National Poetry Month was founded in April 1996 and is celebrated by reading poems and highlighting the extraordinary legacy and ongoing achievement of American poets.

Here are a few new books of poetry by American poets to try:

Dissolve by Sherwin Bitsui. Bitsui is a Diné (Navajo) poet from the Navajo Reservation in White Cone, Arizona. His previous book of poetry, Flood Song, won an American Book Award. He currently teaches at the Institute of American Indian Arts.

 

 

Oculus by Sally Wen Mao. Mao was born in China and grew up in Boston and the Bay Area. She has written two books of poetry and her work has been published in numerous magazines. Mao is currently teaching in the Asian American Studies department at Hunter College.

 

 

Indecency by Justin Phillip Reed. Reed was born in South Carolina and his work often deals with what it means to be a queer black man in America. This is his first full-length book of poetry and it won the National Book Award in Poetry in 2018.

 

 

Nearing Ninety by Judith Viorst. Viorst grew up in New Jersey and is the author of a series of light verse books on aging. She is a noted children’s book author, but also writes fiction for adults. Viorst has won numerous awards, including the Foremother Award for Lifetime Achievement from the National Research Center for Women & Families in 2011.