Recommended Reading For Your Zodiac Sign
Last year, when I hurled myself into poetry I expected a lot of things. I expected to consistently attend workshops, hone my craft, learn to revise, and make poet friends. I did, and still do, all that (and 10 of 10, highly recommend!) It feels like a valuable exchange: get vulnerable, trust enough to share a poem and receive useful feedback. Put in time with your work, and watch it grow sturdier—a worthwhile transaction.
A currency I didn’t expect, however, has fastened itself to my psyche. I will never be able to unsee the greatness of a good book recommendation.
As a fledgling poet, being in a room with poets who quote the greats and contemporary poets equally has been intimidating, but I’ve learned not to fault myself for being out of the loop. Quite the opposite, I’ve embraced it. My desk is riddled with post-it notes of poetry book titles and their authors I scrawled down in passing conversation.
Poets read poetry. It’s what we do. (Well, some more than others). But if you’re lucky enough to have a rapport with a poet who reads enthusiastically, take note. Poetry book recommendations from people who see your work reflected in a particular collection are invaluable.
In true air sign fashion, my Aquarius sun/mercury and Danielle Mitchell’s Gemini ascendant came together to discuss two things we’re obsessed with: astrology and poetry books. With our powers combined, we are excited to bring you a list of recommended reads for every zodiac sign!
ARIES
Aimee Nezhukumatathil’s At the Drive-In Volcano
At the Drive-In Volcano has been described as “fresh…sharp” and “scared of nothing”. What could be more Aries than that? Aries is ruled by Mars, the planet of action, war, and courage. The first sign of the zodiac, it blazes its own path. It serves as a leader for the rest of us to follow. The phenomenal title alone is enough to earn At the Drive-In Volcano the Aries rec. Volcanoes are explosive and once they start, they can’t be stopped. Aimee Nezhukumatathil takes it further and uses sharp wit and a direct tone to guide us through loss and desire. We follow the poems to uncharted lands, where fable and science are woven together and nature tells its own story, unafraid.
TAURUS
Mary Oliver’s A Thousand Mornings
Represented by the bull, Taurus has a reputation for being obstinate, but there is more to Taurus than being stubborn. Earth signs are generative by nature, they urge us to work hard and use our resources wisely. In Taurus’ case, its gorgeous Venus-ruled demeanor leans toward the slow, languid pleasure of the senses. With all that in mind, how could we not hype our observational queen Mary Oliver? In A Thousand Mornings Mary does what she does best and meditates on tiny moments in nature, slowly turning them into poetic lessons on life, loss, and love. Whether she’s referring to an ant, the leaves, or the sea, there is always an air of gratitude in Oliver’s poetry.
In “I Go Down to the Shore” the speaker is “miserable” and asks
what should I do? and the sea says
in its lovely voice:
Excuse me, I have work to do.
So very Taurus, and lovely work indeed.
GEMINI
A. Van Jordan’s Quantum Lyrics
Gemini is a natural storyteller. This collection is a heartfelt, scientific, and sometimes eccentric story. Quantum Lyrics is constantly shifting, much like Gemini itself, and connecting ideas that seemingly have nothing in common like comic book heroes and the principles of physics. Within these stories, the senses of sight and sound are braided with music and science. Known as “the twins” Gemini appears in many forms as it has a need for change. Consistency for Gemini looks like dispersing ideas and theories, always wanting to see all sides of them. Van Jordan pulls us in with his curiosity and we stay for earnest lines like:
promise me
you'll never cease being
the elegant equation.
CANCER
Lucille Clifton’s How to Carry Water
Cancer is the womb, the mother, the home, and foundation. With poems in her portfolio titled “poem in praise of menstruation”, “water sign woman” and “homage to my hips” Clifton embodies the deeply nurturing, watery ways of the cardinal sign. How to Carry Water in particular showcases Clifton’s vulnerability via confessional poetry and protective Cancerian nature through social justice poetry. Cancer, ruled by the moon, is said to be the beginning and end of all things. Clifton embodies so many perspectives throughout this collection, reminiscent of the fluidity of water itself.
I will note that Clifton’s work is phenomenally multifaceted and by no means entirely gentle and maternal. The range of her poetry could have worked for any sign, if you haven’t invested time in her work yet, I guarantee that no matter what your sign you will find something you adore and relate to.
LEO
Patricia Smith’s Shoulda Been Jimi Savannah
Shoulda Been Jimi Savannah is a musically marvelous collection. Music is the universal language of self-expression. In astrology, the sun represents our vitality and purpose. Center stage, here to shine, express, and harness the power of charisma and personality, Leo is the only sign ruled by the sun. Patricia Smith’s work exudes an undeniable rhythm that pulls the reader into significant meaning. She tells her own story through powerful, sometimes surprising diction, leading us through a narrative that explores race, history, religion, and rock ‘n’ roll. Smith’s poetry explores maturing and carving out identity, and the Leo energy in this collection is indisputable.
VIRGO
Jennifer Militello’s Body Thesaurus
One look at the table of contents and it’s easy to see why Body Thesaurus made the cut for Virgo. Of the entire zodiac, the most holistic sign is Virgo, ruling the 6th house of work and health and concerned with the body, its physical state, and natural methods of fortifying it. With Body Thesaurus, Militello maps out a healing journey with poems like “Hemorrhage”, “Sound of Eye, Wind and Limb” and “Preventing a Relapse”. At once distant and heartrendingly intimate, Body Thesaurus is honest. No one appreciates healing and honesty like Virgos. This is not a fluffy, glittery poetry collection. It is a grounded, inspirational, earthy display of mending.
(It should be noted that Rebecca Lindenberg’s Love, An Index was also in the running, but tragically it is out of print! So, if you find it in the wild, scoop it up and soak up the Virgo vibes.)
LIBRA
Jericho Brown’s The New Testament
Venus-ruled Libra finds meaning in initiating relationships, sharing information, and finding balance. The dualities of The New Testament walk a precarious line, finding harmony within the tension. Brown explores the constrictions between race and violence, desire and sexuality. He skillfully displays poetic themes on how the body is capable of beautiful and terrifying things and how language can be wielded like power, for better or worse. Venus is the planet of love, beauty, and sweetness, and this collection is a fearless, somber reminder that moving toward the things we love can feel like a battle. Using poetry to subvert biblical scripture, Brown embodies Libra’s top priority—justice.
SCORPIO
Scorpio is fixed water, ruled by Mars. Here, Mars does not move quickly or needlessly the way it does in Aries. In Scorpio, the bold fearlessness of Mars displays itself through unflinchingly facing difficult truths and leaning into every transformation, because there is hidden power in the breakdown. Scorpio’s suspicious nature means it doesn’t put too much stock in getting comfortable, it is far more concerned with getting to the truth, much like Terrance Hayes’ voice changes with each new section of this collection. Wind in a Box is about struggling to find freedom in containment. Lines like:
our laughter
Must have sounded like the laughter of crows, those birds
That leave everything beneath them trampled and broken open
probe us into wondering what about ourselves is uncontainable. Hayes prompts us to ruminate on what depths we hold within.
SAGITTARIUS
Seam is a collection that takes us through history, war, and loss. It seeks to bridge the gap between the past and the present and serves as a constant discovery of the threads between modern-day hotel rooms and the legacies of war. Faizullah takes us on her ancestral journey to the truth. Sagittarius is the archer whose arrow points toward the sky, it aims for truth, and it will not stop until truth is found. Fire will burn as long as it needs to, Sagittarius is the fire sign that travels far and wide for what it seeks. It rules the 9th house of higher education and travel, where it values learning about cultures of the world. Ruled by buoyant Jupiter, Sag embodies wisdom and optimism. Seam quietly holds the same optimism with lines like:
The moon filled the dust-polluted sky: a ripe, unsheathed
lychee. It wasn’t enough light to see clearly by, but I still turned my
face toward it.
CAPRICORN
Long story short – Capricorn achieves. Capricorn is the determined drive to climb the mountains of its choosing. Carl Philips has been publishing poetry collections and winning prestigious awards in poetry for years… consistently. Just this year he won the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, far from a participation ribbon. The Tether is a collection that is sensual and tender, but also unafraid to be brutally blunt on its journey to truth. The title relates to the art of falconry. The tethering involves soft leather anklets acting as boundaries for training the birds. Saturn, the ruler of Capricorn, loves boundaries. It finds power and pleasure in delaying gratification until the hard work is done. Carl Phillips has proven that his work is worth the hype and, much like Capricorn, if you aren’t convinced you can take it up with his trophy shelf because right now, he’s most likely crafting another winning collection.
Check out the book 🔗
(And here’s the Pulitzer Winner 👉🏽)
AQUARIUS
Aquarius is the zodiac’s resident revolutionary. Always enough steps ahead to be on the outside looking in, Aquarius is a progressive misfit. A paradox, it represents fixed air. In IRL, Tommy Pico ponders about existence as a queer, indigenous person. What does modern life look like when one is severed from their ancestral roots? The entire collection reads like a text message which smacks of Aquarius’ advanced frameworks and its affiliation with technology. As an air sign Aquarius wants to connect ideas and people, but it is also ruled by Saturn so it can translate as cool or remote. Much like the struggle driving IRL, how to expand past Brooklyn rooftops when roadblocks abound? The growing pains exhibited in this poetry collection are at once timely, traditional, and buoyant in its air sign honesty.
PISCES
Kenji C. Liu’s Monsters I Have Been
Pisces is the last sign in the zodiac for good reason: its fluid and often ethereal nature might distract us from the fact that it rules loss, sorrow, and hidden things. Pisces is the culmination of consciousness. It drifts toward what is beyond our comprehension with compassion and empathy. The way that Liu displays the monstrous capitalist extremism we live in while still kindling love for community makes this collection poignant and very, very necessary. Monsters I Have Been encompasses the harshness, the hope, and everything in between.
Then there’s the emergence of the “frankenpo”, a form born when Lui realized he “shouldn’t be limiting [his] palette”. The “frankenpo” displays a boundless and visual approach to poetry and is meant to explore the tension between opposing concepts. All-encompassing and visually stunning, we dare you to look at the colorful almost glittering cover and not think Pisces.
This article was posted on June 20, 2023. Written by:
Featuring a book-nerd assist from:
