The Best Poetry Books to Give as Gifts Right Now

When the going gets tough, the tough turn to poetry. Even if you’re only an occasional reader of poems, there are times when they seem to be one of the few forms of writing that actually offer solace and insight. But which poetry books are most calming and helpful to reduce anxiety and restore a sense of purpose in difficult times? If you’re in a place where you need soothing, inspiration and flights of imagination – or you’re seeking a gift for someone who is – this list is for you. These are the best books of poetry to give as gifts when only a poem will do.

certain times call for poetry therapy

We’ll confess right up front, we don’t frequently read poetry. We sometimes feel guilty about this, actually. But there it is. We have too little time, and too little interest. Poetry demands more than what we’re usually willing to give.

But sometimes in our lives, we turn to it with a desperate, deeply felt need.

If you’ve been through a major catastrophe, or a significant loss, you know what we mean. Sometimes prose just doesn’t offer what the soul needs, no matter how artful. That’s when we turn to other forms of literature – namely, poetry. And song, which in our book is poetry set to music.

If you’re in that place, or have a loved one who is, then you may not have a book of poetry at the ready. This list can help.

We consider this a way of paying forward an act of kindness that we received quite some years ago. The days after the attacks on the World Trade Center on 9/11 were very dark ones, especially for those of us who lived in New York. An acquaintance – not even someone we were particularly close to – left us a poem composed by Langston Hughes. It was scribbled on a scrap of paper, just a small gesture of grace offered about a week after that terrible day.

We still remember every line. It gave us hope and a shot of courage at a time when very little in the world seemed to make sense. Perhaps one of these books will provide that same ray of light to you, dear reader.  

The Best Poetry Books to Give as Gifts Right Now

1.

Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude by Ross Gay. The poems in this critically-acclaimed volume “cast gratitude and joy not as the byproducts of naiveté, but as radical, life-sustaining choices.” The publisher notes: “this is a book that studies the wisdom of the garden and orchard, those places where all—death, sorrow, loss—is converted into what might, with patience, nourish us.”

2.

Wild is the Wind: Poems by Carl Phillips reflects on love as depicted in the eponymous jazz standard for which the book is named. As force that is both restless and reckless. And yet also somehow a rock upon which entire lives can stand. The poems ponder longing and hope: “What has restlessness been for?” How “to say no to despair”? How to take perhaps that greatest risk, the risk of believing in what offers no guarantee? Phillips is beloved by his literary peers – “a poet’s poet” – and this is a lovely introduction to his work.

3.

When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through: A Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry by Joy Harjo, LeAnne Howe, and Jennifer Elise Foerster. Coming later this year, United States Poet Laureate Joy Harjo has gathered the work of more than 160 poets, representing nearly 100 indigenous nations, into one volume. This landmark anthology celebrates the indigenous peoples of North America, the first poets of this country.

4.

Dog Songs by Mary Oliver. Oliver’s poems begin in the small everyday moments familiar to all dog lovers. But through her penetrating gaze, these observations become higher meditations on the world and our place in it.

5.

Birds by William Benton. This book was first published in 1972 by the Graphic Arts Workshop of the Portland Museum of Art School in Oregon, as a limited edition of 200 copies. It’s now being re-released. On the right-hand side pages Benton ingeniously portrays the essence of one type of bird, simply by arranging the letters of the bird’s name, with breathtaking simplicity.

6.

Brown: Poems by Kevin Young. James Brown. John Brown’s raid. Brown v. the Topeka Board of Ed. The prizewinning poet meditates on all things “brown” in this powerful collection. These thirty-two poems and poetic sequences, including an oratorio based on Mississippi “barkeep, activist, waiter” Booker Wright that was performed at Carnegie Hall, remind us that blackness and brownness tell an ongoing story of America.

7.

Magical Negro by Morgan Parker has been hailed as “a profound and deceptively funny exploration of Black American womanhood, and the gap between black experience and the white imagination’s version of it.” The “magical Negro” of the title refers to the recurring black character who turns up in film and in novels exclusively to aid the moral development – often through uncanny wisdom and saintliness – of a white character. The poet seeks to reclaim these characters as full-fledged humans, while exposing the subtle violence behind this ostentatious show of tolerance. One reviewer notes: “These American poems are both elegy and jive, joke and declaration, songs of congregation and self-conception.”

8.

A Little History of Poetry by John Carey tells the stories behind the world’s greatest poems, from the oldest surviving one written nearly four thousand years ago to those being written today. Carey looks at poets from the canon, such as Dante, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Whitman, and Yeats. He also looks at contemporary poets – like Derek Walcott, Marianne Moore, and Maya Angelou – whose brilliance calls into question what makes a poem “great” in the first place.

9.

Broadway for Paul: Poems by Vincent Katz. Friendship, love, and the potential energy of change animate these poems of walking through New York City. Broadway, the famous artery, both off the grid and definitive of Manhattan as it cuts its way downtown, is a metaphor for Katz’s path through these poems: from Lincoln Plaza on the Upper West Side to the African Burial Ground and the courthouses downtown.

10.

The Rupi Kaur Boxed Set. This is a gift set of two beloved volumes of poetry: milk and honey and the sun and her flowers. The former celebrates modern women, challenging the idea that women should be quiet, gentle, and submissive. And instead encouraging them to be strong, powerful, and proud. The latter is about growth and healing, honoring one’s roots, and rising up in full bloom. 

11.

The Last Love Poem I Will Ever Write by Gregory Orr. The poet seeks ways to respond to and create meaning out of painful experiences, while at the same time rejoicing in love and language. He explores themes of survival and the powerlessness of the self in a chaotic and unfair world, finding hope in the emotions and vitality of poetry.

12.

Voyage of the Sable Venus: and Other Poems by Robin Coste Lewis. The titular verse is a narrative poem comprised solely and entirely of the titles, catalog entries, or exhibit descriptions of Western art objects in which a black female figure is present, dating from 38,000 BC to the present. This debut collection is a stunning meditation on the black female figure throughout time.

13.

Life on Mars by Tracy K. Smith is a poetry collection for which the author won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize. Smith served as the 22nd Poet Laureate of the United States from 2017 to 2019. In this iconic volume “she imagines a soundtrack for the universe to accompany the discoveries, failures, and oddities of human existence.” David Bowie and interplanetary travel make appearances. The work also stands as a poignant homage to her late father, one of the engineers who worked on the Hubble Space Telescope.

14.

The Poetry Pharmacy and The Poetry Pharmacy Returns by William Sieghart. The author describes poetry as “a healing force,” and he has for years been prescribing short, powerful poems for all manner of spiritual ailments. The selected poems address highly topical themes from modern life, from choosing a life partner to resisting the lure of political apathy.

The Best Poetry Books to Give as Gifts Right Now

That’s it! Fifteen books of poetry that would make excellent gifts. Of course, you can absolutely always give a no-regrets gift of poetry from voices like Seamus Heaney, John Donne, Walt Whitman, Maya Angelou, Rita Dove, or Langston Hughes. But something from this list may take your gift recipient into unfamiliar territory, and leave them a different person altogether. As any great poem should.

What’s your favorite book of poetry? What others should we add to our list?

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