The Deathbed Editions by Dan Hoy
I pop into this book constantly, because it makes me laugh even while it makes me contemplate the end of the world. Also, and I can’t stress this enough: there’s Madonna.
Black Square by Tadeusz Dąbrowski (translation by Antonia Lloyd-Jones)
Dąbrowski’s work is disarming, in the way O’Hara’s work is disarming. You feel like a confidant, like you’ve been invited into conversation at the bar. Humor and irony pulls you along until you start to notice there’s deep longing and deeper questions at hand.
The Trees The Trees by Heather Christle
I love every line in this collection, because every line in this book hits the target. It’s proof that you can be playful and joyous and hurt, all at the same time. It’s proof it’s okay to be human, even when you’re a real bear.
The Balloonists by Eula Biss
I never thought about the way the small details of our lives accumulate, repeat, and echo each other until I read this book.
Spooky Action at a Distance by Dalton Day
Spooky Action at a Distance weaponizes the couplet into a punchline-delivery mechanism. But these poems are not just funny — they’re Rube Goldberg machines of inventive association.
Adrian Sobol is a Polish immigrant, musician, and poet. He is the author of THE LIFE OF THE PARTY IS HARDER TO FIND UNTIL YOU’RE THE LAST ONE AROUND (Malarkey Books).