We hope you love our recommendations! Some may have been sent as samples, but all were independently selected by our editors. Just FYI, BuzzFeed and its publishing partners may collect a share of sales and/or other compensation from the links on this page.

    16 Poetry Books You Should Add To Your Reading List

    Everything from love and faith to identity and revolution.

    Shivani Agrawal
    by Shivani Agrawal

    BuzzFeed Staff

    1. The Dogs That I Have Kissed by Trista Mateer – ₹882

    amazon.in

    In this collection, best-selling author Trista Mateer weaves religious imagery and heartache together. These poems are for those who are strangely hopeful despite having served the tougher portion of love.

    2. If They Come For Us by Fatimah Asghar – ₹331

    amazon.in

    This gripping collection of poems is a mediation of identity, displacement and loss as Asghar tries to define and assert her place as a queer brown woman in the confines of white America.

    3. Yesterday I Was The Moon by Noor Unnahar – ₹250

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    This book by Noor Unnahar, a young female poet from Pakistan, is a moving account of breaking down and rebuilding yourself through teenage and adulthood. Her poems revolve around love, loss, belonging, and the catharsis of finding your voice.

    4. Mouthful Of Forevers by Clementine Von Radics – ₹499

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    Titled after the poem that broke Tumblr and has since inspired wedding vows, songs, and paintings, Mouthful Of Forevers is a collection of poems about the uncertainties and beauties of life that speak to an entire generation of young adults.

    5. To Drink Coffee With A Ghost by Amanda Lovelace – ₹466

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    In this book, Amanda Lovelace explores the complicated memory of her relationship with her now-deceased mother – "You cannot have a funeral for your mother without also having a funeral for yourself."

    6. Small Talk by Devanshi Khetarpal – ₹200

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    The book is a collection of poems written over five years in various different cities – all bound by the themes of loss, belonging, and coming to terms with change.

    7. When You Ask Me Where I'm Going by Jasmin Kaur – ₹294

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    This book tells the story of a young immigrant mother escaping years of trauma and living undocumented while raising her daughter in North America. It deals with identity through the lens of culture, feminism, and stigma.

    8. Wet Grass Vanilla by Alakku (Kindle Edition) – ₹70

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    Written about his wife who was then living in India, this collection of poems by Alakkuu takes you through the sweetness of love, the sourness of heartbreak and everything in between.

    9. If My Body Could Speak by Blythe Baird (Kindle Edition) – ₹795

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    This book is a celebration of girlhood through the exploration of sexuality, trauma, body image, and acceptance.

    10. Depression & Other Magic Tricks by Sabrina Benaim – ₹941

    amazon.in

    A Button Poetry favourite, Sabrina Benaim's Explaining My Depression To My Mother has garnered 8 million views since it was posted in 2014. In her debut poetry collection, she digs deep into topics like mental health, love, and family.

    11. The Future by Neil Hilborn – ₹894

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    Another Button Poetry gem, Neil Hilborn's poem OCD took the internet by storm with over 14 million views. In this book, Hilborn talks of heartbreak, nostalgia, and mental health. He reminds readers that we all eventually drift back together.

    12. Peluda by Melissa Lozada-Oliva (Kindle Edition) – ₹678

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    In Peluda (hairy beast), spoken word poet Melissa Lozada-Oliva untangles the relationship between body hair and femininity through the intersectional lens of family, class, and her Latina identity.

    13. Teaching My Mother How To Give Birth by Warsan Shire (Kindle Edition) – ₹201

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    Warsan Shire's Teaching My Mother How To Give Birth heralded the revival of modern poetry as we know it. With homage to her family's refugee experience, her work immerses readers in gut-wrenching images of war and survival.

    14. Night Sky With Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuyong – ₹995

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    Ocean Vuyong's award-winning poetry collection digs deep into family memory to traverse the plains of war, love, and change.

    15. Life Of The Party by Olivia Gatwood (Kindle Edition) – ₹686

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    In this book, spoken word poet Olivia Gatwood questions the real and the imagined in a world that romanticises violence against women. Her work is fun and rebellious and scared and real.

    16. Calling A Wolf A Wolf by Kaveh Akbar – ₹367

    amazon.in

    Recommended by the Poetry Book Society and shortlisted for the Felix Dennis Prize for the Best First Collection, this book navigates addiction and thirst – for alcohol, for other bodies, for knowledge and for life.