7 New Poetry Collections to Read This May
A roundup of seven notable poetry collections released in May 2026 highlights posthumous works from Lucille Clifton, Larry Levis, Fanny Howe, and Franz Wright, alongside new books by contemporary poets like Laura Kasischke and Beth Piatote. The article emphasizes the revival of Clifton’s uncollected poems through digital archives and the cultural significance of language in works by Piatote and Carolina Ebeid. It also notes upcoming changes to the column’s authorship and celebrates the diversity of voices and forms in this season’s poetry offerings.
- ▪Lucille Clifton’s At the Gate: Uncollected Poems 1987–2010 was published posthumously by BOA Editions, edited by Kazim Ali using newly accessed digital archives.
- ▪The Clifton House in Baltimore, led by Executive Director Joël Diaz and Clifton’s daughter Sidney Clifton, is being developed as a cultural site honoring the poet’s legacy.
- ▪Beth Piatote’s debut poetry collection introduces readers to the Nez Perce language as part of Indigenous language revitalization efforts.
- ▪Idra Novey and Garth Greenwell co-translated Spanish poet Luis Muñoz’s One Moment, marking his American debut with Simon and Schuster.
- ▪Derrick Austin’s third collection, This Elegance, also published by BOA Editions, officially released in May 2026 after being previewed earlier in the year.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
2026 keeps bringing back the dead: there are new books of poems from Larry Levis, Fanny Howe, Franz Wright, and of course Lucille Clifton’s At the Gate: Uncollected Poems 1987-2010 (BOA Editions), edited by Kazim Ali and born from new access to digital archives. This spring release coincides with the ongoing development of the Clifton House in Baltimore, where Executive Director Joël Diaz and Clifton’s daughter Sidney Clifton warmly welcomed some of us attending AWP Baltimore last month. To have Clifton re-enter the room, and to have the opportunity to enter the rooms where she wrote so many of her poems, is a gift in these times.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Literary Hub.
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