#I might pull a line from each of these actually and write a cento. Should I?

[lady-lazarus-13]

My Recs: Poems to Read

This is a list of some of my favorite poems in no particular order. Those with an asterisk (*) are prose-ish:

Meditations in an Emergency* by Cameron Awkward-Rich

Whip-Poor-Will, I By L. Lamar Wilson

cutting greens by Lucille Clifton

Ghazal: The Dark Times by Marilyn Hacker

Burning Haibun* by torrin a. greathouse

Abuelo, by Gabriel Ramirez

When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities by Chen Chen

After the Reading* by Tiana Clark

This poem actually references Star Trek Discovery!

Diaspora Sonnet 42 by Oliver de la Paz

Paradise Motel by Charles Simic

Gentrification by Junious 'Jay' Ward (Youtube)

The Electric Slide is Not a Dance, Man!* by Porsha Olayiwola

FIELD TRIP TO THE MUSEUM OF HUMAN HISTORY by Franny Choi (with teaching guide)

If I must die by Refaat Alareer

On the Night I Consider Coming Out to My Parents by Julian Randall (Youtube)

Dede Was The Last Person I Came Out To by Danez Smith (Youtube)

Triptych by Diana Khoi Nguyen (Youtube)

Duplex by Jericho Brown (A Duplex is a poetic form created by Jericho and it's stunning. I struggle to write one).

Ode to the Maggot by Yusef Komunyakaa

Self-Portrait as a Body, a Sea by Donika Kelly

Don't You Wonder, Sometimes? by Tracy K. Smith

Cento Between the Ending and the End by Cameron Awkward-Rich (Youtube)

How Can Black People Write About Flowers at a Time Like This by Hanif Abdurraqib

Had My Parents Not Been Separated After My Father’s Traffic Stop, Arrest and Deportation by Porsha Olayiwola (Youtube)

The moon rose over the bay. I had a lot of feelings. by Donika Kelly

Because the Color Is Half the Taste by Paige Lewis (I think about this all the time)

To The Fig Tree on 9th and Christian by Ross Gay (Spotify with accompanying music)

Dinosaur* by Richard Siken

Dinosaurs in the Hood by Danez Smith (Youtube)

Side Tangent: I think these two poems about Dinosaurs are fascinating together because we can have a common subject and expand into two very different, but important subjects.

A Small Needful Fact by Ross Gay

Aubade: Nocturne by Willie Lee Kinard III

The Golden Shovel by Terrance Hayes (this golden shovel is a form Terrance created and it's amazing.)

I saw Emmett Till this week at the grocery store by Eve L. Ewing (stunning poem I think about every week.)

kitchenette building by Gwendolyn Brooks

Important context: Chicago landlords would cram families of 5 to 8 people in small one bedroom apartments and everyone was forced to share a single bathroom and kitchenette.

Bonus! Essays and Other Good Things:

Poetry Is Not a Luxury (1985) by Audre Lorde - PDF

James Baldwin and Nikki Giovanni "A Conversation" - Youtube

James Baldwin — I'm writing for people, baby - Youtube

Hanif Abdurraqib & Ross Gay, Ph.D. -- There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension - Youtube

The Book of Delights by Ross Gay - Youtube

Charles Simic's "Reading Philosophy at Night" an essay

Writer Ocean Vuong In an Intense Reading of 'Time Is a Mother' - Youtube

If you love even one of these poems and would like to scream about them, let's discuss!

Some of these would be great as teaching tools, but be aware that some content could be sensitive for some.