Darkness Sticks to Everything – Tom Hennen
He has an uncanny ability to make the mundane fascinating and holy.
The Dead and the Living – Sharon Olds
This is one of the first books that made me fall in love with poetry. And I am still in awe of it.
What the Living Do – Sharon Olds
Howe’s control in this collection is astounding. Gutting and powerful.
Book of My Nights – Li-Young Lee
I can never go wrong picking up a book by Lee, but this one in particular is magic.
What We Talk About When We Talk About Love – Raymond Carver
Understated and gritty. I will always love Carver.
Lauren Davis is the author of Each Wild Thing’s Consent (Poetry Wolf Press). She holds an MFA from the Bennington Writing Seminars, and her poetry, essays, stories, and fairy tales can be found in publications such as Prairie Schooner, Automata Review, Hobart, and Ninth Letter. Davis teaches at The Writers’ Workshoppe in Port Townsend, WA, and she works as an editor at The Tishman Review. laurendavis802@yahoo.com