swap_horiz IRL Alternatives

1

frank: sonnets

Diane Seuss’s *frank: sonnets* is a 2021 poetry collection exploring grief and resilience through the established form o...

American Contemporary Pulitzer Sonnets

9.14 Excellent

2

Don't Call Us Dead

“Don’t Call Us Dead” is a poetry collection by Danez Smith exploring themes of Black queer life and survival. The work...

Black American Queer Award

9.08 Excellent

3

The Dream of a Common Language

Adrienne Rich’s 1978 collection, *The Dream of a Common Language*, offers a powerful examination of gender, power, and i...

Classic American Feminist Queer

8.93 Great

4

Night Sky with Exit Wounds

Night Sky with Exit Wounds is a debut poetry collection by American poet, Victoria Chang. The work explores themes of fa...

American Queer Debut Award

8.92 Great

5

The Tradition

The Tradition is a Pulitzer Prize-winning poetry collection by Trudier Harris. It explores themes of Black American iden...

Black American Queer Pulitzer

8.86 Great

6

Dunce

Dunce is a collection of American contemporary poems by James Harber. Noted for its experimental form and challenging su...

American Contemporary Experimental Award

8.81 Great

7

Native Guard

Natasha Trethewey's *Native Guard* is a 2006 poetry collection exploring themes of memory, loss, and identity through th...

American Contemporary 2006 Pulitzer

8.78 Great

8

Vita Nova

Louise Glück’s Vita Nova, published in 1999, is a significant collection of American poetry. The work examines profound...

American Contemporary Philosophical 1999

8.74 Great

9

Catalogue of Unabashed Gratitude

Catalogue of Unabashed Gratitude is a 2015 poetry collection by American poet Ross Gay, published by the University of P...

Nature American Contemporary Ode

8.72 Great

10

Thief in the Interior

Thief in the Interior is the 2016 debut poetry collection by American poet Phillip B. Williams. The collection addresses...

American Queer Debut Black Poetry

8.67 Great

11

The Renunciations

“The Renunciations” is a poetry collection by Casey Jacobsen exploring themes of grief and identity through a distinctly...

American Grief Queer Award

8.66 Great

12

The Triumph of Achilles

Louise Glück’s *The Triumph of Achilles* (1985) is a significant poetry collection exploring themes of loss, power, and...

Classical American Contemporary 1985

8.66 Great

13

The Simple Truth

Philip Levine’s *The Simple Truth* is a 1994 poetry collection examining American experience through the lens of working...

American Contemporary 1994 Pulitzer

8.55 Great

14

Thomas and Beulah

Rita Dove’s *Thomas and Beulah* offers a poignant portrait of two rural Americans through intimate verse. The collection...

American Contemporary Dove 1986

8.50 Great

15

Time Is a Mother

Ocean Vuong’s *Time Is a Mother* is a 2022 poetry collection exploring profound themes of loss, remembrance, and familia...

American Contemporary Grief Queer

8.35 Great

16

Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong

Ocean Vuong’s *Night Sky with Exit Wounds* is a powerful poetry collection examining themes of inherited trauma, familia...

American Contemporary Collection Poetry

8.00 Great

17

Crush by Richard Siken

Richard Siken's debut poetry collection, Crush, was published in 2005 after winning the Yale Series of Younger Poets Com...

American Contemporary Collection Poetry

7.91 Good

18

War of the Foxes

War of the Foxes is a 2015 poetry collection by American poet Richard Siken, published by Copper Canyon Press. It is his...

Lyric American Contemporary Queer

7.83 Good

19

The New Testament by Jericho Brown

The New Testament is a 2014 poetry collection by American poet Jericho Brown, published by Copper Canyon Press. The poem...

American Contemporary Collection Poetry

7.82 Good

20

Homie by Danez Smith

"Homie" is a 2020 poetry collection by American author Danez Smith. The poems explore themes of Blackness, queerness, fr...

American Contemporary Collection Poetry

7.73 Good