Top 10 poetry books everyone should read at least once

[Emma92]

Poetry can feel intimidating until you find the right doorway into it. The strange thing is that the doorway is different for everyone. One person falls in love with quiet nature poetry while someone else connects more with modern reflective writing.

If you had to build a top 10 list of poetry books everyone should try at least once, what would you include? Not necessarily the most academic or important books, but the ones that genuinely stay with people.

A few titles that seem to appear often are Milk and Honey, Selected Poems of Emily Dickinson, and Leaves of Grass. It is interesting how different they all are while still reaching people emotionally.

I think the best poetry collections are the ones that make even non poetry readers pause for a moment and reread a line twice

[DeepPilot]

I would definitely include Emily Dickinson somewhere on the list. Her poems somehow feel tiny and enormous at the same time

[Mason0]

A top 10 list would be impossible because poetry is so personal, but I do think everyone should at least try a few different styles

[Arty Kayla]

I like poetry books that are readable without needing a university lecture beside them

[CollapseState87]

Milk and Honey gets criticised a lot but it introduced poetry to many younger readers, which is a good thing overall

[Builder]

Leaves of Grass deserves its reputation. Some of the language still feels surprisingly modern