We Recommend
April 2021
April is poetry month
Poetry defined - the interplay of words & rhythm
Whether a collection of poems by a well-known author or a novel written in verse, these books are sure to be different than your typical best-seller. Click on the book cover to place a request for the book. Where available, clickable links to ebooks and audiobooks from https://ebccls.overdrive.com/ are included (BCCLS library card required).
A Thousand Mornings by Mary Oliver
Beginning with her first poetry book in 1963, Oliver has chronicled her enthrallment to the living world, especially the land and sea surrounding Provincetown, Massachusetts, and her spiritual evolution. In her newest collection, her compact poems are conversational and teasing, yet their taproots reach deeply into the aquifers of religion, philosophy, and literature. (Booklist Online September 15, 2012) 
And We Came Outside and Saw the Starts Again edited by Ilan Stavans
Passionate voices ring out from lockdowns around the world. Mexican American writer and educator Stavans has gleaned powerful responses to the pandemic from 52 contributors who share their experiences in deftly crafted essays, poems, photographs, and artwork. (Kirkus Reviews August 11, 2020)
How to Fly in Ten Thousand Easy Lessons by Barbara Kingsolver
In her second poetry collection, Barbara Kingsolver offers reflections on the practical, the spiritual, and the wild. She begins with "how to" poems addressing everyday matters such as being hopeful, married, divorced; shearing a sheep; praying to unreliable gods; doing nothing at all; and of course, flying. (BCCLS online catalog)
Dearly by Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood's poetry is introspective and personal in tone, but wide-ranging in topic. In poem after poem, she casts her unique imagination and unyielding, observant eye over the landscape of a life carefully and intuitively lived. Atwood is one of the very few writers equally accomplished in fiction and poetry.  This collection is a stunning achievement that will be appreciated by fans of her novels and poetry readers alike.
That was Now, This is Then
by Vijay Seshadri
Recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for his poetry collection 3 Sections (2013), Seshadri is known for elaborate lines and evocative images, and he has built a career around the unexpected turns his lyrics often take. This new collection is no exception, conjuring small moments of intense personal intimacy, as well as broad snapshots of surprising expanses, as when the murmuration of bureaucracy in a downtown office building transforms into the reverberating echoes among upside-down bats in a limestone cavern. (Booklist Online September 25, 2020) ebook
Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur
Milk and honey is a collection of poetry and prose about survival. About the experience of violence, abuse, love, loss, and femininity. The book is divided into four chapters, and each chapter serves a different purpose. Deals with a different pain. Heals a different heartache. Milk and honey takes readers through a journey of the most bitter moments in life and finds sweetness in them because there is sweetness everywhere if you are just willing to look (Amazon.com).
Novel in Verse
The Lehman Trilogy
by Stafano Massini
This 2012 Italian radio play turned into a full-length play that has been a hit throughout Europe, was set for Broadway when COVID-19 hit. This free-verse novel examines, the rise, efflorescence, and fall of Lehman Brothers, the massive investment bank whose crash in 2007 spurred the decision that some banks are “too big to fail.” On stage, just three actors perform it; on the page, it’s a panoramic circus, and ravishing, rollicking reading all the way. (Booklist Online July 17, 2020) ebook
The Flying Mountain
by Christopher Ransmyr
In a publishing world that is all too full of realist novels written in undistinguished prose, discernible only by their covers, The Flying Mountain stands out--if for no other reason than that it consists entirely of blank verse. And that form is most suitable for the epic voyage Christoph Ransmayr relates: The Flying Mountain tells the story of two brothers who leave the southwest coast of Ireland on an expedition to Transhimalaya, the land of Kham, and the mountains of eastern Tibet--looking for an untamed, unnamed mountain that represents perhaps the last blank spot on the map. (BCCLS online catalog)
Here is the Beehive by Sarah Crossan
The adult debut of Irish author Crossan, who has won awards for her YA novels, is a novel written as a free-form poem, voiced by Ana, whose story begins with the news that her lover has died. She and Connor met when he sought her legal counsel in drafting his will; now, she hears of Connor's death from his wife, Rebecca, who called the office to begin settling his affairs with no knowledge of who Ana is. Divided into five parts, the novel bridges time and action in the space between phrases, Crossan's poetic style lending itself to a certain spareness as well as a twist on the tale of a midlife love affair. While Connor's family situation is known from the beginning, Ana's is revealed more slowly, as are the fits and starts of their years-long romance. Further suspense is added by Ana's willful edging into Rebecca's life, and the circumstances of Connor's death, which aren't fully known until the book's ending. Supporting characters like Rebecca and those closest to Ana enrich the story. (Booklist Online October 23, 2020)
These lists and past recommendations can always be found at www.tenaflylibrary.org/adult-booklists