TOP

7 Notable November 2021 Poetry Releases to Order Now

As cool weather approaches, warm up with this month’s comforting and fascinating poetry releases. Poetry collections publishing this month take an introspective look at self-love, nature, and finding beauty amidst struggle. If you’re needing to reflect and connect to the spiritual side of poetry, sink into the season’s most evocative offerings. 

 

1. The How: Notes on the Great Work of Meeting Yourself by Yrsa Daley-Ward

Release date: November 2, 2021

 

Poetry meets journal prompt in the latest collection from Yrsa Daley-Ward, known for her writing on Beyoncé’s Black Is King and her two previous books. The vulnerability and honesty on display in all of Daley-Ward’s writing come through even more strongly in The How, a book that encourages readers to develop deeper, more knowing relationships with themselves. In The How, Daley-Ward looks beyond the self we edit for others, in constant search of the unfiltered truth. 

 

2. The Thicket by Kasey Jueds

Release date: November 2, 2021

 

Kasey Jueds, winner of the Agnes Lynch Starrett Prize, showcases the enduring beauty and urgency of nature poetry in her second collection, The Thicket. These incisive and ruminating poems compel readers to look past the distractions of modern life, placing them among weed-ridden roadsides, in flowing rivers, and in the rustling of trees. Through these images, Jueds interrogates what it means to exist, to change, and to search for connection. 

 

3. The Girl Singer by Marianne Worthington

Release date: November 2, 2021

 

The Girl Singer gives voice to a region that’s often overshadowed or stereotyped: Appalachia. Marianne Worthington writes from the powerful tradition and lineage of this area, making female folk and country singers central figures throughout the collection. These musical influences drive questions about gender, family, and the natural landscape. 

 

4. The Book of Healing by Najwa Zebian

Release date: November 9, 2021

 

The Book of Healing makes an excellent holiday gift, due to both its beautiful packaging and the beautiful themes explored within its pages. The collection brings readers along on the confessional, highly personal journey of healing, from self-forgiveness to forgiving others. Above all, the book unfolds as a letter to the self, with universal insights every reader can relate to. 

 

5. I Hope This Finds You Well by Kate Baer

Release date: November 9, 2021

 

What does it mean to create new art from words constructed to tear you down? Kate Baer, New York Times bestselling author of What Kind of Woman, fully delves into this impulse in I Hope This Finds You Well. Baer takes hateful, misogynist social media messages sent to her by men and reconfigures them into fierce, revisionist erasure poetry. In doing so, Baer shows how making art will always be about speaking out and establishes her poetry as an act of empowerment. 

 

6. The Gift of Everything by Lang Leav

Release date: November 16, 2021

 

Both devoted Lang Leav fans and newcomers will find delight in The Gift of Everything, a collectible clothbound book that combines poems from her previous works, including the bestselling Love & Misadventure and Love Looks Pretty on You. This establishes new connections and parallels in Leav’s works, as well as anthologizes her best accomplishments in both poetry and prose. 

 

7. Playing with Matches by Michael Faudet

Release date: November 23, 2021

 

Playing with Matches marks another collectible edition from one of today’s most popular poets. The bestselling writer curates favorite works from his five other collections, in addition to introducing readers to 35 new works of poetry and prose. Alongside these pieces of writing, Faudet also unveils original, black-and-white poetry, crafting a multimodal work that gives new insight into his inspirations. 

 

Wanting to catch up on even more fantastic poetry reads? Check out last month’s October 2021 poetry roundup.