The books Southern indie booksellers are recommending to readers everywhere!

Poetry

Washing My Mother’s Body by Joy Harjo

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Washing My Mother's Body by Joy Harjo
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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

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Scorched Earth by Tiana Clark

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Scorched Earth by Tiana Clark
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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

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Knucklehead: Poems by Tony Keith Jr.

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Knucklehead: Poems by Tony Keith Jr.
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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

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Make Me Rain by Nikki Giovanni

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Make Me Rain by Nikki Giovanni
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I would not call myself a poetry reader, but there is something about Nikki Giovanni’s poetry that speaks to me so deeply. Sentimental and comforting, Make Me Rain covers a wide range of topics from quilts and rising bread to the social change we so desperately need in our world. Giovanni’s wisdom and understanding once again prove why she is such a poetic powerhouse – and leave the reader wanting to explore her past work again, too.

Make Me Rain by Nikki Giovanni, (List Price: $18.99, William Morrow, 9780062995292, September 2021)

Reviewed by Beth Seufer Buss, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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In Praise of Mystery by Ada Limón

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In Praise of Mystery by Ada Limón
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U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón and acclaimed illustrator Peter Sís have joined forces to craft one of the most impactful children’s books I’ve read all year. In Praise of Mystery started as a poem from Limón that will be inscribed onto NASA’s newest spacecraft, planning to orbit Jupiter and its moons in the Fall of 2024. Translated onto the page, the poem becomes a story of hope and guidance, teaching the reader to accept and invite the unknown rather than fear it. At times prayer-esque, the love and comfort surrounding this story, paired with gorgeous sketches, will make this a bedtime staple. Timeless and transcendent, Limón’s venture into children’s literature, paired with Sís’ illustrations will be cherished for generations to come.

In Praise of Mystery by Ada Limón, (List Price: $18.99, Norton Young Readers, 9781324054009, October 2024)

Reviewed by Grace Sullivan, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia

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In Praise of Mystery by Ada Limón

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In Praise of Mystery by Ada Limón
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I love seeing more poems become children’s books. This one by Ada Limon captures her magic of reminding us of the wonder around us and the wonder within ourselves.

In Praise of Mystery by Ada Limón, (List Price: $18.99, Norton Young Readers, 9781324054009, October 2024)

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

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Bluff by Danez Smith

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Bluff by Danez Smith
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In Bluff, Danez Smith reckons with the role of art and poetry as a poet from the Twin Cities in 2020 and beyond. Bluff offers a meditation on the power of art against a world and a system designed in opposition. Particularly, the poems and mini-essays in this collection offer a reckoning of the Twin Cities and Minnesota through its history, its present, and its hopeful future. In “My Beautiful End of the World” – my favorite from Bluff – Smith asks “Who does this country believe deserves beauty? Who is allowed nature?” – a question that metonymously stands in for the question at the core of this collection – who is allowed beauty?

Bluff by Danez Smith, (List Price: $18, Graywolf Press, 9781644452981, August 2024)

Reviewed by Mikey LaFave, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

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May You Love and Be Loved by Cleo Wade

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May You Love and Be Loved by Cleo Wade
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A poem, a prayer, a plea to the universe. Beautifully illustrated and sure the be a beloved gift.

May You Love and Be Loved by Cleo Wade, (List Price: $18.99, Feiwel & Friends, 9781250873958, May 2024)

Reviewed by Michelle Cavalier, Cavalier House Books in Denham Springs, Louisiana

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The Brush by Hernández-Pachón, Eliana

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The Brush by Eliana Hernández-Pachón
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Powerful and devastating. The language is so concise and brilliantly moving. Every word makes a massive impact in this slim, arresting poem.

The BrushThe Brush by Eliana Hernández-Pachón, (List Price: $17, Archipelago, 9781953861863, March 2024)

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

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Poetrees by Douglas Florian

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Poetrees by Douglas Florian
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Perfectly positioned for Poetry Month and Earth Day, Poetrees is a poetry book, an art book, and a science primer all in one. From the humble seed to the Giant Sequoia there’s sure to be an ode to your favorite forest giant.

PoetreesPoetrees by Douglas Florian, (List Price: $8.99, Beach Lane Books, 9781665957946, April 2024)

Reviewed by Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina

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woke up no light by Leila Mottley

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woke up no light by Leila Mottley
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What I hope is the beginning of a Leila Mottley renaissance, woke up no light is a poetry collection that solidifies Mottley’s status as one of our time’s best new young writers. Split into four sections defined as girlhood, neighborhood, falsehood, and womanhood, Mottley’s poetry reads as tender yet raw, her musings especially on womanhood and coming into your own are glittering pieces of writing that any reader can acknowledge are full of both heart, hardships, and truth. A remarkable collection for people looking to get into poetry, or for the established readers of the genre!

woke up no light by Leila Mottley, (List Price: $28, Knopf, 9780593319710, April 2024)

Reviewed by Grace Sullivan, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia

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The Blue Mimes by Sara Daniele Rivera

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The Blue Mimes by Sara Daniele Rivera
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A bilingual and elegiac collection that explores transnational sorrow with an openness to delving into the gulfs loss creates, rather than succumbing to them. Memories of family and political histories intertwine with cultural unrest and the sensorially intimate to form poems with a sketchy quality—much like the drawings in the book—with deep feeling and sense of possibility. Disarmingly beautiful.

The Blue Mimes by Sara Daniele Rivera, (List Price: $17, Graywolf Press, 9781644452790, April 2024)

Reviewed by Luis Correa, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

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Devotions by Mary Oliver

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Devotions by Mary Oliver
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Mary Oliver writes poetry for the soul. I have never felt so seen that when I read the words she has so lovingly crafted. Her poetry is simple and uncomplicated but will strum your heartstrings in perfect rhythm. Oliver understands the human need for unconditional forgiveness.

DevotionsDevotions by Mary Oliver, (List Price: $20, Penguin Books, 9780399563263, November 2020)

Reviewed by Faith Skowronnek, Epilogue: Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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Judas Goat by Gabrielle Bates

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Judas Goat by Gabrielle Bates
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This collection is a welcomed haunting, visceral and animal, an aching in your bones no matter how tenderly you’re held. Some of my favorites read like a whispered denunciation, so deeply intimate and all the more powerful, as though excavating the self, a history, and society itself with a partner rather than an audience. Both rooted in place and observed from a distance, these poems balance rich imagery with the complexity of memory, the language nearing the ethereal.

Judas Goat by Gabrielle Bates, (List Price: $16.95, Tin House Books, 9781953534644, January 2023)

Reviewed by Miranda Sanchez, Epilogue: Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur

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Milk and Honeyby Rupi Kaur
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In Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur, you can truly feel what she felt as she wrote these poems. It is about the ups and downs of a breakup and learning to love yourself by yourself. It is a beautiful collection of poems.

Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur, (List Price: $19.99, Andrews McMeel Publishing, 9781449496364, September 2018)

Reviewed by Alex Reno, The Blytheville Book Company in Blytheville, Arkansas

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