Just throwing suggestions out for women poets to read but try - Nikki Giovanni I discovered her in high school, I think one of her poems was reprinted in Ms. Magazine and I read it over and over. Ego Tripping, that's the name of the poem.

Oh and Gwendolyn Brooks.

And even though she was popular in the 30s Elinor Wylie has fallen out of favor but she's always been a favorite poet. I love Sea Lullaby.

The Toast had an article on female beat poets: Elise Cowen: The Female Beat Poet You’ve Never Heard Of.

Oh, I love Lucille Clifton. And Naomi Shihab Nye. Sharon Olds, of course, and Dove, and Rich, and Angelou. A couple of personal favorites are Marge Piercy and Jane Kenyon--those two did a lot to help me survive the late 90s, early oughties--personal epiphany, painful growth and change, etc.

All of these recs are great! A couple I love whom I don’t think have been mentioned: Linda Pastan and Louise Gluck. And Joy Harjo (not as well known; a Native poet with a beautiful style) and Maxine Kumin.

ETA: A great anthology is No More Masks: [link]

Oh my god, yes, Jane Kenyon.

Let Evening Come can still stop my crazy in its tracks.

And another rec - When She Named Fire: An Anthology of Contemporary Poetry by American Women, by Andrea Hollander Budy

Calli, I'd also recommend Tracy K. Smith. She's more contemporary, but Life on Mars is amazing.

What a completely gorgeous poem, Bev; I’d never read it. Thank you. And I just bought that anthology! Always looking to expand my classroom poetry collection.

Thank you all for the great recs!

Ave atque vale. P.D. James [link] I'd say rest in peace, but she certainly never rested while alive. She supported her family, wrote while working full time and had a life of public service that would be notable even without the gift of her writing. I didn't like all of her books, but her craft was undeniable.