Rupi Kaur’s Milk and Honey. If you haven’t read it, you’re at least familiar with the cover because it was posted on every girl’s (insert social media platform of your choice here) a couple of years back. Kaur’s collection of poems and prose quickly grew in popularity to become the Bible of young women, which isn’t a bad thing. Kaur’s writing openly explores subjects that women, or people in general, are taught to be taboo. Her words and illustrations beautifully paint pictures of erotica, abuse and body positivity to show the breaking and healing process her mind and body endured. #Revolutionary. But where do you turn after reading such a monumental collection? Whether you want to find poetry collections similar to Rupi Kaur’s or you’re looking to explore different styles, here are a couple of books I recommend once you’ve finished reading Milk and Honey for the 500th time.
The Chaos of Longing
Courtesy: Indigo
“there’s a universe swirling inside you. you have to learn to be your own earth, wind, fire and water. you are a natural phenomenon— not a natural disaster.”
The Chaos of Longing by K.Y. Robinson is a perfect follow-up to Milk and Honey. Robinson uses a similar structure for her poems while covering topics such as race, sexuality and self-love. This collection is absolutely heart wrenching and lyrically raw. Pick up a copy here.
Night Sky With Exit Wounds
Courtesy: Amazon
“Stars. Or rather, the drains of heaven – waiting. Little holes. Little centuries opening just enough for us to slip through.”
Night Sky with Exit Wounds was originally an assigned reading for my Poetic Techniques class, but it quickly became one of my spine-cracked, favorite-of-all-time books. Ocean Vuong is an absolute genius. He experiments with the structure of his poems, spacing them out in clever ways to fill up space. His emotions spill onto the page as he is completely open and vulnerable with the reader. If you’re interested in exploring the poetry genre, I implore you to read this book. Buy it here.
The Sun and Her Flowers
Courtesy: ScratchGoods
“If I’m not the love of your life I’ll be the greatest loss instead”
The Sun and Her Flowers. If you’re that desperate for more Rupi Kaur, you can always read her second book (if you haven’t already) and thankfully this collection is a lot thicker than the last. Buy it here.
Worlds of You
Courtesy: Twitter
“There was something tremendously powerful about her. Like the sea, it never mattered whether she was still and serene or in the throes of a storm, there was always a danger of drowning.”
Worlds of You by Beau Taplin is something I’m currently reading. Taplin speaks of past relationships and lessons learned. So far the writing is beautiful and relatable, and would you look at that cover? Visit this site to own it!
A Thought A Day
Courtesy: 8123
“I don’t know where you’re going, but I hope you have the best time getting there.”
If you’re interested in inspirational one-liners, I suggest you try out A Thought A Day by John the Ghost (a.k.a John O’Callaghan, lead singer of The Maine). If you’re more interested in structured poetry, check out his other book Sincerely, John The Ghost which comes with a download for a digital EP of his songs inspired by the poetry.
Queer Heartache
Courtesy: Amazon
“Let’s do whatever it takes / to take this queer heartache / and make us a home / that’s always unlocked.”
I had the honor of seeing Kit Yan perform slam poetry from his collection Queer Heartache when he visited FSU on Tuesday, Nov. 27. His performance was filled with raw emotion as he expressed what it was like to be a queer, transgender Asian-American. The audience laughed and cried along with him in a performance so powerful I absolutely HAD to include his collection in this list. PLEASE go check him out!