The Sweet 16 Poetry Books of 2023
This year I read 16 sweet poetry books which were all written beautifully in their own way. It is hard to have a favorite when they are all so good, but I enjoyed The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur the best. The book just spoke to me and deeply resonated with me in many ways as it had to do with themes including love, grief, and empowerment. Rupi Kaur just has a way of doing that with her words. As does Atticus whose words I felt deeply connected with when I read Lvoe and Love Her Wild. I just love the way Atticus writes about love and relationships. Love Her Wild is how I feel most women want to be treated in relationships so it’s nice to know there are great men like Atticus still out there. I thoroughly enjoyed Wilder Poetry’s Nocturnal which covered some themes of darkness and heartbreak. I’m very much a night owl so I really like how it alluded to sleepless nights and rediscovering yourself. The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran was a book my father gifted me for my Birthday. It happens to be the 70th book I read this year and I finished it on my dad’s Birthday. It’s one of those classics that is one hundred years old (published in 1923) and is a collection of poetic essays that cover everything a human goes through in their lifetime. The Way Forward was published this year in 2023 and I can’t get enough of the way Young Pueblo writes. It felt like a mix of poetry and therapy all in one as he gives great advice on how to move your life forward in a positive direction admist turmoil and hardship. He also gives great advice on how to deal with break-ups and relationships with others and yourself. Irish Poetry was one of the last books I read in 2023 and it was really good reading poems by literary greats like Oscar Wilde, James Joyce, W.B. Yeats, Seamus Heaney, and Katharine Tynan. It really makes me me feel connected to my Irish roots reading about great literature from people that were born in Ireland. Overall, there weren’t any poetry books I read this year that I didn’t enjoy. They all sound poetic, but each poet has their own writing style and their own way of telling their story relating to the themes that resonate with them. That’s what makes each of these 16 books so sweet. I’m glad I was able to read 16 incredible poetry books and I look forward to reading more poetry from even more literary greats in 2024.