Books I read in 2021
I made my first “What I Read This Year” list last year, inspired by my friend Nina who makes year-end lists of reading (here is a link to her list this year: https://ninacoomes.medium.com/the-91-books-i-read-in-2021-a7a5c3ca246a ) So here is this year’s list! I think the total is 41 books (edit: 43) I finished, cover to cover– which is 6 more than last year!
I posted a list of 50 of my favorite poems on twitter. I got a quote tweet of the thread that said, “Imagine reading enough poetry over the year that you could select 50 favorites.” I laughed and it’s true, I did read a lot this year! Single poems published in all sorts of journals and zines, friend’s manuscripts, books, chapbooks, minichapbooks, articles, tweets, directions, contracts, obituaries, breaking news, names, names, names, names… Sorry I didn’t mean for that to turn, but it’s true.
Reading was so important and necessary for me this year. In many ways I was reminded of the power of books, as refuges, as conversations, as companions, as time well shared. And truly, all of the books I read this year were great! I really did love each of these books and what they gave to me. The bolding, much like my music lists, is subjective– I thought these projects were especially remarkable in their own ways and impacted me heavily.
BTW I’m not separating chapbooks from books. They went thru their own publishing process, their own editing process, and are complete projects in their own right.
As usual, what I hope is that these lists will help me keep track of my reading, to share my recs with y’all, and to keep this energy moving on into the new year!
I’m going to be using Nina’s formatting rules: “My default is to enjoy the thing I’m reading, I’m a pretty easy to please customer, so if I recommended something that means I extra-enjoyed it, and that’s noted by the book title being in bold. RR notes that the book was a re-read. Comments come after the //.” The list is, more or less, in chronological order.
A Nail The Evening Hangs On by Monica Sok
Borderland Apocrypha by Anthony Cody
I still think about this book, truly wonderful work in docu-poetics.
Indecency by Justin Philip Reed
Arrow by Sumita Chakraborty
Such an incredible poetry collection. I’m still so amazed by the work in that book. I need to return to this book soon.
Equilibrium by Tiana Clark
Simulacra by Airea D Matthews
A Gospel of Bones by Suzi Q Smith
Letters to a Young Poet by Reiner Maria Rilke
Who All Gon Be There by Danielle P Williams
Ghost Of by Diana Khoi Nguyen
Just wow. Truly incredible book.
Inheritance by Taylor Johnson
Running to Stand Still by Kimberly Reyes
Not Enough by Bruce Sterling
World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil
Library of Small Catastrophes by Allison Rollins
Horsepower by Joy Priest
Finna by Nate Marshall
Sing Me A Lesser Wound by Junius Ward
American Lục Bát for My Mother by Joshua Nguyen
Amblyopia by Ananda Lima
Sana Sana by Ariana Brown
an identity polyptych by Meca’Ayo Cole
We Are Owed. by Ariana Brown
Bloodwarm by Taylor Byas
Always a Relic Never a Reliquary by Kim Sousa
Truly honored to write a blurb for this book!! Go preorder!!!
Gay Black and Non-binary by Prince Bush
Breath Fire Water Song by Yamini Pathak
Ironbound Fados by Carla Sofia Ferreira
Rot Contracts by Jessica Lawson
Oracle: A Cosmology by Destiny Hemphill
Choke Cherry by Lyd Havens
Summertime Fine by Jason B Crawford
Thirt13n Descansos by Suzi Q Smith
Deus Ex Nigrum by Jazmine Reid
Gesundheit! by Chen Chen & Sam Herschel Wein
UGLY / SAD by Cassandra de Alba
Moth Funerals by Gaia Rajan
Somebody Else Sold The World by Adrian Matejka
OBIT by Victoria Chang
So inspired by this book, what a wonderful feat this text is.
Cardinal by Tyree Daye
Bone House by K-Ming Chang
(1/9/22) EDIT! I kept thinking about other books I read and didn’t include. So strange, I could have sworn I added these to my excel document!!
mxd kd mxd tape by Malcolm Friend
Tracing The Horse by Diana Marie Delgado
Books I started and didn’t finish for whatever reason in 2021
Each of these books are truly incredible works in their own rite. I would highly recommend all of these texts. The reason I didn’t finish them, other than needing to return them to the library, is that these are difficult texts that demand time of the reader. I did complete a number of very dense and time-needing books this year (Arrow, Indecency, and Library of Small Catastrophes come to mind) but I wasn’t able to finish them all. I know there are lots of people like me, who start and don’t finish books, and so I wanted to be transparent about that. I hope I will return and complete these texts some time in the future!
Lovechild’s Hotbed of Occasional Poetry by Nikky Finney
Seeing the Body by Rachel Eliza Griffiths
Fantasia for the Man in Blue by Tommye Blount
The Age of Phyllis by Honoreé Fanone Jeffers
ZONG! by M NourbeSe Philip
A Map to the Door of No Return by Dionne Brand
Belly of the Beast by Da’Shaun Harrison
What Are We Not For by Tommye Blount
Afterland by Mai Der Vang
Ituzaingó: Exiles And Reveries by Florencia Milito
mourning my inner[blackgirl]child by reelaviolette botts-ward
She Memes Well by Quinta Brunson
Tropical Winter (igbà-ayé) by Femi Nassi
Books I’m looking forward to reading in 2022
Wound From the Mouth of a Wound by torrin a greathouse
The Wild Peach by S*an D. Henry-Smith
SLINGSHOT by Cyrée Jarelle Johnson
Gumbo Ya Ya by Aurielle Marie
Stereo(type) by Jonah Mason Webster
Descent by Lauren Russel
Customs by Solmaz Sharif
Civil Service by Claire Schwartz
Yellow Rain by Mai Der Vang
Mutiny by Philip B Williams
