The books Southern indie booksellers are recommending to readers everywhere!

Poetry

Dog Show: Poems by Billy Collins

, , , , , ,
Dog Show: Poems by Billy Collins
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.
Get the audiobook

The poetry of Billy Collins never disappoints! A must read this holiday season. Even though I’m a cat person, I couldn’t put this book down. Readers will savor each and every poem along with the dog illustrations by Pamela Sztybel. A joyful read about man’s best friend.

Dog Show: Poems by Billy Collins, (List Price: $20, Random House, 9780593979419, November 2025)

Reviewed by Sheri Bancroft, novel. in Memphis, Tennessee

Dog Show: Poems by Billy Collins Read More »

All These Ghosts by Silas House

, , , , , ,
All These Ghosts by Silas House
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

House’s collection of poetry is full of beauty, of perfect lines that punch one in the gut and evoke profound feelings. His imagery immerses readers in the South, capturing every day life experiences, yet his poems are also memories of family love and sacrifice, of loss and grief. This collection inspires reflection on how we relate to the past, on how we grieve the loss of people and place, on how nature soothes us in troubled times, on how deeply we love. All These Ghosts is a remarkable gift to the world.

All These Ghosts by Silas House, (List Price: $22.95, Blair, 9781958888698, September 2025)

Reviewed by Lera Shawver, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

All These Ghosts by Silas House Read More »

All These Ghosts by Silas House

, , , , , ,
All These Ghosts by Silas House
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.
\

So glad that the former Kentucky Poet Laureate has a poetry collection at last! As with his fiction, House’s work resonates most deeply the closer he stays to his Appalachian roots. With poems like “Double Creek Girl” and “Lunchlady” he transports the reader to a hardscrabble start that was tough but also suffused with the joy of family ties and the beauty of nature. Poems about queerness, protest, timesickness and soup beans all exist side by side in this collection, as in life.

All These Ghosts by Silas House, (List Price: $22.95, Blair, 9781958888698, September 2025)

Reviewed by Sam Miller, Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky

All These Ghosts by Silas House Read More »

The New Book by Nikki Giovanni

, , ,
The New Book by Nikki Giovanni
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.
Get the audiobook

I loved this collection, which runs the gamut of thoughts on politics, justice, early family life and upbringing, personal history, everyday small moments to her life as a professor at and pride for Virginia Tech. I marveled over many of the pieces here, as Giovanni’s emotional and philosophical depth shone through the words and images. I’ve loved her poetry for a long time, but the offerings in this book revealed more of her inner world as an older woman who had seen and experienced so much. She found joy and beauty in small pleasures, relationships, honest work, and words. I love how she signs many of her letters “Poetically, Nikki.” What a force of passion and wisdom she was. A great gift for the poetry collector!

The New Book by Nikki Giovanni, (List Price: $26, William Morrow, 9780063447523, September 2025)

Reviewed by Sarah Goldstein, Old Town Books in Alexandria, Virginia

The New Book by Nikki Giovanni Read More »

The New Economy by Gabrielle Calvocoressi

,
The New Economy by Gabrielle Calvocoressi
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

In the poems of The New Economy, author Gabrielle Calvocoressi pours themself out in the repeated image of the cistern: a way to hold themselves and the weight they have been carrying. Readers who carry duality in their own body will resound with poems brimming with exquisite lines like: “I want a full opening / absurd in its bounty” and “Sometimes the things / that matter to you won’t matter to anyone but you. And that’s redemption.” Calvocoressi has once again written a book with heart, full of attention to the line and the body, that will fill a reader with deep feelings–among them, gratitude and hope.

The New Economy by Gabrielle Calvocoressi, (List Price: $22, Copper Canyon Press, 9781556597213, October 2025)

Reviewed by Julia Paganelli Marin, Pearl’s Books in Fayetteville, Arkansas

The New Economy by Gabrielle Calvocoressi Read More »

The Story of My Anger by Jasminne Mendez

, ,
The Story of My Anger by Jasminne Mendez
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.
Get the audiobook

Jasminne Mendez teaches an important tale of standing up for what you believe in and against those who seek to bring you down. The heroine, Yuliete Lopez, holds a strong sense of justice, thanks in part to the activism efforts of her older brother. She and her friends work diligently to raise awareness about the discrimination she has faced in theater, and protest the banning of books at the school.

The Story of My Anger by Jasminne Mendez, (List Price: $19.99, Dial Books, 9780593531877, September 2025)

Reviewed by Molly Reinhardt, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina

The Story of My Anger by Jasminne Mendez Read More »

Startlement by Ada Limón

, ,
Startlement by Ada Limón
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

Pulled from her previous six collections and spanning her 20-year career as a poet, Startlement will do just that with its precise beauty, lush and generous language, its wisdom about what it is to be living in this world. If you only buy one book of poetry this year, you’ll be glad it’s this!

Startlement by Ada Limón, (List Price: $28, Milkweed Editions, 9781639550517, September 2025)

Reviewed by Johanna Hynes, Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky

Startlement by Ada Limón Read More »

The Moon That Turns You Back by Hala Alyan

, ,
The Moon That Turns You Back by Hala Alyan
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.
Get the audiobook

Simultaneously experimental and universal, these poems focus on heritage, fertility, displacement, and so much more. At turns fierce, at others tender, this collection is one I’ll want to devour again and again.

The Moon That Turns You Back by Hala Alyan, (List Price: $17.99, Ecco, 9780063317475, March 2024)

Reviewed by Nath Mayes, Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky

The Moon That Turns You Back by Hala Alyan Read More »

After Image by Jenny George

, , , , ,
After Image by Jenny George
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.\

Naturalistic and atmospheric, these poems absolutely enveloped me.

After Image by Jenny George, (List Price: $17, Copper Canyon Press, 9781556596957, October 2024)

Reviewed by Andrew Preston, Coffee Tree Books in Morehead, Kentucky

After Image by Jenny George Read More »

Poetry Is Not a Luxury by Anonymous

, ,
Poetry Is Not a Luxury by Anonymous
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.
Get the audiobook

This is the kind of poetry collection you keep tucked in your pocket for when you need it–a poem a day keeps the dread about societal collapse away! Curated by the Instagram account of the same name (an Audre Lorde quote), Poetry Is Not a Luxury is a lovely, intentional anthology of poems divided by season, diverse in form and theme, featuring pretty much every poet I’ve ever studied and/or admired. These compact, comforting poems are accessible but substantial. I can see myself revisiting this book many times, when in need of a little inspiration!

Poetry Is Not a Luxury by Anonymous, (List Price: $24, Washington Square Press, 9781668062555, May 2025)

Reviewed by Julia Lewis, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia

Poetry Is Not a Luxury by Anonymous Read More »

Ecstasy: Poems by Alex Dimitrov

, , , ,
Ecstasy: Poems by Alex Dimitrov
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.
Get the audiobook

Ecstasy reads like a film, shot on an iPhone, bone-crushing and mesmerizing. Dimitrov is THE contemporary poet, and his work is unforgettably original.

Ecstasy: Poems by Alex Dimitrov, (List Price: $29, Knopf, 9780593802922, April 2025)

Reviewed by Emily Tarr, Thank You Books in Birmingham, Alabama

Ecstasy: Poems by Alex Dimitrov Read More »

Wrong Norma by Anne Carson

, ,
Wrong Norma by Anne Carson
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

Anne Carson’s finest book yet, in a genre all its own. These pieces have Carson’s iconic flair for classical motifs and absurdity, mingling with several heart-wrenching stories. If you’ve never read Anne Carson, I feel that of all her books, this is the place to start. If you’re a verifiable Carson-iac, you’ll be astounded, moved, and deeply in love with these stunningly original and brilliant stories & poems.

Wrong Norma by Anne Carson, (List Price: $17.95, New Directions, 9780811230346, February 2024)

Reviewed by Emily Tarr, Thank You Books in Birmingham, Alabama

Wrong Norma by Anne Carson Read More »

Washing My Mother’s Body by Joy Harjo

, , , ,
Washing My Mother's Body by Joy Harjo
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

A beautifully illustrated edition of one of Joy Harjo’s greatest poems – this book is a celebration of a mother’s life and a wrestling with the grief that comes after loss. Dana Tiger’s watercolors perfectly complement the emotions of the poem, elevating the text to something truly special. Full of emotion and memory, this book is a wonderful ode to a life – now gone but never forgotten.

Washing My Mother’s Body by Joy Harjo, (List Price: $17.99, Ten Speed Press, 9781984861368, April 2025)

Reviewed by Caleb Masters, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Washing My Mother’s Body by Joy Harjo Read More »

Scorched Earth by Tiana Clark

, , ,
Scorched Earth by Tiana Clark
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.
Get the audiobook

Tiana Clark’s words met me where I was — equal parts heartache, nostalgia, and ultimately healing. Accessible and lyrical, even when I couldn’t relate to the scope of Clark’s experiences, I still felt like I was offered a chair to sit and witness. The other relevant themes of sexuality and Black joy in this collection had me underlining and dog-earring almost every page.

Scorched Earth by Tiana Clark, (List Price: $17.99, Washington Square Press, 9781668052075, March 2025)

Reviewed by Morgan DePerno, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Scorched Earth by Tiana Clark Read More »

Knucklehead: Poems by Tony Keith Jr.

,
Knucklehead: Poems by Tony Keith Jr.
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.
Get the audiobook

A powerful and empowering collection of poetry. You can feel a sense of urgency as Tony Keith Jr beseeches the next generation to find their voice and speak up.

Knucklehead: Poems by Tony Keith Jr., (List Price: $19.99, Quill Tree Books, 9780063296053, February 2025)

Reviewed by Jessica Nock, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina

Knucklehead: Poems by Tony Keith Jr. Read More »

Scroll to Top