Adults

National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month. We invite you to celebrate by reading or listening to some wonderful poetry. Scroll down below for suggestions for some superb selections for adults, teens, and children.

Check out the League of Canadian Poets National Poetry Month webpage for resources and information on how you can participate in National Poetry Month!

Poetry for Adults

Looking for some poetry ebooks and audiobooks? Check out our e-collection in Overdrive for some more fabulous poetry collections!

House Within a House by Nicholas Dawson (translated by D.M. Bradford) Baby Book – TYPE Books Title details for Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong - Wait list

Fall 2024 Issue

Did you know we publish our very own VIRL literature and art magazine called Sea & Cedar? Check out the outstanding poetry (as well as short fiction, creative nonfiction, and artwork) by local writers in our most recent issue here! And find out how to submit your own work for consideration here.

How to Write: Poetry

The creative writing…

A little book…

Hass, Robert, author.

Poetry unbound :…

The essential poet's…

Hirsch, Edward, author.

Writing wild :…

Aalto, Kathryn, author.

How a poem…

Sol, Adam, 1969- author.

The making of…

Nicolson, Adam, 1957- author.

What the poets…

American originality :…

Glück, Louise, 1943- author.

In fine form…

Rules for the…

Oliver, Mary, 1935- author.

The crafty poet…

Lockward, Diane, author.

The making of…

Measures of Astonishment…

Singing school :…

Pinsky, Robert.

Beautiful & pointless…

Orr, David, 1974-

20th-century poetry &…

The poetry home…

Kooser, Ted.

Coming of age…

Vendler, Helen Hennessy.

Building a nest…

Morgan, Cara-Lyn, author.

Acâhkos : nikamowini-pîkiskwêwina…

Archibald-Barber, Jesse Rae, 1972- author.

Wires that sputter…

Badour, Britta, author.

The king of…

Johnstone, Jim, 1978- author.

Muster points :…

Crawford, Lucas, author.

Xanax cowboy :…

Green, Hannah (Author of Xanax cowboy), author.

Lent

Cayley, Kate, author.

A year of…

Ondaatje, Michael, 1943- author.

We follow the…

Yawnghwe, Onjana, author.

You're gonna love…

Del Bucchia, Dina, 1979- author.

While supplies last

Lahey, Anita, author.

Vixen

Ridley, Sandra, author.

Archipelago

Malik, Laila, author.

Indie rock

Bishop, Joe, 1975- author.

Spells, wishes, and…

John-Kehewin, Wanda, 1971- author.

A thin fire…

Trainor, Kim, author.

Tilling the darkness

Braley, Susan, author.

Carving space :…

Dislocations

Enns, Karen, 1960- author.

But the sun,…

Clayton, Conyer, author.

Tender

Hamilton, Sylvia, author.

Naturalism : an…

Goodfellow, Michael (Poet), author.

How to hold…

Singh, Jaspreet, 1969- author.

I will be…

Masutani, Matsuki, author.

Mouthfuls of space

Prime, Tom, author.

A selected history…

Thompson, Andrea, author.

Autowar

Touré, Assiyah Jamilla, author.

Blue suitcase :…

Nason, Jim, 1957- author.

Old gods

Kerr, Conor, author.

Knee deep in…

Preece, Bronwyn, 1978- author.

Flyway

Ens, Sarah, 1992- author.

The most charming…

Barwin, Gary, author.

Shadow blight

MacAskill, Annick, 1986- author.

The ridge

Bringhurst, Robert, author.

Trinity Street

Currin, Jen, 1972- author.

Sixty-seven ontological studies…

Zwicky, Jan, 1955- author.

The best Canadian…

Where we reside…

Time together

Wakan, Naomi, author.

Exculpatory lilies

Musgrave, Susan, 1951- author.

Sulphurtongue

Salazar, Rebecca, author.

The untranslatable I

Bennett, Roxanna, 1971- author.

Barangay : an…

De Leon, Adrian, author.

Oracule : poems

Fong, Nicole Raziya, author.

The language we…

Lau, Grace, 1989- author.

Lurch : poems

McKay, Don, 1942- author.

You still look…

Doctor, Farzana, author.

Standing in a…

Kirton, Jónína, 1955- author.

Swollening : poems

Purcell, Jason, author.

Time out of…

Paré, Arleen, 1946- author.

Waking occupations

Wang, Phoebe, author.

You may not…

Neilson, Shane, 1975- author.

Quiet night think…

Sze, Gillian, 1985- author.

Grappling hook

Tsiang, Sarah, 1978- author.

Harbour grids

Koss, Zane, author.

Heady bloom

Faulkner, Andrew, 1984- author.

I wish I…

Zits, Paul, 1978- author.

Lot

De Leeuw, Sarah, author.

Mother muse

Goodison, Lorna, author.

My grief, the…

Wani, Sanna, author.

Parasitic oscillations

Anand, Madhur, 1971- author.

Plenitude : poems

Karasik, Daniel, 1986- author.

The day-breakers

Fraser, Michael, 1969- author.

Each one a…

Oloruntoba, Tolu, 1985- author.

Fast commute

Graham, Laurie D., author.

Beast at every…

Wee, Natalie, author.

Cane poems

Mootoo, Shani, author.

Catastrophe theories :…

Rowley, Mari-Lou, 1953- author.

Almost beauty :…

Sinclair, Sue, 1972- author.

Arborophobia

Holmes, Nancy, 1959- author.

Miskwagoode

Baker, Marie Annharte, 1942- author.

Fugue with bedbug…

Turza, Anne-Marie, 1976- author.

Passengers : poems

Crummey, Michael, 1965- author.

The quiet in…

Lane, Patrick, author.

Pitchblende

Godfrey, Elise Marcella, author.

Essential ingredients :…

GoldenEagle, Carol Rose, 1963- author.

Hail, the invisible…

Oliver, Alexandra, 1970- author.

Ghosthawk

Rader, Matt, 1978- author.

Satched : poems

Coles, Megan Gail, 1981- author.

Congratulations, rhododendrons

Germaine, Mary, author.

Undoing hours

Boan, Selina, author.

Bittersweet : poems

Ramoutar, Natasha, 1994- author.

Field notes for…

Lundy, Randy, 1967- author.

Knot body

Tareq El Bechelany-Lynch, Eli, 1994- author.

Make the world…

Allen, Lillian, 1951- author, writer of afterword.

Zom-fam : poems

La Mackerel, Kama, 1984- author.

And yet :…

Steffler, John, 1947- author.

Swivelmount

Babstock, Ken, 1970- author.

Best Canadian poetry…

Childhood thoughts and…

McDonald, John, 1981- author.

Tender : selected…

Laiwan, author.

The Griffin Poetry…

Word problems :…

Williams, Ian, 1979- author.

Magnetic equator

Kellough, Kaie, 1975- author.

It was never…

Simpson, Jaye, author.

Burning province :…

Prior, Michael, 1990- author.

Bones

Pennock, Tyler, 1977- author.

What hurts going…

Lee, Nancy, 1970- author.

Disintegrate/Dissociate : poems

Twist, Arielle, 1994- author.

I am a…

Webb-Campbell, Shannon, 1983- author.

Wires that sputter…

Badour, Britta, author.

Tender

Hamilton, Sylvia, author.

A selected history…

Thompson, Andrea, author.

Africanthology : perspectives…

Autowar

Touré, Assiyah Jamilla, author.

Mother muse

Goodison, Lorna, author.

The day-breakers

Fraser, Michael, 1969- author.

Each one a…

Oloruntoba, Tolu, 1985- author.

Love and other…

Swan, Dane, author.

The junta of…

Oloruntoba, Tolu, 1985- author.

The dyzgraphxst :…

Lubrin, Canisia, 1984- author.

With/holding

Gibson, Chantal N., author.

Eat salt /…

Désil, Junie, author.

Make the world…

Allen, Lillian, 1951- author, writer of afterword.

Black matters

Cooper, Afua, author.

I am still…

Mason-John, Valerie, author.

How she read…

Gibson, Chantal N., author.

The response of…

Bickersteth, Bertrand,, 1969- author.

Burning sugar :…

Blain, Cicely Belle, 1993- author.

Word problems :…

Williams, Ian, 1979- author.

Magnetic equator

Kellough, Kaie, 1975- author.

The gospel of…

Christmas, Jillian, 1983- author.

The blue clerk…

Brand, Dionne, 1953- author.

Voodoo hypothesis

Lubrin, Canisia, 1984- author.

Wayside sang :…

Nicholson, Cecily, 1974- author.

Braided skin :…

Knight, Chelene, 1981- author.

The great Black…

She falls again

We live here…

Island

The dialogues :…

The glass lodge

The flesh of…

A body more…

Once the smudge…

Ktiqsugat = Elements

Heating the outdoors

Building a nest…

Acâhkos : nikamowini-pîkiskwêwina…

Teeth

You might be…

Moving upstream

The all +…

The big melt

A family of…

Crushed wild mint

Uiesh = Somewhere…

Leave some for…

A beautiful rebellion…

Spells, wishes, and…

Old gods

Weaving sundown in…

Stations of the…

Trailer park shakes

Trees

The punishment

Bent back tongue

Scars & stars…

Where the sea…

You might be…

Miskwagoode

Akia : the…

Whitemud walking

Cut to fortress

Essential ingredients :…

Living nations, living…

Letters in a…

The crooked good

(Re)Generation : the…

Mahikan ka onot…

Little big bully

It was never…

The death of…

Disintegrate/Dissociate : poems

Hope matters

Injun

2SLGBTQIA+ Poetry

A body more…

Gay girl prayers

Falling back in…

Muster points :…

Lent

The weight of…

The all +…

As she appears

Queers like me…

Alive at the…

The berry takes…

More sure :…

Hand in hand…

Leave some for…

Indie rock

Against heaven :…

Autowar

Blue suitcase :…

Trinity Street

Emily & Elspeth

Tenderness : poems

Imagine us, the…

Junebat

The language we…

Master suffering :…

You still look…

Swollening : poems

Plenitude : poems

Beast at every…

Cut to fortress

Umbilical cord

We want it…

Zom-fam : poems

Tender : selected…

It was never…

My art is…

day/break

War / torn

The small way…

Resilience : surviving…

Full-metal indigiqueer :…

Holy wild

This wound is…

Don't call us…

Meanwhile, elsewhere :…

A place called…

Call me by…

Even this page…

Buzzkill clamshell

Amber Dawn, 1974- author.

Crowd Source.

Nicholson, Cecily.

Bird, making no…

MacKay, Carol L., author.

Cop city swagger

Eng, Mercedes, 1972- author.

Wires that sputter…

Badour, Britta, author.

Whiny baby

Paul, Julie, 1969- author.

Sonnets from a…

Peters, Bradley, author.

Get well soon…

Sharpe, Jamie, author.

Hazard, home

Lowther, Christine, 1967- author.

The weight of…

Biello, Tina, 1972-, author.

Into the continent

McGiffin, Emily, author.

The all +…

Bird, Brandi, author.

Queers like me…

Smith, Michael V., author.

A family of…

Nock, Samantha, author.

The berry takes…

bennett, andrea (Author of Canoodlers), author.

Crushed wild mint

Housty, Jess, author.

A brief and…

Pelman, Barbara, author.

The trick of…

Zieroth, David, author.

A thin fire…

Trainor, Kim, author.

Tilling the darkness

Braley, Susan, author.

Dislocations

Enns, Karen, 1960- author.

I will be…

Masutani, Matsuki, author.

Knee deep in…

Preece, Bronwyn, 1978- author.

Trinity Street

Currin, Jen, 1972- author.

Antonyms for daughter

Boychuk, Jenny, author.

Exculpatory lilies

Musgrave, Susan, 1951- author.

Emily & Elspeth

Mcneil, Catherine, author.

Go

Leedahl, Shelley A. (Shelley Ann), 1963- author.

Standing in a…

Kirton, Jónína, 1955- author.

Time out of…

Paré, Arleen, 1946- author.

Lot

De Leeuw, Sarah, author.

Mother muse

Goodison, Lorna, author.

Each one a…

Oloruntoba, Tolu, 1985- author.

From the shoreline

Tad-y, Steffi, author.

Arborophobia

Holmes, Nancy, 1959- author.

A sure connection…

Herring, W. M. (Wendy M.), author.

Fugue with bedbug…

Turza, Anne-Marie, 1976- author.

Cactus gardens

Lau, Evelyn, 1971- author.

Nevertheless : walking…

Jerome, Gillian, 1974- author.

The quiet in…

Lane, Patrick, author.

Hail, the invisible…

Oliver, Alexandra, 1970- author.

Umbilical cord

Namir, Hasan, 1987- author.

Ghosthawk

Rader, Matt, 1978- author.

Coast Mountain foot…

Fitzpatrick, Ryan, 1978- author.

Blue gait :…

Paull, Shauna, 1962- author.

No shelter

Doyle, Henry, author.

Pebble swing

Wang, Isabella, author.

With/holding

Gibson, Chantal N., author.

Undoing hours

Boan, Selina, author.

Body count

Jamieson, Kyla, 1990- author.

I am still…

Mason-John, Valerie, author.

Burning sugar :…

Blain, Cicely Belle, 1993- author.

Tender : selected…

Laiwan, author.

Nothing you can…

Alexander, Susan, 1957- author.

If you discover…

Robinson, Shaun, 1980- author.

Outlasting the weather…

Friesen, Patrick, 1946- author.

The gospel of…

Christmas, Jillian, 1983- author.

My art is…

Dawn, Amber, 1974- author.

Pineapple express

Lau, Evelyn, 1971- author.

The small way…

Yawnghwe, Onjana, author.

Quarrels : prose…

Joseph, Eve, 1953- author.

Ledi

Trainor, Kim, 1970- author.

God of shadows

Crozier, Lorna, 1948- author.

Wayside sang :…

Nicholson, Cecily, 1974- author.

Refugium : poems…

Injun

Abel, Jordan, 1985- author.

Sugar ride :…

Blomer, Yvonne, author.

Trailer park elegy

Hoogland, Joan Cornelia, 1952- author.

The revolving city…

For your safety…

Czaga, Kayla, author.

Forge

Zwicky, Jan, 1955-

The collected poems…

Lane, Patrick, 1939- author.

The collected works…

Lowther, Pat, 1935-1975.

How the boogeyman…

Keith, Anthony R., Jr., author.

Black girl you…

Watson, Renée, author.

Light enough to…

Seal, Lauren, author.

Bless the blood…

Nehanda, Walela, author.

Poems for tortured…

Just another epic…

Akhbari, Parisa, author.

These are the…

Gill, Nikita, author, illustrator.

Only on the…

Atta, Dean, author.

The name she…

Culley, Betty, author.

Don't call me…

Hagan, Ellen, author.

Inheritance : a…

Acevedo, Elizabeth, author.

Me (Moth)

McBride, Amber, author.

Vinyl moon

Browne, Mahogany L., author.

A million quiet…

Gow, Robin, author.

Ain't burned all…

Reynolds, Jason, author.

Walking in two…

Kinew, Wab, 1981- author.

They better call…

Rodgers, Sugar, 1989- author.

You don't have…

Call us what…

Gorman, Amanda, 1998- author.

Muted

Charles, Tami, author.

We are the…

McCullough, Joy, author.

The seventh raven

Elliott, David, 1947- author.

Love in English

Andreu, Maria E., author.

Chlorine sky

Browne, Mahogany L., author.

Somebody give this…

Thakur, Sophia, author.

I am here…

Bottner, Barbara, author.

Blood moon

Cuthew, Lucy, author.

The truth project

Medema, Dante, author.

Every body looking

Iloh, Candice, author.

Junk boy

Abbott, Tony, 1952- author.

Punching the air

Zoboi, Ibi Aanu, author.

Clap when you…

Acevedo, Elizabeth, author.

The black flamingo

Atta, Dean, author.

When you ask…

Kaur, Jasmin, author, illustrator.

Some girls bind

James, Rory, author.

Baggage

Phillips, Wendy, 1959- author.

White Rose

Wilson, Kip, author.

People kill people

Hopkins, Ellen, author.

Finding Baba Yaga…

Yolen, Jane, author.

Solo

Alexander, Kwame, author.

Bull : a…

Elliott, David, 1947- author.

Blood water paint

McCullough, Joy, author.

Moonrise

Crossan, Sarah, author.

We come apart

Crossan, Sarah, author.

A time to…

Venkatraman, Padma.

Traffick

Hopkins, Ellen, author.

Tilt

Hopkins, Ellen, author.

Perfect

Hopkins, Ellen, author.

Tricks

Hopkins, Ellen, author.

Identical

Hopkins, Ellen, author.

Looking for more poetry books for teens? Check out our e-collection in OverDrive. Our collection includes lyrical books written in verse that speak to the experiences of teens.