Yesterday was the first day that I read poetry voraciously in quite some time. After work, I went home, grabbed a couple of books (Matt Hart’s Sermons & Lectures and C.T. Salazar’s American Cavewall Sonnets) and I went outside, sat in my backyard with the warm sun glaring down on me, and I read a lot of poetry.

I am 6 books behind in my Goodreads goal, and I am trying to catch up. I’m not worried, though; I have a plan to read two poetry books each week, and one long poetry book every month or so. (Reading the collected poems of Audre Lorde, for example, might take a couple of months because the book is absolutely gigantic.) Plus, August is the Seely Challenge where you read one collection of poetry every day for the entire month. If you’re interested in this challenge, check out their website here. You also don’t have to read a full 31 books; they strongly encourage people to make adjustments to the challenge as needed. So maybe you read 15 books in the month instead of 31? Or maybe you read a single poem each day? Or maybe you spend a certain amount of time each day reading poetry? Whatever it is, the goal is to read more poems. They even have a list of poetry books written by marginalized voices to help inspire you, as well as a 2026 Seely Challenge Bingo card to make things extra fun. You can also read chapbooks instead of full-length poetry books since they’re shorter and easier to get through.

Anyway, the point is, I’m not worried about being behind. And yesterday felt good reading all that poetry outside in the mid-spring sun. I read through Salazar’s chapbook in one sitting (it’s an absolutely stunning chapbook, by the way) and got through a solid 30-40 pages in Hart’s book. I even wrote a new poem, something that I’ve been stuck on for a few weeks. The poem isn’t astonishing or groundbreaking, but it’s a new poem and it felt good to get out of my writer’s block and get some words on the page.

Sometimes all we need is a little crack in the wall and the dam bursts open.

If you’re interested in following along on my poetry journey, here are the poetry books I’ve read/am reading this month:

Earthling: Poems by James Logenbach (Read)
American Cavewall Sonnets by C.T. Salazar (Read)
All There Is Is by Scott Schawlenberg (Read)
Sermons & Lectures by Matt Hart (Reading)
Dunce by Mary Ruefle
Wild Gratitude by Edward Hirsch
Continuity by Cynthia Arrieu-King

Some of these I’ve read before. Some I haven’t. One thing Matt Dickman and David Biespel said at the writing conference this last weekend was to read poetry that’s different than the poetry you write. I thought this was a great piece of advice; my impulse is to read the kinds of poetry I want to write (think The Pulp vs The Throne by Carrie Lorig), and so often I don’t read as widely as I should in terms of poetry styles. Reading poetry that’s different than my own/different than the poetry I want to write is essential to expanding ideas, vocabulary, creative perspectives, etc. It was a good reminder not to get stuck in a certain reading cycle.

Do you have a favorite poet? Let me know in the comments.

Love and light!