“Poetry is the way we help give name to the nameless so it can be thought. The farthest external horizons of our hopes and fears are cobbled by our poems, carved from the rock experiences of our daily lives.” — Audre Lorde
I believe in the power of poetry. I talk a lot about paying attention—noticing—and place, and poets are masters of both.
As a prose writer, reading poetry is an essential part of my writing life. Poetry helps me see the world more clearly and in doing so, helps me see my own thoughts more clearly. It sharpens my attention and resets me. It reminds me what language can do when it’s distilled and clear.
This month, as part of my Recommended Reads, I’m highlighting five female poets published with indie or university presses.
It’s important to me to highlight female voices because the gender gap in the writing world is still very real. It’s important to me to highlight writers outside of mainstream publishing because there is a lot of interesting, risk-taking work happening there that I think should be elevated.
“There’s so much rage in the world now and I’m finding poems to be the place where I want to stay. I rage and rage and then write a poem and return to breathing.” — Ada Limón
Reading poetry, has become a place for me to return to and to pay attention.
Here are five books I love, in alphabetical order:
Mary Ardery, Level Watch. June Road Press, 2025.
I have been obsessing about this book since it came out. Ardery writes about her time as a guide for a women’s substance abuse recovery program in the Blue Ridge Mountains. These poems show realities and power of landscape and recovery. Place and memory braid together here in a way that is haunting, and the ghosts in these poems seem dig into you.
Molly Gaudry, Desire: A Haunting. Ampersand Books, 2018.
This book came on my radar years ago, and does exactly what it promises. The poems spiral, fragment, and return, circling into strange emotions. It’s disorienting but feels very intentional and you end up feeling pulled deeper into something you can’t resist. There are also ghosts in this one, too.
Christine Gelineau, Almanac: A Murmuration. State University of New York Press, 2025.
Gelineau is an accomplished poet and the essays in this collection reflect that. Centered on her horse farm in the upper Susquehanna River Valley, this work seems to moves in patterns—of seasons, of human experiences. Like a murmuration itself, the pieces gather and shift creating meaning through accumulation.
Didi Jackson, My Infinity. Red Hen Press, 2024.
Often set in the Green Mountains of Vermont, Jackson’s poems are steeped in landscape, memory, and grief. The natural world feels deeply entangled with emotion, with loss, with what it means to keep going. I love the juxtaposition of this work, how she delves into themes like beauty and the grotesque, joy and sorrow.
Bianca Stone, What Is Otherwise Infinite. Tin House, 2022.
If you’re not familiar with Stone’s work, you’re in for a treat. She is strange and powerful in the best way. I had the pleasure of hearing her read for several times and she emits this energy that feels electric. This book moves through topics like motherhood, identity, intimacy, and danger, pushing boundaries along the way.
I don’t always know what is going to draw me in—I just know when something hits. So I read widely, and never cease to be amazed at what strikes.
As Emily Dickinson famously said:
“If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry.”
That’s what I’m looking for.
Who are your favorite poets or favorite works from poets?
Bonus points for women poets or poets publishing with indie/university presses. Drop them below ⬇️
Thank you so much, Aurora!!💓