Poetry for the Pause
November often feels like the month we catch our breath before we plunge into the swirl and sparkle of the holiday season that is just around the corner. There’s still some light, and a few leaves on the trees, and maybe time to settle in with a little something to read before our calendars start to fill up again. I think poetry is perfect for this time of year. Here are five collections that I feel have November feelings.
Us From Nothing by Geoff Bouvier
Geoff Bouvier’s fascinating collection takes us from the Big Bang to social media. These wide-ranging poems unspool history and ask us to look at things anew. Really, are we that important in the very grand scheme of things? This book is perfect for late night contemplations on the meaning of it all.
In the Capital City of Autumn by Tim Bowling
A wonderful collection from the award-winning author, Tim Bowling, this is a rich, meditative collection filled with beautiful images and metaphors. In these poems salmon represent eternity and 3 a.m. brings wisdom. Rarely has a book engaged so thoroughly with all the themes of autumn.
The Shadow List by Jen Sookfong Lee
Novel-like, introspective, honest. The poems in Jen Sookfong Lee’s collection are brilliantly composed snapshots, perfect for pulling out and examining moments captured, or for prompting us to ask questions. What are we supposed to want versus what we really want. Like the poem’s narrator, this book invites us to make our own lists.
A Sparrow Came Down Resplendent by Stuart Ross
Only Stuart Ross can turn making cheese sandwiches into a touching moment, and the poems in this collection all hold that unique mix of heart and imagination. Pick up this book to think about something completely different, and yet profound. You’ll be refreshed and heartened.
The Description of the World by Johanna Skibsrud
Sometimes you want to cast the net wide and think deeply about everything. This collection from Johanna Skibsrud is perfect for that. These philosophical poems pose many questions, about language, about art, about the way we shape the world. A wonderful book to engage with the ideas that underpin so much of writing.
