderful memoir by Poet Laureate from 2017-2019, Tracy K. Smith. This is a straightforward "classic" memoir of a young woman posed to be a great poet. Beautifully written.