Poetry · 2020

Best Poetry Books of 2020

Obit by Victoria Chang was the most-recognized poetry book of 2020, named by 9 of the 151 sources we track. The table ranks all 48 by how many sources named them.

Sources is the number of distinct awards and year-end lists that name the book's ISBN, in any year. 2020 is the award or list year in our catalog.

#BookAuthorSourcesNamed by
1ObitVictoria Chang9
2Finna: PoemsNate Marshall4
3Where The Wild Ladies AreAoko Matsuda, translated by Polly Barton4
4Here For It: Or, How To Save Your Soul In AmericaR. Eric Thomas3
5I Hold A Wolf By The Ears: StoriesLaura van den Berg3
6Love Child's Hotbed Of Occasional Poetry: Poems & ArtifactsNikky Finney2
7Just Us: An American ConversationClaudia Rankine1
8Postcolonial Love PoemNatalie Diaz1
9The Age Of PhillisHonorée Fanonne Jeffers1
1013th BalloonMark Bibbins0
    11An Incomplete List Of NamesMichael Torres0
      12And I Do Not Forgive You: Stories And Other RevengesAmber Sparks0
        13Beowulf: A New TranslationMaria Dahvana Headley0
          14Collective GravitiesChloe N. Clark0
            15Dance On Saturday: StoriesElwin Cotman0
              16Dark Blood Comes From The FeetEmma J. Gibbon0
                17DMZ ColonyDon Mee Choi0
                  18Foreign Bodies: PoemsKimiko Hahn0
                    19Funny Weather: Art In An EmergencyOlivia Laing0
                      20Having And Being HadEula Biss0
                        21Homie: PoemsDanez Smith0
                          22Hood Criaturaféi hernandez0
                            23Hood Feminism: Notes From The Women That A Movement ForgotMikki Kendall0
                              24How To Carry Water: Selected Poems Of Lucille CliftonLucille Clifton, Aracelis Girmay (editor)0
                                25I Don't Want To Die Poor: EssaysMichael Arceneaux0
                                  26I Will Take The Answer: EssaysAnder Monson0
                                    27Intimations: Six EssaysZadie Smith0
                                      28Music For The Dead And Resurrected: PoemsValzhyna Mort0
                                        29Notes From An Apocalypse: A Personal Journey To The End Of The World And BackMark O'Connell0
                                          30Overstated: A Coast-to-Coast Roast Of The 50 StatesColin Quinn0
                                            31Runaway: New PoemsJorie Graham0
                                              32Seeing The BodyRachel Eliza Griffiths0
                                                33Shit, Actually: The Definitive, 100% Objective Guide To Modern CinemaLindy West0
                                                  34So We Can Glow: StoriesLeesa Cross-Smith0
                                                    35Something That May Shock And Discredit YouDaniel M. Lavery0
                                                      36The Cactus League: A NovelEmily Nemens0
                                                        37The Hidden Girl And Other StoriesKen Liu0
                                                          38The Malevolent VolumeJustin Phillip Reed0
                                                            39The Socrates Express: In Search Of Life Lessons From Dead PhilosophersEric Weiner0
                                                              40Thin Places: Essays From In BetweenJordan Kisner0
                                                                41This Is One Way To Dance: EssaysSejal Shah0
                                                                  42Tomboyland: EssaysMelissa Faliveno0
                                                                    43Vesper FlightsHelen Macdonald0
                                                                      44When The Light Of The World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through: A Norton Anthology Of Native Nations PoetryJoy Harjo (editor) with LeAnne Howe, Jennifer Elise Foerster and contributing editors0
                                                                        45Where Things Touch: A Meditation On BeautyBahar Orang0
                                                                          46World Of Wonders: In Praise Of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, And Other AstonishmentsAimee Nezhukumatathil, illustrated by Fumi Nakamura0
                                                                            47Wow, No Thank You.: EssaysSamantha Irby0
                                                                              48You Want More: Selected Stories Of George SingletonGeorge Singleton0