Publishers Weekly's Top Ten Fall 2024 Poetry Books

From Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes, a stunning collection of early works written from 1921-1927 curated by award winning poet and National Book Award finalist, Danez Smith. Hanif Abdurraqib calls the collection of polished poems and raw, unfinished, works-in-progress, a gift to any poet working at any stage of their life and career.

Before Langston Hughes and his literary prowess became synonymous with American poetry, he was an eighteen-year-old on a train to Mexico City, seeking funds to pursue his passion. Beloved verses like The Negro Speaks of Rivers, were written without formal training, often on the back of napkins and envelopes, and were inspired by the sights and sounds of Black working-class people he encountered in his early life. Blues in Stereo is a collection of select early works, all written before the age of twenty-five, in which we see Langston Hughes with fresh eyes.

From the intimate pages of his handwritten journals, you will travel with Hughes outside of Harlem as he travels the world, celebrate love as a tool of liberation, and enjoy his musical verse poetry, including a play he cowrote with Duke Ellington with a full score. Blues in Stereo foreshadows a master poet that will go on to define literature for centuries to come. And by keeping his original, handwritten notations found in archival material, we get to witness a genius's earliest thought process in real time. National Book Award-nominated poet Danez Smith offers their insight and notes on themes, challenges, and obsessions contained in Hughes's early work.

A thoughtful celebration of Black girlhood by award-winning author and poet Renée Watson.

In this semi-autobiographical collection of poems, Renée Watson writes
about her experience growing up as a young Black girl at the intersections of race, class, and gender.

Using a variety of poetic forms, from haiku to free verse, Watson shares recollections of her childhood in Portland, tender odes to the Black women in her life, and urgent calls for Black girls to step into their power.

Black Girl You Are Atlas encourages young readers to embrace their future with a strong sense of sisterhood and celebration. With full-color art by celebrated fine artist Ekua Holmes throughout, this collection offers guidance and is a gift for anyone who reads it.

A rich, thoughtful anthology exploring centuries of Black poetry. --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

This deep and complex assemblage of Black poetry culminates in a joyful, painful, and emotionally rich experience. --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

An eclectic mix of Black experiences fills this unmatched anthology that features both modern poets, such as Nikki Giovanni and Ibi Zoboi, and 'the brilliant Black poets who are now ancestors'... A fresh canon for poetry studies.--ALA Booklist (starred review)

An excellent collection of poetry that is an insightful read on the Black experience--School and Library Journal

Starring thirty-seven poets, with contributions from acclaimed authors, including Kwame Alexander, Ibi Zoboi, and Nikki Giovanni, this breathtaking Black YA poetry anthology edited by National Book Award finalist Amber McBride, Taylor Byas, and Erica Martin celebrates Black poetry, folklore, and culture.

Come, claim your wings.

Lift your life above the earth,

return to the land of your father's birth.

What exactly is it to be Black in America?

Well, for some, it's learning how to morph the hatred placed by others into love for oneself; for others, it's unearthing the strength it takes to continue to hold one's swagger when multitudinous factors work to make Black lives crumble. For some, it's gathering around the kitchen table as Grandma tells the story of Anansi the spider, while for others it's grinning from ear to ear while eating auntie's spectacular 7Up cake.

Black experiences and traditions are complex, striking, and vast--they stretch longer than the Nile and are four times as deep--and carry more than just unimaginable pain--there is also joy.

Featuring an all-star group of thirty-seven powerful poetic voices, including such luminaries as Kwame Alexander, James Baldwin, Ibi Zoboi, Audre Lorde, Nikki Giovanni, and Gwendolyn Brooks, this riveting anthology depicts the diversity of the Black experience by fostering a conversation about race, faith, heritage, and resilience between fresh poets and the literary ancestors that came before them.

Edited by Taylor Byas, Erica Martin, and Coretta Scott King New Talent Award winner Amber McBride, Poemhood will simultaneously highlight the duality and nuance at the crux of so many Black experiences with poetry being the psalm constantly playing.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection pick!

Why put together an anthology about mistakes? Because we make mistakes all the time. Some are the size of erasing a hole in your paper, mispronouncing a word, or tripping over your shoelace. Some are the size of telling a friend's secret. Some can be useful, like a science experiment that goes wrong but gives you a new idea. How can we make the most of the good mistakes and do our best to fix the ones that need fixing? Poetry can help us figure it out.

A rich, thoughtful anthology exploring centuries of Black poetry. --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

This deep and complex assemblage of Black poetry culminates in a joyful, painful, and emotionally rich experience. --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

An eclectic mix of Black experiences fills this unmatched anthology that features both modern poets, such as Nikki Giovanni and Ibi Zoboi, and 'the brilliant Black poets who are now ancestors'... A fresh canon for poetry studies.--ALA Booklist (starred review)

An excellent collection of poetry that is an insightful read on the Black experience--School and Library Journal

Starring thirty-seven poets, with contributions from acclaimed authors, including Kwame Alexander, Ibi Zoboi, and Nikki Giovanni, this breathtaking Black YA poetry anthology edited by National Book Award finalist Amber McBride, Taylor Byas, and Erica Martin celebrates Black poetry, folklore, and culture.

Come, claim your wings.

Lift your life above the earth,

return to the land of your father's birth.

What exactly is it to be Black in America?

Well, for some, it's learning how to morph the hatred placed by others into love for oneself; for others, it's unearthing the strength it takes to continue to hold one's swagger when multitudinous factors work to make Black lives crumble. For some, it's gathering around the kitchen table as Grandma tells the story of Anansi the spider, while for others it's grinning from ear to ear while eating auntie's spectacular 7Up cake.

Black experiences and traditions are complex, striking, and vast--they stretch longer than the Nile and are four times as deep--and carry more than just unimaginable pain--there is also joy.

Featuring an all-star group of thirty-seven powerful poetic voices, including such luminaries as Kwame Alexander, James Baldwin, Ibi Zoboi, Audre Lorde, Nikki Giovanni, and Gwendolyn Brooks, this riveting anthology depicts the diversity of the Black experience by fostering a conversation about race, faith, heritage, and resilience between fresh poets and the literary ancestors that came before them.

Edited by Taylor Byas, Erica Martin, and Coretta Scott King New Talent Award winner Amber McBride, Poemhood will simultaneously highlight the duality and nuance at the crux of so many Black experiences with poetry being the psalm constantly playing.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection pick!

Sixteen-year-old Jaelyn Coleman lives for Saturdays at WestSide Roll, the iconic neighborhood roller rink. On these magical nights, Jae can lose herself in the music of DJ Sunny, the smell of nachos from the concession, and the crowd of some of her favorite people--old heads, dance crews, and other regulars like herself. Here, Jae and other Black teens can fully be themselves.

One Saturday, as Jae skates away her worries, she crashes into the cutest boy she's ever seen. Trey's dimples, rich brown skin, and warm smile make it impossible for her to be mad at him though. Best of all, he can't stop finding excuses to be around her. A nice change for once, in contrast with her best friend's cold distance of late or her estranged father creeping back into her life.

Just as Jae thinks her summer might change for the better, devastating news hits: Westside Roll is shutting down. The gentrification rapidly taking over her predominantly Black Indianapolis neighborhood, filling it with luxury apartments and fancy boutiques, has come for her safe-haven. And this is just one trouble Jae can't skate away from.

Debut author Arriel Vinson's lyrical and contemplative story of young Black love and coming of age in Indianapolis ushers in an exciting new voice in YA literature.

A compassionate, restorative collection Kirkus Reviews

From international poetry sensation Nikita Gill comes her highly anticipated YA debut These Are the Words: an empowering, feminist and beautifully illustrated poetry collection exploring all the things Nikita wished someone had told her when she was younger.

Reclaim your agency. Discover your power. Find the words.

Taking you on a journey through the seasons of the soul, in this collection Nikita gives you the words to help heal from your first breakup, to celebrate finding your family, to understand first love, to express your anger and your joy, to fight for what you believe in and to help you break some rules to be your truest self.

Gorgeously illustrated throughout by Nikita herself and featuring seasonal astrological poetry, this collection is an achingly beautiful, stunningly warm and fearless expression of truth from one of the most influential and well-known voices in modern poetry.

REMINDER FOR HEALING
You do not owe anyone your forgiveness.
The trees do not apologize to the wind that uproots them.
The rocks do not apologize to the erosion by the sea.
The stars do not apologize to the universe
when they are writhing and dying out.
And you are not obligated to forgive anyone
but yourself.

From the acclaimed poet featured on Forbes Africa's 30 Under 30 list, this powerful novel-in-verse captures one girl, caught between cultures, on an unexpected journey to face the ephemeral girl she might have been. Woven through with moments of lyrical beauty, this is a tender meditation on family, belonging, and home.

my mother meant to name me for her favorite flower
its sweetness garlands made for pretty girls
i imagine her yasmeen bright & alive
& i ache to have been born her instead

Nima wishes she were someone else. She doesn't feel understood by her mother, who grew up in a different land. She doesn't feel accepted in her suburban town; yet somehow, she isn't different enough to belong elsewhere. Her best friend, Haitham, is the only person with whom she can truly be herself. Until she can't, and suddenly her only refuge is gone.

As the ground is pulled out from under her, Nima must grapple with the phantom of a life not chosen--the name her parents meant to give her at birth--Yasmeen. But that other name, that other girl, might be more real than Nima knows. And the life Nima wishes were someone else's. . . is one she will need to fight for with a fierceness she never knew she possessed.

In the vein of poetry collections like Milk and Honey and Adultolescence, this compilation of short, powerful poems from teen Instagram sensation @poeticpoison perfectly captures the human experience.

In Light Filters In, Caroline Kaufman--known as @poeticpoison--does what she does best: reflects our own experiences back at us and makes us feel less alone, one exquisite and insightful piece at a time. She writes about giving up too much of yourself to someone else, not fitting in, endlessly Googling how to be happy, and ultimately figuring out who you are.

This hardcover collection features completely new material plus some fan favorites from Caroline's account. Filled with haunting, spare pieces of original art, Light Filters In will thrill existing fans and newcomers alike.

it's okay if some things

are always out of reach.

if you could carry all the stars

in the palm of your hand,

they wouldn't be

Being human means to sometimes lose perspective. We focus on the one negative comment we received instead of the ten positive ones. We think we're the only person who has had something really embarrassing happen to us, or that a problem we're having will go on forever. When we've lost sight of the big picture, how can we help ourselves put things back in perspective? Poetry can lend a hand.

Being human means to sometimes lose perspective. We focus on the one negative comment we received instead of the ten positive ones. We think we're the only person who has had something really embarrassing happen to us, or that a problem we're having will go on forever. When we've lost sight of the big picture, how can we help ourselves put things back in perspective? Poetry can lend a hand.

1. Ira
2. Negación
3. Superación
4. Nuevos comienzos

Olga González da el salto de la autoedición al mundo editorial con el poemario que ha arrasado en las redes sociales.

Un canto al amor y a los corazones rotos, pero también a la fuerza que tenemos en nuestro interior para superar momentos difíciles y resurgir más fuertes que nunca.

ENGLISH DESCRIPTION

Have you ever felt like your heart was breaking? Were you able to put it back together so you could love with much more intensity? This is the collection of poems that everyone is talking about and that has taken TikTok by storm: The Heartbreak I Never Lived Through by Olga González.

The steps to overcome a breakup are the following:
1. Anger
2. Denial
3. Overcoming
4. New beginnings

Olga González makes the leap from self-publishing to the publishing world with a collection of poems taking social media by storm.

It is an ode to love and broken hearts, but also to the strength that we have within us to overcome difficult moments and emerge stronger than ever.

A collection of poetry written by two teens 30 years apart, showcasing the common themes of adolescence and connecting two generations. Looking through the mirror, both then and now, we see the reflection of heartbreaks, of first loves, and of excitement in discovering the world.

El libro que hoy sostienes en las manos es un camino a través del caos, la desesperación y la soledad, pero también un trayecto hacia el autodescubrimiento, el amor propio y el progreso.

Estas páginas te guiarán en tu dolor, ayudándote a sentirlo, para después poder liberarte de él, aprendiendo a volar sin el peso de sus cadenas, sin que nada vuelva a suponer una carga tan pesada.

Esta es mi forma de sentir, de vivir y de superar cada uno de los obstáculos que me he encontrado.

Si necesitas un abrazo, una liberación, un hombro sobre el que apoyarte, una conversación nocturna durante horas o una compañía genuina, el nuevo poemario de Olga González es para ti.

ENGLISH DESCRIPTION

Olga Gonzalez' long-awaited new collection of poems. The poet who has revolutionized TikTok and the world of social media.

The book you now hold in your hands is a path through chaos, desperation, and loneliness, but also a journey to self-discovery, self-love, and progress.

These pages will guide you through your pain, helping you feel it so you may then be free of it, learning to soar without the weight of its chains, without anything ever becoming such a heavy load.

This is my way of feeling, living, and overcoming each obstacle I have ever encountered.

If you need a hug, a liberation, a shoulder to lean on, an hours-long nighttime conversation, or genuine company, Olga Gonzalez' new collection of poems is for you.

From the acclaimed poet featured on Forbes Africa's 30 Under 30 list, this powerful novel-in-verse captures one girl, caught between cultures, on an unexpected journey to face the ephemeral girl she might have been. Woven through with moments of lyrical beauty, this is a tender meditation on family, belonging, and home.

my mother meant to name me for her favorite flower
its sweetness garlands made for pretty girls
i imagine her yasmeen bright & alive
& i ache to have been born her instead

Nima wishes she were someone else. She doesn't feel understood by her mother, who grew up in a different land. She doesn't feel accepted in her suburban town; yet somehow, she isn't different enough to belong elsewhere. Her best friend, Haitham, is the only person with whom she can truly be herself. Until she can't, and suddenly her only refuge is gone.

As the ground is pulled out from under her, Nima must grapple with the phantom of a life not chosen--the name her parents meant to give her at birth--Yasmeen. But that other name, that other girl, might be more real than Nima knows. And the life Nima wishes were someone else's. . . is one she will need to fight for with a fierceness she never knew she possessed.

In this extraordinary collection, the award-winning poet Crystal Simone Smith gives voice to the mournful dead, their lives unjustly lost to violence, and to the grieving chorus of protestors in today's Black Lives Matter movement, in search of resilience and hope.

With poems found within the text of George Saunders's Lincoln in the Bardo, Crystal Simone Smith embarks on an uncompromising exploration of collective mourning and crafts a masterwork that resonates far beyond the page. These poems are visually stark, a gathering of gripping verses that unmasks a dialogue of tragic truths--the stories of lives taken unjustly and too soon.

Bold and deeply affecting, Dark Testament is a remarkable reckoning with our present moment, a call to action, and a plea for a more just future.

Along with the poems, Dark Testament includes a stirring introduction by the author that speaks to the content of the poetry, a Q&A with George Saunders, and a full-color photo-insert that commemorates victims of unlawful killings with photographs of memorials that have been created in their honor.

I love this tremendously skillful, timely, and dazzling repurposing of passages of my novel, Lincoln in the Bardo. Crystal Simone Smith has, with her amazing ear and heart, found, in that earlier grief, a beautiful echo for our time. --George Saunders, New York Times bestselling author of Lincoln in the Bardo and Tenth of December

Written in response to the murder of George Floyd...this touching memorial to the Black lives lost to systemic racism is a rousing homage to those protesting in their honor, who refuse to let these deaths be in vain. - Publisher's Weekly

Teen Instagram sensation and author of Light Filters In @poeticpoison returns with a second collection of short, powerful poems about love, forgiveness, self-discovery, and what it's like living after a hard-fought battle with depression, in the vein of poetry collections like Milk and Honey and the princess saves herself in this one.

In her second book of poetry, Instagram sensation Caroline Kaufman--known as @poeticpoison--explores the shock, wonder, and beauty of an uncertain future.

When the World Didn't End is a vivid account of trying to find a path forward while reckoning with the pain of the past, embracing imperfection, and unlearning the language of self-criticism.

It's an ode to the awkward silence between goodbye and hanging up, to hearts that continue to beat after they're broken, to the empty spaces that depression leaves behind. With vulnerability and insight, this powerful collection of short poems holds up a mirror to the doubt and longing inside us all.

This hardcover collection features completely new material plus some fan favorites from Caroline's account. Filled with haunting, spare pieces of original art, When the World Didn't End will thrill existing fans and newcomers alike.

so,

what now?

how will you make the most of it?

how will you live the life you never thought you'd get the chance to see?