As I have every year since 2014, in 2025 I set aside a couple of months to peruse the year’s books of poetry — at least those books I had on hand. In the past, I’ve titled my annual roundup — one review for every day of the final month of the year — something like “Outstanding Books of Poetry.” However, this year I decided to go all in and call the feature “The Best Poetry Books of 2025.” I’m certain there are some excellent volumes I’ve missed — there always are — but I can enthusiastically recommend each of these books to anyone with an interest in contemporary poetry.
While there are plenty of volumes here by the major publishers of poetry, I have, as ever, tried to keep an eye out for superb collections by smaller presses. There are so many good poets out there, and only a handful, sometimes for reasons not entirely related to their poetry, find themselves on the lists of the biggest publishers.
As always, my reviews are intentionally short. Ideally, each one contains just enough information — an appreciative observation, say, or a couple of striking quotations — to kickstart readers into searching out the book under discussion. Happy holidays, and happy reading!