In celebration of National Book Month, a poem about little free libraries, those humble guardians of literature that stand watch in our neighborhoods.

A poem from Frank X Walker’s latest collection, Load in Nine Times

A mother grapples with her own mother’s fading memory and acceptance, while finding strength in unlikely places. Fox’s poems blend the flavors of Texas cooking with the rituals of Jewish mourning, creating a unique portrait of healing and liberation.

Two Southern poets confront the tragedy of school shootings. Johnson and Lawson’s raw, visceral words help us reflect on the Apalachee High School killings and the broader epidemic of gun violence in America’s schools.

Sometimes, the only way to see our world clearly is through the eyes of an intergalactic traveler.

This time is tied to that time, and this creature to another—that’s what this Appalachian laureate shows us in two poems about children, grandchildren, a dog, and our own bodies.

Harriet Tubman first escaped enslavement in Dorchester County, on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, on September 17, 1849. She returned at least 13 times to lead at least 70 to freedom. One-hundred-and-seventy-five years after that first escape, these four poems from southeast Virginia honor her spirit of resistance and solidarity.

Odes to music, experience, and making the best gravy.

Far away from home, or long ago in memory, the ones we love still carry us.

Always immersed in the natural world, this Georgia poet shows us how to savor the ever-changing weather.

In the eyes of this North Carolina poet, everything—even that which is not “eco”—is part of an ecosystem.

Sometimes, when we’re gutted by loss, we go ahead and sing about it. This Mississippi poet does just that.