LibGuides: National Poetry Month: Poetry Suggestions

California Poets

Suggestions for poets that are local to the Central Valley, Bay Area, Los Angeles and Northern California.

Alkali Sink by Stella Beratlis
Call Number: 811 BER
ISBN: 9781939639066
Publication Date: 2015-04-02
Poetry. California Interest. In ALKALI SINK, Stella Beratlis's debut poetry collection, themes of family, loss, and the natural world weave together to create a universe of dichotomies at once dangerous and intimate, walking the line between the catastrophic and the sublime.
Must be Present to Win by Meg Withers
Call Number: 811.6 WIT
ISBN: 0977803473
Publication Date: 2006-09-01
Drawing from a multitude of language bodies, from branches of science that include physics and astronomy to visual art and references to classical music, Meg Withers achieves a form of poetic synchrony that deepens our relationship to this wondrous Universe and all of the ever-expanding potential that lies within our reach.
Junior College by Gary Soto
Call Number: Nonfiction ; 811.54 SOT
ISBN: 9780811815437
Publication Date: 1997-03-01
National Book Award finalist Gary Soto presents a collection of 40 new poems that will bring a wry smile of recognition to anyone who has endured the misguided realities of childhood and adolescence.
Slouching Toward Nirvana by Charles Bukowski
Call Number: Nonfiction ; 811.54 BUK
ISBN: 9780060577032
Publication Date: 2005-01-18
Charles Bukowski is one of America's best-known contemporary writers of poetry and prose, and, many would claim, its most influential and imitated poet.

Pulitzer Prize Poets and Collections

The Pulitzer Prize for Poetry is awarded annually to an American poet for a distinguished book of original verse.

Postcolonial Love Poem by Natalie Diaz
Call Number: 811.6 DIA
ISBN: 9781644450147
Publication Date: 2020-03-03
WINNER OF THE 2021 PULITZER PRIZE IN POETRY
The Tradition by Jericho Brown
Call Number: Nonfiction ; 811.6 BRO
ISBN: 9781556594861
Publication Date: 2019-04-02
WINNER OF THE 2020 PULITZER PRIZE FOR POETRY
Be With by Forrest Gander
Call Number: Nonfiction ; 811.54 GAN
ISBN: 9780811226059
Publication Date: 2018-08-28
PULITZER PRIZE WINNER 2019.
Half-Light by Frank Bidart
Call Number: Nonfiction ; 811.54 BID
ISBN: 9780374125950
Publication Date: 2017-08-15
WINNER OF THE 2018 PULITZER PRIZE IN POETRY WINNER OF THE 2017 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR POETRY
Digest by Gregory Pardlo
Call Number: ebook
ISBN: 9781935536505
Publication Date: 2014-10-07
WINNER OF PULITZER PRIZE 2016

Poetry Anthologies

Suggested poetry collections that bring together multiple authors within a era, genre, or theme.

LGBTQ Fiction and Poetry from Appalachia by Jeff Mann (Editor); Julia Watts (Editor)
Call Number: 811.009 LGB
ISBN: 9781946684929
Publication Date: 2019-04-01
This collection, the first of its kind, gathers original and previously published fiction and poetry from lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer authors from Appalachia.
When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through by Joy Harjo (Editor); LeAnne Howe (As told to); Jennifer Foerster (As told to)
Call Number: 811.008 WHE
ISBN: 9780393356809
Publication Date: 2020-08-25
United States Poet Laureate Joy Harjo gathers the work of more than 160 poets, representing nearly 100 indigenous nations, into one momentous volume.
The Complete Poetry by Maya Angelou
Call Number: Nonfiction ; 811 ANG
ISBN: 9780812997873
Publication Date: 2015-03-31
The beauty and spirit of Maya Angelou's words live on in this complete collection of poetry.
Collected Poems of Sylvia Plath by Sylvia Plath; Ted Hughes (Introduction by)
Call Number: 811.54 PLA
ISBN: 9780060909000
Publication Date: 1981-12-25
This collection contains 224 poems, including a selection of her very earliest work. Also use: Crossing the River (1971), a volume that contains the poet's last works.
California Poetry by Dana Gioia (Editor); Chryss Yost (Editor); Jack Hicks (Editor)
Call Number: 811.008 CAL
ISBN: 9781890771720
Publication Date: 2003-01-01
An anthology of the finest poetry by California authors from Bret Harte, Ina Coolbrith, and Robinson Jeffers to Charles Bukowski and Gary Snyder, as well as Francisco Alarcon, Robert Hass, and many more.