5 Poets You Should Devour (if you haven’t already)

by a contributor

from Gina Vaynshteyn, author of We Have Two More Months to Live:

  1. Mindy Nettifee
    Her name literally means “Nice Fairy” in German and thus, her poetry is blessed by infinite fairy dust magic. Mindy Nettifee is honest, poignant, and funny; her poems explore her upbringing and what it means to rise up when you have fallen so deeply and devastatingly. Read Rise of the Trust Fall or Sleepyhead Assassins.
  2. Daphne Gottlieb
    Daphne is in your face and her words punch through brick walls. Her poetry deals with feminism, brutality, and violence; it’s not a soft read and it’s a tremendous experience. She finds words and phrases for things that no one else can or would. Read Final Girl and find her on YouTube for the full Daphne experience.
  3. Ilya Kaminsky
    Ilya is one of my professors, so maybe I’m biased when I say that his poetry transcends music and goes beyond wavelengths. But I don’t think so. Ilya Kaminsky is a talented writer who has won almost every single poetry prize there is. Read Dancing in Odessa and be prepared to simultaneously sob and grin like a six year-old.
  4. Maggie Nelson
    Using the words “beautiful,” “serene,” and “complex” doesn’t even justify or half-heartedly describe Maggie Nelson’s poetry. In  Bluets, she writes this gorgeous dissertation on the color “blue” and its longing implications. I’ve never seen a poet do that. When I graduated college, I used one of the poems from her book, Something Bright, Then Holes to decorate my cap. I glittered with hope.
  5. Allison Benis White
    I was lucky enough to study under her during my undergrad. Allison is one of the nicest, smartest poets I know. Self-Portrait with Crayon is one of those books that masterfully illustrates absence, loneliness, and broken families, and she does this through the lens of Degas.