Poetry compels. It captures the unknown and the known, tries to make sense of the incomprehensible. And amazingly, can seal a single moment of time, a feeling, or a place into a few words to exist on a sheet of paper, defying age.
I haven't always loved poetry.
It's shocking to think of how I never would touch poetry, let alone understand it when it's now an art form I consume and practice daily; it's a sacred craft to me, and is what speaks to me most. My sophomore year of high school I swore to my English teacher that I would forever hate and never would write poetry.
How wrong was I.
Now every night I am enveloped by the mess of provoking words of poetry, exploring thoughts and ideas narrowed down into a few words or flourished into many. I sought a sense of comfort in the craft during the hard times of life. I found a voice for my opinion and my feelings through writing poetry.
Since then, I have collected quite a few collections from different poets. These are my favorites, the ones that are the most rewarding, filled with the sweetness of words that will whisper to you past the last page.
Madisen Kuhn, the author of "Eighteen Years" and her new collection "Please Don't Go Before I Get Better", is a force to be reckoned with. Her poetry is raw, honest, and vulnerable. She leaves out nothing from her trials of growing up in her first collection of poetry written over a few years, to her newest one covering heartbreak, falling out and falling back together, recovering, realizing, loving, etc. Her writing has grown with her and I have enjoyed reading both of her collections along with following her through her blog and her instagram.
Though I don't own any collection of Sylvia Plath's work, I have read a lot of her poetry and am constantly looking for more online. She is my favorite poet. The way that she twists and molds words, her allusions and the symbolism takes me away every time. She vulnerable and honest, and truly doesn't hide anything. Anyone can see her honesty in her poems like "Daddy".
"Ariel" is my favorite collection of her poetry. Another powerful poem of hers is "Lady Lazarus" in which she creates stunning metaphors and allusions and performs without even needing to be read out loud. She digs deeply into her feelings, alludes to fragments of her life which is a story on its own. You can listen to her read both poems online, but I recommend reading along with them.
Plath was an interesting person; a broken, ill fated poet who was taunted by her demons. But she will always remain one of my favorites.
Orion Carlotto. What an inspiring woman.
Her poetry is crafted elegantly to hit feelings with the precision of a needle. Her collection of poetry, "Flux", is a roller coaster of emotions, crossing into the lands of heartbreak, love and it's complications, and other relatable topics for any being. She writes with a sharp honesty and doesn't hold back. The passion that seeps through her poetry is addictive.
Lang Leav is one of the many poets that I follow on Instagram. I always loved the pieces that she posted, but it wasn't until recently that I took the leap to purchase her most recent collection "Sea of Strangers" and I don't regret it at all. She thrives in confronting thoughts, emotions, and ideas in her mix of poetry and prose.
The last, and probably my favorite collection that I own, is "Heart Talk; Poetic Wisdom For A Better Life" by Cleo Wade. Though I bought it only days ago, I have been stuck in the pages filled with her words. They are simple yet bold; small yet loud, reaching great heights to confront our fears and insecurities, and build a place of strength and passion and love within her readers, one poem at a time.
Nothing that I have read has been able to match her words, and none should. Every poet, every writer, every person is vastly different from the one before or the one after them, and yet, we find similarities that provoke familiarity even though we have lived lives that run wild and intertwine here and there.
Poetry always gets the best of me.
As always,
Rachel.
What's your opinion?