What a fabulous collection of poetry. This lovely book is divided into four sections or seasons of the year. A few of the poems and a good portion of the poets were familiar, but I love discovering new to me entries.

Spring's poetry is about renewal and limitless possibilities. Summer has poems of abundance and joy, while fall's poems are about contentment and taking stock. The poems of winter are sadder yet still with vestiges of hope.

My favorites were "Maybe in Another Life" by Tiana Clark and "Strawberry Moon" by Franny Choi.

If you don't regularly read poetry, then this collection is a wonderful and accessible entry point. The poems are all about what it means to be human.

My thanks to NetGalley for the free ARC ebook.

This collection is truly wonderful. Broken into 4 seasons (second read in a row that employs this device…coincidence?), the works included pulse with warmth (even the Winter season!) and inspiration.

Maybe it’s because we’re actually in spring here in New York, but the Spring segment was my favorite. There’s nothing like poetry that uplifts you from the inside. 🌷

This is the perfect anthology to add to your bookshelf or to have on your bedside or coffee table. Pick it up when you’re living through a season - of the year or of your life - and see what comes from reading a few of its passages. You won’t regret it.

Thank you @atriabooks and @washingtonsquarepress for the advanced copy, and for helping me read #morepoetryin2025 !

I have followed the Instagram account poetryisnotaluxury for many years and am elated to see some notable poems curated into a slim book. This book will be a constant source of reassurance and hope that will live on my nightstand. Anyone who has ever experience love, loss, want or hope should own a copy.

3.5 stars rounded up. I stumbled on the Poetry Is Not A Luxury instagram account years ago. When the poems pop up in my feed it’s like a little soul nourishment in a social media landscape that can sometimes feel stifling and overwhelming. This is a thoughtfully curated collection separated by seasons that like on instagram has a lot of variety and is geared towards the human experience.

A poetry collection like this is hard to rate because on one page there can be a poem that blows you away and the next can totally fall flat. I think because of this it works best as a collection you read from time to time instead of all a once and then bookmarking favorites to return to. I already look forward to picking it up again as the seasons change.

Shared on Goodreads

This anthology perfectly achieves its goal of providing an accessible, but still high-quality sampler of poetry for new and old poetry fans alike. I love an anthology like this for discovering new favorite poets and will recommend it to anyone who wants to learn what they like within this medium.

"If we're not supposed to dance/Why all this music?" - Gregory Orr

Poetry is Not a Luxury is an album for the seasons, a compilation of poems to turn through over a year or (as I did) in a few cool nights with the window open. While this anthology isn't groundbreaking, it was soft and reflective, meant to be savored. The title is a bit misleading—I expected it to be harsher and more desperate—but the intent, I believe, is for these poems to become part of daily life. Some shone more than others, particularly "Phases of the Moon/Things I Have Done" by Ella Frears, "Idea" by Kate Baer, and "On Friendship" by Henri Cole. Overall, though, the strength of this collection is that it speaks to a broad audience, and anyone could keep this beautiful title by their bedside to carry them through the rhythms of life.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Washington Square Press for this eARC!

Very enjoyable collection of modern verse arranged by seasons - both in nature and life experience. Quite a few gems in every season. I’ll definitely be rereading this collection from time to time, and picking up a physical copy soon for my library ❤️

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria books for the digital arc!

Know thy audience -- @PoetryIsNotaLuxury has 850000 Instagram followers for exactly the hits of poetry in the pages of the book version -- short, evocative, quotable. It features greats like Nikki Giovanni, Ada Limon, Saeed Jones, Rita Dove and Audre Lorde, and some folks mainly Instagram-famous, which is an unusual and not unwelcome combination. I enjoyed the seasonal format and feel, but left feeling like it could have been a bit more? It's a good book to pull off the shelf for some inspiration here and there.

I'm going to give this **gasp** a five. It was a craptastic afternoon in late May when I picked this book. It pulled me in, taking me to other places-those not covered in sweat and boredom. I love the cover art, simple and pleasing to the eye. Usually, thematic arrangement of poems by seasons feels corny, but it works here. This variety of poems is great. Every page a different look at human life. It gives the feeling of flipping through a photo album. You recognize some old friends, smile, nod. There are some lovely new voices--at least for me. I've already added it the "Buy This for Our Upperclassmen" list that I optimistically send to the Principal's Office every year in September.

I devoured this wonderful collection in practically one setting. It has immense re-readability--would be a great book to cozy up with Vivaldi's Four Seasons playing in the background. I loved it so much I bought one for my guest bedroom nighttable!

I love this social media account and this collection was just as thoughtfully curated and themed out by circumstance

I have followed the Instagram account under the same name for years, and I was excited about this book. It didn't disappoint. I loved the layout by season and the poems were a mixture of easy to understand and some that made you think a little deeper. A great, accessible collection for new or old lovers of poetry.

I love the way this collection is configured. Full of wonderful and meaningful and beautiful poems from a spectrum of writers. Kudos.

Thank for to netgalley and atria books for the advanced copy.

I throughly enjoyed this collection of poems. It was so refreshing to read a highly curated selection, that moved with the seasons. I think that the distinct feeling of each season was made incredibly clear through each section. Highly recommend for poetry lovers. 4.5 stars

I did really love this collection of poetry! I follow the account on Instagram and have found so much love and hope from the poems and so when I saw that there was a book I died! And it 100% lived up to my expectations. I did find myself skipping a few poems though which is why I’m giving it 4 stars instead of 5

Summer felt like that breath of fresh, warm air. A heart to heart. Seeing myself in others, feeling like those authors, those poets, saw me through their eyes and the hands that wrote. My favorites in the season of summer include: Cento for the Night I Said “I Love You” by Nicole Sealey; Tired Of Love Poems by Megan Fernandes; Think of Others by Mahmoud Darwish; and Phases of the Moon / Things I Have Done by Ella Frears.
Autumn felt like that cool whisper of a breeze bringing that beginning before winter, that cardinal shift of the seasons. A child born of autumn myself, I felt at home in these. The autumn poems that spoke to me: Against Nostalgia by Ada Limón; The Wind Did What the Wind Came to Do by Luther Hughes; I love you to the moon & by Chen Chen; and [We Mention the Cat] by CAConrad.
Winter, a season of short days, of less light. Winter holds me steady like the grief and the love and the loss depicted in these poems. So many hit me in the home of my heart, in a way that hurt, a hurt that belongs to humanity. If I didn’t feel that pain and grief, then would I be human? Those that especially spoke to me include: There You Are by Victoria Adukwei Bulley; Watching My Friend Pretend Her Heart Is Not Breaking by Rosemerry Wahtola Trimmer; Author’s Prayer by Ilya Kaminsky; The Years by Alex Dimitrov; and Maybe in Another Life by Tiana Clark.
Spring was that accumulation of all that came before, that fresh air, the whispered breeze, and the grief and love and loss that came from those prior seasons. It almost hurt when I came to the last poem. It shocked me to my core; suddenly, this anthology was over. The summer poems that spoke to me especially were: [I want to wake up] by Bhanu Kapil; I Am the Horse by Dorothea Lasky; Truth is I would like to escape myself by Nour Al Ghraowi; and No Romance by Jacqueline Suskin.
I felt this collection was well-organized, the poems collected under each season fitting an overarching theme within the seasons as well as an overarching theme existing between them: that there is love and beauty to be found even in a broken, aching world, such as the one we are in. Poetry like this holds our hearts steady amidst such grief.
Big big thanks to the publisher, Atria Books, through NetGalley for providing the e-ARC for me to read. I am very grateful for the opportunity to have read such beautiful work.

This is one of my favorite poetry anthologies ever. There are so many that I bookmarked. Just the right combination of moving, well crafted, artistic and relatable. Love, love, love. Highly recommended.

Sample:

Why Bother?
Sean Thomas Dougherty

Because right now, there is   someone
out there with
a wound     in the exact shape
         of your words.


Read via an advance digital copy on netgalley.

First Impression Review :

The seasonal structure of this poetry collection immediately pulled me in. As someone who believes in the concept of " life happens in seasons" this aligns perfectly.

What I loved so far :
-The first season was beautiful.
-The second season held my favorite poem so far.
-I’m currently in the third season and just realized the book ends with the one we’re in now, which makes the experience feel full circle.
-I love that the poems explore both the natural seasons and love that happens within them.
-I’ve already written down several poets to look into thanks to this collection. If possible, I’ll return to name those standouts in my final review. But for now, this is exactly what I needed in this season of my reading life.

Inspired by writer and philosopher Audre Lorde’s famous claim: “Poetry is not a luxury,” this anthology proves the vitality of poetry as a crucial source of inspiration, comfort, and delight.

I have been an avid follower of Poetryisnotaluxuary for years on Instagram. Even from my personal account before I had a bookstagram, I would avidly read and share the poems that resonated in my soul. As soon as I saw it on NetGalley I knew I had to request it. And when Atria reached out asking if they could send me an advanced physical copy it was a resounding YES from me.

Because really, that’s the point. I love that poetry is the text you can read in snippets, bites, snacks. An amuse bouche for the soul if you will. Sometimes you find that perfect one you read again and again. Other times it's multiple poems; all opening yourself up to feel a connection to something more. Something and someone who understands and puts into words what you can’t.

Each season will bring a new beginning and understanding. Summer is about love and travel and joy. Autumn brings you the ideas of nostalgia and gratitude. Winter is both a cry of loneliness and an ode to comfort. Spring is the place to find all of our new beginnings and joy for what the future may hold for each of us.

If you love poetry, like me, please pick up a copy of this amazing text. And go follow Poetryisnotaluxury if you can.
This book is out now! A special thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for an advanced copy (and physical copy) in exchange for an honest review.

Maybe you're familiar with the Instagram account? Loved this collection and its dedication to Audre Lord. Also loved seasonal categories. Thanks to Netgalley for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review, pre-ordered to own, book publishes 5/6