A really beautiful collection of poems. I love how the sections were seperated into the four seasons, I can see myself returning to this often.

3.5/5 stars

Poetry Is Not a Luxury is a poetry collection filled with assorted poems from well-known poets.
This was a decent poetry collection, but there was no cohesive theme. Because every poem was by a different author, it didn’t feel like a collective message. It just felt like we were given these poems just to have a poem.
None of the poems were super evocative (for me). There were some that I liked, but for the most part, I read each one once and didn’t have any strong feelings.
If you want to read a poem every day, this is a great collection for you.

CW: death & grief; mild sexual allusions

I actually follow this curation account on Instagram and have always loved the poetry they post, so actually getting a curated book of poetry like this is pretty damn great. Highly recommended.

I've loved this collection of poems separated into seasons. The anonymous editor compiled some of my favorites - Kate Baer, Rita Dove, Naomi Shihab Nye - and it is the perfect size to enjoy a poem or two over breakfast or dip in and read a couple before falling asleep.

Thank you to Washington Square Press for my gifted eARC. My opinions are my own.

A thoughtful collection of poetry from different poets chosen to represent the various seasons invokes feelings and emotions within the reader. I bookmarked so many poems that caused me to feel intense emotions - happiness, sadness, hope, grief, righteous anger… and everything in between.

I highly recommend reading this collection, its curator loves words and the emotions that words have the power to stimulate in readers. The poetry included are from poets from all over the world (some are translated into English), and from authors from all walks of life, the only connecting piece is that the poems included are beautiful pieces of writing showing that there is power in diversity and also power in shared humanity.

I have loved poetry since I was a kid so reading a poetry collection that causes me to want a physical copy to highlight and mark up with all of my feelings makes me giddy with happiness.

A wonderful collection of poems, perfect for a longtime poetry lover or for someone looking to get into reading it more!

A stellar collection of poetry. I credit the Instagram account that created this book with jumpstarting my appreciation of poetry. I had let myself ignore poetry for far too long until I started reading their daily posts. Suddenly I couldn't get enough poetry. Now there's a book and it's wonderful. Organized by season, there are poems for every mood and occasion. I highly recommend this book. Don't let another day go by without some poetry in your life.

This anthology doesn’t just gather poems, it curates an emotional calendar. Inspired by Audre Lorde’s declaration that “Poetry is not a luxury,” this book reminds us how vital poetry is as comfort, as clarity, as celebration, as survival.

Divided into four seasonal sections, the collection becomes a kind of poetic almanac. Summer bursts with joy, protest, travel, and tenderness — lush, alive, and vibrant. Autumn slows things down, offering reflection, memory, and deep gratitude. Winter speaks to grief and loneliness, but also to softness and solace. And Spring feels like the deep inhale before a new beginning: rain, rebirth, possibility.

The curator (who is anonymous, which is fascinating to me) has gathered voices from across centuries and continents. Each poem feels like a hand extended, a truth offered gently but powerfully.

This is a collection to return to over and over again. For weddings and hard mornings. For mourning and moving on. For ordinary days when you just need to feel something real.

It’s not just a book of poems. It’s a toolkit for being alive.

Thank you so much to the publisher for the digital AND print arc copy of this book. I am a huge fan of the Instagram account and love the way the book is structured by seasons. The poetry is accessible, profound, and can easily be incorporated into my classroom. So grateful for this opportunity!

A wonderful poetry anthology full of many of my favorite poems. I wasn't sure how effective organizing by season would be, and it isn't my favorite, but it did not really affect the quality of the book itself.

I follow “poetry is not a luxury” on instagram and have discovered new poems and new poets via their posts, so I was excited to read their selections for this collection. The collection is sorted by seasons of the year, beginning with summer and ending with spring. The poets are diverse and wide-ranging and include Rita Dove (spring), Mary Ruefle (summer), Aria Aber (fall), and Solmaz Sharif (winter). Just like with the instagram, I discovered some new-to-me poets and some really beautiful poetry. Stand-outs for me were “We Love What We Have” by Mosab Abu Toha and Summer Solstice by Jenn Zhang. This would be a good book for a bedside table - nice to pick up each morning and evening and choose a poem or two to enjoy.

Exactly what I needed right now. I loved just about each poem and found a way to connect to them. I decided to write little journal entries for the ones that really speak to me and why I connected with them. Something I can look back on or maybe even add to in a year.

But, I really enjoy these and love the concept of keeping them to each season! It’s a super cool idea and I love poems.

For years I've been a fan of the Poetry Is Not a Luxury instagram account -- I love the way it drops little gems into my daily scroll. And this lovely volume is a gorgeous way to bring that beauty into my life, sans screens.

The curator has assembled work that appeals to the poetry newbie and also the aficionado, and whether you settle in for a long read or just open to a random page, you'll find a thoughtful collection of poems to make you think.

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

I follow Poetry is Not a Luxury on Instagram, and have discovered how accessible poetry can be to me as I read for pleasure, not necessarily academic interpretation. The poems selected both on social media, and chosen for this anthology are equally symbolic and accessible. They are beautifully written, inviting the reader to take a closer look, slow down, and reread.

The way this anthology is created is a cyclical year, starting with summer. In the section titled Summer, poems about the sun, gardens, flowers, and youth are prominent. The Autumn poems focus on the change of seasons, the golden colors we associate with the fall, and life and death. Winter poems allude to the purity of snowfall, hibernation, and hygge. Then the book ends with Spring, and we read about rebirth, flowers blooming once more, colors, and hope.

This is a quick read if you just want to open the book up to enjoy a poem or two. It is also a deeper read that can take some contemplation. The poems are both well-known (William Carlos Williams) and lesser known.

I really enjoyed reading this anthology and hope to read more!

Poetry can give us the words when we don’t have our own. This collection is broken into the seasons—winter, spring, summer and autumn. I know this is one I can come back to again in a different time of life and find more words to explain a feeling or to find understanding.

Thanks to Netgalley for the digital arc and to Simon & Schuster for the physical copy.

Poetry is Not a Luxury, an anthology from Simon & Schuester and assembled by @poetryisnotaluxury on Instagram, is a lovely collection that lets you explore the different experience and emotions of a variety of poets throughout the changing of the seasons.

It starts in Spring, then Summer, Autumn, Winter, then Spring again, because spring always comes back. The flowers bloom, the sun comes out, and things just get a little bit brighter. But Winter comes, too, with its cold touch and bittersweet smells. It's more nostalgic, more touching, like a message from a friend you hadn't seen in a while, someone who maybe isn't so much of a friend anymore.
Then there's the in-between: Summer and Fall; this time of year is one that you will remember when it is cold and dark, much like Winter. A time you can look back on when things are feeling like they are just too much for you to handle. It will bring you comfort and companionship in the form of written word, and you'll find that words hold compassion and kindness and love, so long as you find the right ones.

While reading Poetry is Not a Luxury, I felt myself being able to connect very deeply with many of the poems, feeling every breath and gust of wind they described. It was a great practice in empathy and learning to understand the minds of others. It is a lesson in love and friendship, and a reminder to live in the moment before it's gone.

Check out @poetryisnotaluxury on IG and find this anthology in stores on May 6, 2025. It is absolutely more than worth the read.

5 ⭐️

As a huge poetry fan, I’ve admittedly grown somewhat tired of collections lately. But this was different! This revived my love for poetry and sparked my brain into remembering just how impactful someone’s words can be on your life.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Publishing for this eARC

Quick synopsis: A collection of poetry by numerous authors thoughtfully organized into the four seasons. Flipping through this will take you on what will feel like a year long journey of emotions, reflections and inspirations.

💗 What I loved:
- The variation. While some collections get repetitive, I found that if you simply flip to a different season you’ll find a completely different vibe. (Pro-tip: flip to a season that fits your mood)
- The dedication. Please when you read this book, take a second to inhale that dedication.
- I don’t want to be shallow but that COVER? This it’s such a beautiful looking book that you almost can’t not want it. It’s initially what drew me in.
- This made me want to go out and discover more about all the authors that were credited (especially the ones I really loved). So this was door opening.

Overall, if you’re eyeing a poetry collection, I would recommend this one!

What a joy it is to be alive! from 1997 by Joe Wenderoth

One thing I love about social media are the people who share poetry, nourishing me daily. The Poetry is Not a Luxury Instagrammer has collected poems in a slender volume, presented by season, making a perfect gift.

One Heart
Li-Young Lee

Look at the birds. Even flying
is born
out of nothing. The first sky
is inside you, open
at either end of day.
The work of wings
was always freedom, fastening
one heart to every falling thing.

The selections by modern and contemporary poets are marvelous. Most are short, but have a big impact.

Ode to Hunger
Zenia Hashem Beck

How I crave the strawberries
we bought on a road
in Cyprus the day we got married.
Their scent was divine & we forgot

to eat them.

The poetry is about life and experience and the world, They enlighten us, make us feel seen, give us hope.

What is now will soon be past
Yrsa Daley-Ward

Just because you do it
doesn't mean you always will.
Whether you’re dancing dust
or breaking light
you’re never exactly the same,
twice.

They are about loss, grief, and remembrance. Love of mothers, daughters, lovers. The beauty and joy of being alive.

What Came to Me
Jane Kenyon

I took the last
dusty piece of china
out of the barrel.
It was your gravy boat,
with a hard, brown
drop of gravy still
on the porcelain lip.
I grieved for you then
as I never had before.

No, poetry is not a luxury; it is like air and water to our body, sustaining our inner life.

Thanks to the publisher for a free book.

Thanks very much to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC! I am definitely not a poet, but I love a lot of poetry, and I absolutely love the @poetryisnotaluxury Instagram account and this book is a fantastic anthology that lives up to the Instagram account's goals in featuring some great poetry, perhaps as an introduction to those not familiar with the genre, perhaps to already-existing superfans. Highly recommend, not matter your level of familiarity with poetry.

3.5

<b>To preface: </b>obviously, poetry is a subjective art form and my opinions don’t necessarily reflect the objective quality of these poems.

I find poetry anthologies to often be a mixed bag. Sometimes I hate them and sometimes I am like “this is pure genius!”. In this anthology in particular, not all of the poems were my cup of tea, but I did have a couple favorites from each section.

<b>Summer</b>
- <i>Idea</i> by Kate Baer
- <i>Ode to Hunger</i> by Zeina Hashem Beck
- <i>Pattern</i> by Garous Abdolmaleiken
- <i>43</i> by Coste Lewis
- <i>To the Women Crying Uncontrollably in the Next Stall</i> by Kim Addonizio

<b>Autumn</b>
- <i>Why Did It</i> by William J. Harris

<b>Winter</b>
- <i>Watching My Friend Pretend Her Heart Is Not Breaking</i> by Rosemary Wahtola Trommer
- <i>Elegy VIII (Missing you)</i> by Jason Schneiderman

<b>Spring</b>
- <i>Advice</i> by Langston Hughes
- <i>Why Bother?</i> by Sean Thomas Dougherty
- <i>Romance</i> by Timothy Liu
- <i>Checkout</i> by Caroline Bird
- <i>[from For M</i> by Mikko Harvey

Despite the description in the book’s preface, I felt like the split between the Summer, Spring, Autumn and Winter anthologies was very literal and less emotional. Many of the Autumn poems actually featured the word “autumn” or “November”, most of the Winter poems feature “winter” or “snow”, and at times I was wondering if that was the only reason they were selected.

And to some of these poems, my only reaction is:

lower case letters and o d d
spacing
does not make a poem

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Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review