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50 Essential Books of Poetry That Everyone Should Read —Flavorwire

Here's a list of 50 essential books of poetry that pretty much everyone should read. There's something for everybody here, from the deeply established canonical works to riveting, important books by newer poets, from the Romantics to the post-modernists, from the goofy to the staid. NB: as with other lists like these, only one work per author has been included, and there is a bias against the "Collected Poems of" unless necessary. Obviously, inevitably, painfully, there are many, many poets and works of poetry, both of great renown and less so, that are missing here and should still be read by everyone.
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1
Lighthead (Terrance Hayes)
Lighthead (Terrance Hayes)
2
Praise (Robert Hass)
Praise (Robert Hass)
3
The Book of Nightmares
The Book of Nightmares
4
Twenty Love Poems
Twenty Love Poems
5
Ariel
Ariel
6
The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson
The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson
7
Howl
Howl
8
Mother Love (Rita Dove)
Mother Love (Rita Dove)
9
Mountain Interval (Robert Frost)
Mountain Interval (Robert Frost)
10
Where the Sidewalk Ends (Shel Silverstein)
Where the Sidewalk Ends (Shel Silverstein)
11
Sinners Welcome (Mary Karr)
Sinners Welcome (Mary Karr)
12
The Dream of a Common Language (Adrienne Rich)
The Dream of a Common Language (Adrienne Rich)
13
Leaves of Grass
Leaves of Grass
14
Autobiography of Red
Autobiography of Red
15
Antidote (Corey Van Landingham)
Antidote (Corey Van Landingham)
16
Dance Dance Revolution (Cathy Park Hong)
Dance Dance Revolution (Cathy Park Hong)
17
The Dream Songs (John Berryman)
The Dream Songs (John Berryman)
18
No Planets Strike (Josh Bell)
No Planets Strike (Josh Bell)
19
Metamorphoses
Metamorphoses
20
My Life (Lyn Hejinian)
My Life (Lyn Hejinian)
21
The Sonnets (Ted Berrigan)
The Sonnets (Ted Berrigan)
22
The Morning of the Poem (James Schuyler)
The Morning of the Poem (James Schuyler)
23
The Waste Land
The Waste Land
24
Lunch Poems (Frank O'Hara)
Lunch Poems (Frank O'Hara)
25
Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror (John Ashbery)
Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror (John Ashbery)
26
Wild Iris (Louise Gluck)
Wild Iris (Louise Gluck)
27
Alphabet (Inger Christensen)
Alphabet (Inger Christensen)
28
View With a Grain of Sand
View With a Grain of Sand
29
Native Guard (Natasha Trethewey)
Native Guard (Natasha Trethewey)
30
100 Selected Poems
100 Selected Poems
31
The Master Letters (Lucie Brock-Broido)
The Master Letters (Lucie Brock-Broido)
32
Life on Mars (Tracy K. Smith)
Life on Mars (Tracy K. Smith)
33
The Essential Rumi
The Essential Rumi
34
Ooga Booga
Ooga Booga
35
Head off & Split
Head off & Split
36
Annie Allen
Annie Allen
37
American Primitive (Mary Oliver)
American Primitive (Mary Oliver)
38
The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes
The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes
39
Spring and All
Spring and All
40
Collected Poems by Keats
Collected Poems by Keats
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