A genuine poetry book haul

I recently bought ten books of poetry. So what makes this book purchase a "genuine" book haul--as opposed to other bouts of book purchasing? The spontaneity. Usually my book purchases are very premeditated. However, Amazon seems to have learned my price point and recently started showing me books costing $10 to $12. Much of this bait is on my wish list. However, it had also caught on that I've been purchasing award winners over the past year and so is showing me other award winners or finalists--so I got four of those, along with the latest book of poetry by Gordon Henry. I was content. But the next day I was on Amazon to do a book review and there were more at my price point, most of which I've been interested in for years and so I got another five. Ten books arrived in three envelopes on the same day. So I'm currently enjoying the excitement of exploration before the potential letdown. Here's a little about why I got each book and my guess as to whether I'll like it.

Spirit Matters by Gordon Henry (2022)

Gordon Henry is a Native American author. I was first introduced to him through his fiction book The Light People, which I found fascinating. He published a book of poetry in 2008 that I discovered around 2020 enjoyed, so I was excited to see he had another book of poetry out. Since I've never not liked a book by him, I'm hopeful I'll enjoy this one.

Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude by Ross Gay (2015)

Ross Gay is a bit of an unknown quantity to me. I wouldn't be surprised if I've read him in more recent anthologies but his poetry never stood out to me. I bought this one as an award winner and based on hearing Pat at the Youtube channel Book Chat with Pat read from his work. So this will be a bit of a test to see if he's someone whose poetry I'll like.

The Tradition by Jericho Brown (2019)

I've enjoyed Jericho Brown's poetry in anthologies so I'm hoping to like this book. It's an award winner.

Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror by John Ashbery (first released 1975)

This was a risky purchase. I don't particularly like Ashbery's poetry, but the title of this book keeps appearing before my eyes for whatever reason, so I decided to take the plunge.

Life on Mars by Tracy K Smith (2011)

My attitude toward Tracy Smith is neutral. I find the subject matter of this book interesting. I tend to enjoy poetry with science themes and this is an elegy to her father, who was a scientist involved with the Hubble space telescope. I'm hoping to like this but am not sure.

Frank: Sonnets by Diane Seuss (2021)

I was impressed by Seuss's recent book Modern Poetry and so this one, which won her more than one award, jumped to the top of my interest list. I'll be surprised if I don't like this one at least on some level.

Obit by Victoria Chang (2020)

The poetry of Chang's I've seen in anthologies has put her on my radar. I've wanted to read more of her work for a few years. I'm not sure whether I'll like a full book of it or not. This one is a bit odd. Just doing a rapid flip through the book I see that the poems are formatted as columns of text, like an obituary in a newspaper. That makes this one of the more unusual books among this set in terms of the theme being mirrored in the form.  

Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky (2019)

This book and poet is another one that keeps coming before my eyes. I have no idea whether I'll like this book or his poetics. I've had some trouble embracing war-based poetry recently. This was written before any of the current conflicts began but I wonder how his brand of political poetry will hit me.

Time and Materials by Robert Hass (2008)

I respect Robert Hass but I've never thought to seek out a full volume of his work. I know this is one of his more highly thought of books. It won two awards. I expect to enjoy it. The question is whether I'll like it enough to read more of his books.

Faithful and Virtuous Night by Louise Gluck (2015)

Unlike so many, I am not a fan of Louise Gluck's poetry. So this book is similar to the Ashbery book in terms of risk. I got it with low expectations. This was the cheapest book I got at only $8 and change--and it's thin. It was a National Book Award winner. I figure if I'm going to give Louise Gluck another try, this is it.

So that's my poetry book haul, all but one of which were published in the 21st Century. Though it's impossible to be "caught up" on the large amount of poetry being published, I'm finally beginning to feel that I've sampled a decent amount of 21st Century poetry after having largely ignored it for 20 years.