For those who appreciate the art of poetry, the few lines that often make up a single poem may not be enough to satiate their poetic cravings.
It’s times like those that you may wish to curl up with an entire book of poems, and luckily for you, we’ve rounded up the best of the best poetry books, including both classic and contemporary writers.
Best Poetry Books
Below are 20 of the best poetry books if all time. If you’re looking for a comprehensive introduction to poetry, these books offer a great starting point.
1. The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri
No list of the best poetry books would be complete without Dante’s epic Divine Comedy, which traces an unforgettable journey through the rings of Hell, Purgatory, and on to Paradise.
Along the way, we encounter Biblical and historical figures who have met their fates in one of these three levels. Completed in 1320, the epic narrative was divided into 3 parts, but here they are gathered into a single volume.
2. Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
In 1855, Walt Whitman published the first edition of Leaves of Grass in 1855, using an innovative free verse style and subjects that were labeled “immoral” at the time. His poems celebrate nature, love, the human body, and friendship.
This original edition includes the 12 poems from the debut 1855 edition, including beloved works such as “Song of Myself” and “I Sing the Body Electric.”
3. The Complete Poetry Of Edgar Allan Poe by Edgar Allan Poe
Although best known for his short stories, we can’t forget that Edgar Allan Poe was quite an influential poet as well, standing alongside celebrated English romantic poets such as Shelley, Byron, and Keats.
Among his most notable pieces are “To Helen” and “Annabel Lee.” Today his dark style speaks to contemporary readers, especially in works like “The Haunted Palace” and “The Conqueror Worm,” with their images of madness and the macabre.
4. Robert Frost’s Poems by Robert Frost
This collection contains all of Robert Frost’s best-known poems, as well as several underrated ones. His work celebrates the New England countryside, his appreciation for common folk, and his brilliant understanding of the human condition.
Revisit ‘Birches,’ ‘Mending Wall,’ ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, and ‘The Gift Outright,’ which the poet recited at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy, plus over 100 other beautiful poems.
5. 100 Selected Poems by e.e. cummings
100 Selected Poems contains some of e.e. cummings’s “wittiest and most profound” poems. Spanning 35 years of writing, these selected works showcase his playful lyricism and inventive style.
The poems demonstrate his creative and intentional departures from traditional poetic structure, as well as the lavish imagery and precision that has earned him the respect of poetry lovers the world over.
6. The Complete Poetry by Maya Angelou
This unmatched collection features the complete works of the brilliant poet, activist, and teacher, Maya Angelou.
Dive in to Angelou’s meditations on the African American experience, or her tributes to womanhood with iconic poems like “Still I Rise.” Here you’ll also find “On the Pulse of Morning,” which she read at President Clinton’s inauguration.
7. Selected Poems by Langston Hughes
Since the 1926 publication of his first book of poems, The Weary Blues, Langston Hughes has electrified readers and launched a renaissance in black writing.
His work pays homage to the invisible Black men and women of America, illuminating the stories of slaves, musicians, the poor, and disenfranchised. The poems in this collection were selected by Hughes himself.
8. Ariel by Sylvia Plath
Ariel was actually Plath’s last work before her tragic suicide. It contains some of her most memorable poems, including “Lady Lazarus,” “Daddy,” “Edge,” and “Paralytic.”
Although at times unforgivingly forceful in her vengeful tone, Plath also demonstrates tenderness and vulnerability.
9. The Waste Land and Other Poems by T.S. Eliot
“The Waste Land” is Eliot’s epic and perhaps best-known poem. It alludes to works of the past, while commenting on Eliot’s present. However, it’s not the only landmark work featured in this collection, as it sits alongside “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.”
Even 111 years later, in a true mark of poetic genius, that poem manages to not feel dated, but rather timely. It also marked a significant shift in poetry from the Romantic to the Modernist era.
10. The Essential Neruda: Selected Poems by Pablo Neruda
This 2004 volume was published to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Chilean Nobel Prize winner Pablo Neruda.
Carefully translated and curated by a team of Neruda scholars, this collection offers side-by-side Spanish and English versions for 50 of the poet’s most prolific works. It’s an excellent starting point for those just getting acquainted with Neruda’s poetry.
11. The Penguin Anthology of Twentieth-Century American Poetry
Consider this anthology the ultimate “playlist” of the best American poetry of the 1900s. Here you’ll find Frost, Stein, Merwin, and many more that span varying styles, voices, themes, and cultures.
Enjoy a dynamic and cohesive portrait of modern American poetry, edited by Pulitzer Prize-winner and former Poet Laureate Rita Dove.
12. The Essential Rumi by Rumi
Rumi, a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian, and Sufi mystic, is often cited as the best-selling poet in the United States.
This revised and expanded edition of The Essential Rumi includes more than 80 never-before-published poems, but is also considered the definitive selection of this icon’s beautiful and mystical poetry.
13. The Complete Sonnets and Poems by William Shakespeare
Arguably the most recognized name in poetry and theater, Shakespeare even has a type of sonnet named for him!
In this, the only fully annotated and modernized edition to bring together the master’s sonnets (as well as all his poems) in one volume, readers can enjoy a deeper understanding of his overarching body of work.
The book also features a full introduction that discusses his development as a poet, plus detailed notes that explain his language and allusions.
14. On Love and Barley: Haiku of Basho by Basho
Basho was a 17th-century Japanese master of the haiku. Each of his brief but powerful 3-line poems evokes natural imagery, from cherry blossoms to winter snow.
On Love and Barley presents Basho’s best works that signify the smallness of human life when compared with “the vastness and drama of nature.”
15. Songs of Innocence and Experience by William Blake
“Blake was one of the finest craftsmen of his time, an artist for whom art and poetry were inextricably linked. He was an independent and rebellious thinker, who abhorred pretension and falsity in others.
First published as a combined version in 1794, this collection was originally produced as illuminated books, hand-printed, and colored by Blake himself. In fact, each poem had an accompanying illustration.
Blakes “Songs of Innocence” reveal an innocent imagination untarnished by worldliness, while his “Songs of Experience” convey sentiments of indignation and pity for the suffering of others, as we can see in this excerpt from “Holy Thursday (Songs of Experience)”:
Is this a holy thing to see,
In a rich and fruitful land,
Babes reduced to misery,
Fed with cold and usurous hand?
Is that trembling cry a song?
Can it be a song of joy?
And so many children poor?
It is a land of poverty!
And their sun does never shine.
And their fields are bleak & bare.
And their ways are fill’d with thorns.
It is eternal winter there.
16. The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson by Emily Dickinson
When we think of famous poets, one name that immediately comes to many minds is Emily Dickinson. You might be surprised to learn, though, that only 11 of Dickinson’s poems were actually published before her death in 1886.
This book brings together the original texts of all 1,775 poems that Dickinson wrote, organized into three chronologically ordered volumes containing that highlight her talent, as well as her thoughts and feelings.
17. Selected Poetry by John Keats
Though John Keats died of tuberculosis at the tragically young age of 25, he still managed to publish three volumes of poetry before his death.
His poems reveal a spirit of vitality, imagination, and generosity. The third and final volume of this collection contains the unfinished Hyperion, an epic poem that describes the despair of the Titans after their fall to the Olympians.
18. Lyrical Ballads by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge
William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge had a close friendship in their youth. In 1798, the duo released this collection of poems, in which they opened up new themes and experimented with vernacular language.
Coleridge contributed only four poems to this original 1798 edition. However, while the majority were penned by Wordsworth, Coleridge’s four poems made up about a third of the book, and included one of his most famous works, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
19. The Collected Poems by Audre Lorde
Audre Lorde is credited with “paving the way for Black lesbian feminist identity.” She devoted her life to addressing and fighting systems of injustice, and as such, her poems are often political, but always beautifully lyrical.
In The Collected Poems, readers will uncover some of Lorde’s most powerful, accessible, and always timely work.
20. If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho by Sappho, Translated by Anne Carson
Sapphos was an Archaic Greek female poet known for her lyric poetry. While she wrote nine volumes of poetry books in her lifetime, only one poem, “The Ode to Aphrodite,” survived in its entirety.
What remains of her other great works have been pieced together in If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho by classicist and poet Anne Carson, who has ncluded the original Greek alongside her translations.
What Is a Book Full of Poems Called?
A collection of literary works, which can include poems, plays, short stories, or other works, is usually referred to as an anthology.
An anthology can contain works by different authors, or simply different works all by the same author.
Discover More Great Poetry
Reading books of poetry is a great way to sample the works of one or many different poets. But did you know that there are millions of poems you can read online for free?
If you like reading poems on the daily or discovering works from up-and-coming talent, be sure to check out our list of the 9 best sites fore free poetry.
Do you have a favorite book of poetry? Share it with us in the comments below!
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As a blog writer for TCK Publishing, Kaelyn loves crafting fun and helpful content for writers, readers, and creative minds alike. She has a degree in International Affairs with a minor in Italian Studies, but her true passion has always been writing. Working remotely allows her to do even more of the things she loves, like traveling, cooking, and spending time with her family.
