Welcome to National Poetry Month! Whether through events, social media campaigns, bookstore displays or individual excitement, April is a great time--but certainly not the only time--to appreciate the poetic form. Indeed, Rupi Kaur's collection milk and honey--a favorite in the Shelf office--was published in October of 2015, and has since sold more than a million copies! This year we've already seen some excellent collections published, and our reviewers have been raving:
Whereas by Layli Long Soldier: "In this searching, plaintive poetry collection, Native American poet Layli Long Soldier digs deep into the often unseen strata of language, history and identity. Whereas beautifully upends poetic forms to summon a powerful voice hidden in the interstices." --Scott Neuffer 
Love's Last Number by Christopher Howell: "A former war journalist's elegant and profound poems use awe-inspiring imagery to answer some of the greatest questions of human existence. Love's Last Number showcases a visionary mind and serves as a testament to the power of imagination in connecting human beings to each other." --Scott Neuffer
There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyoncé by Morgan Parker: "Morgan Parker tackles weighty issues with deft wit and powerful candor in There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyoncé. Her insightful and irreverent collection turns a sharp eye toward a broad collage of subjects, including her muse Beyoncé, the Obamas and historical figures like the so-called Hottentot Venus." --Katie Weed
Madwoman by Shara McCallum: "Memory, fable and family history feature strongly in Shara McCallum's fifth collection of poetry. Sprinkled throughout with poems written in Jamaican patois, McCallum uses changes in language and structure--traditional poetic forms, lists, question-and-answer dialogues--expertly to reveal and question limits in the knowledge of self." --Richael Best
