Originally launched in April 1996, National Poetry Month celebrates the contributions of poets and their art. Poetry can be especially meaningful for youth as a tool of self-expression, of making sense of new things. Great poetry offers multiple ways to think about subjects using an toolkit of poetic devices.
Though obviously longer in form, novels in verse are extended poetry. This month’s Fully Booked highlights top novels in verse and poetry for young adults.
Safia Elhillo shakes my world and resonates with my very soul. She is raw, brutal, soft and her way with words — the sounds they make, the imagery she creates — is magical. She is an example of the very reason I read, so I’m recommending three of her books. The first, a novel in verse called Home is Not a Country, follows Nima, a first-generation Muslim girl making sense of her new home in America. Elhillo once wrote that this book was for her communities who were “rebuilding a life in the aftermath of a great rupture.”
The second, Girls that Never Die, was picked up haphazardly as I perused the poetry section one day, not even knowing it was the same author. I sat down and read every word a few times in one sitting. She’s a savage, and in this poetry collection, she reimagines feminine liberation after years of shame. Roxane Gay said that “every single poem is stellar” in this book, and I absolutely agree.
Bright Red Fruit, Elhillo’s most recent novel in verse published in 2024, is an evolution. The coming-of-age story follows a teen navigating the slam poetry scene who attracts the attention of an older man, leaving her reputation at stake.
Poemhood: Our Black Revival, edited by Amber McBride, Taylor Byas and Erica Martin, is a meticulously curated anthology of Black experience. Poems are categorized into enigmatic volumes and span history, themes of generational trauma, mass incarceration, environmental injustice and hope.
A wonderful fantasy fairy tale described as Swan Lake meets The Last Unicorn, A Warning about Swans by R.M. Romero is steeped in mythology as main character Hilde relinquishes her gift in return for a higher purpose. Fans of Elizabeth Lim’s Six Crimson Cranes and Holly Black’s The Cruel Prince will enjoy this read.
There should be no mention of poetry in Iowa City without highlighting local slam poetry star himself, Caleb Rainey. His poems hit hard with power and insight, and underscore his lived experiences with astute observations. Look, Black Boy resonates with themes in Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me, which was influenced by the indomitable James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time. Rainey also leads youth generative poetry workshops. Find out how to connect middle and high school youth to poetry at iowacitypoetry.com.
Finally, ICPL is preparing to release their very own Lit Mag for teens and is currently looking for art, prose and poetry. Email victoria-fernandez@icpl.org to find out how to submit work.
This article was originally published in Little Village’s April 2024 issue.
