I love feminist poetry.

To me, it’s just the right combination of creative and uplifting that really hits the mark. Its also possibly the largest area of contemporary poetry as well.

When scouring through names of feminist poets, you might have come across Rupi Kaur. She’s well known for her uplifting poetry collections.

If you’ve read her, that’s great. But her work can often seem a little shallow (at least to me). Luckily, she’s not the only name out there.

So, in this article you’ll find a list of other feminist poetry collections that I have read and loved more.

Great Goddesses: Life lessons from myths and monsters – Nikita Gill

If you’ve read my other article about feminist poetry, you’ll know all about Nikita Gill already.

This is a wonderful collection of poetry and prose. It’s a good starting point if you’re new to the world of poetry as well.

The sections of prose and the familiarity of the gods and goddesses from Greek mythology really ramp up the accessibility factor.

In this book, Gill guides you through the creation, rise, and fall of the gods of Greek myths.

Her writing makes them easy characters to empathise with and every page is beautifully written.

There are also some stunning illustrations throughout the book. These are beautiful stopping points that will really give you the opportunity to stop and reflect back on what you have read so far, and are about to discover next.

Fierce Fairytales: & Other Stories to Stir Your Soul – Nikita Gill

Fierce Fairytales is the same premise as Great Goddesses. It takes the traditional tales that we all know from our childhood bedtime stories and Disney movies. Except with a twist.

Gill isn’t happy to just let these stories get away with their often misogynistic treatment of women this time, oh no.

Instead, she warps and changes them, phrasing them as the “what actually happened” version of the stories.

In a strange way, this collection really reminded me of Road Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes book. I read these a lot as a child and they still hold up as fantastic poems for children who are getting bored of the traditional versions.

The message of this collection is very much “Go away, princes, we can do our own saving” and I am 100% here for it.

C+nto & Othered Poems – Joelle Taylor

So this collection is a strange one honestly. 

C+nto is a memoir laid out as a poetry collection. It documents the lives of women living in the butch counterculture of the ‘90s.

The book’s got a wonderful message of body positivity for women who might not have seen their body types as desirable.

As someone who has always been on the borders of butch fashion and culture, it was this that really appealed to me about this collection.

Taylor’s acceptance of big, strong, wide bodies is such a breath of fresh air.

Just like butch bodies, these poems are not delicate and fragile; they stand tall and strong, unapologetic and stunning.

Honestly I have been putting off going back and reading these all again but just writing this makes me want to pick up the book all over again.

(It also won the T.S Eliot prize in 2021, in case you need more convincing!)

Music for the Dead and Resurrected – Valzhyna Mort

If you like stunningly sad imagery, then this might be the collection for you.

Mort’s poems in this collection explore the idea of the violence of nations. Mort was raised in Belarus, and the early poems in this collection describe the brutal architecture, the school rules and life under a tough regime. 

This collection guides you through the world of family trauma and imperial forces. It shows what life is like from the shadows, trying to remain hidden.

I love the surrealism of her poems, often starting from a recognisable scene, such as travelling on a train, before warping into something quite different.

While this collection isn’t exactly uplifting, it is inspiring and incredibly thought provoking.

The Illustrated Woman – Helen Mort

Same last name, different poet!

Just as with C+nto, we are back on the topic of celebrating the uncelebrated bodies of women.

The Illustrated Woman takes the various forms of Women, and writes about them in all their strange and wonderful glory. 

Mort writes about the bodies of pregnant women, ageing women, adolescent women, and as the title suggests, illustrated women.

I’m fairly new to the world of tattoos, but this collection of poems worships the history of illustrating skin.

There is an amazing poem that talks about cellulite adding texture to the floral tattoo on her thigh that is just stunning. 

This collection from start to end is unwavering in its praise of women’s bodies, its lovely.

The Air Year – Caroline Bird

I had this book thrust into my hands when leaving a friend’s party, and I’m so grateful.

The friend who recommended this book to me said it got her through lockdown, and I get it.

Bird’s poetry is beefy and heavy and wordy, but very addictive nonetheless. This collection discusses themes of depression and addiction throughout.

There are two standout poems about these issues for me. Temporary Vows is a beautiful poem about attempts at suicide that left me in tears; it was stunning.

Anaesthetic demonstrated the ceaseless hunger that takes over for people in the throws of addiction.

The voices telling the poems often sound like they are trapped, or suspended that gives the whole book a very hypnotic feeling that you will either love or hate.

The next book on the list does almost exactly the opposite.

Teeth in the Back of my Neck – Monika Radojevic

I mentioned this collection in my previous article, The amazing world of feminist poems, and I’m mentioning it again here!

It deserves all the attention it can get, this collection is incredible.

Teeth in the Back of my Neck is one of those poetry collections where you can feel the anger pouring out of ever line, every word.

Radojevic isn’t just upset about the misogynistic treatment of women, she is furious.

Poems like A few brown bodies and 56+ are so full of anger and disappointment at the heartless and patriarchal world that they really make you want to get up and do something right away.

As much as I love celebratory poems, there is something undeniably powerful and thrilling about reading really really angry poetry.

WITCH – Rebecca Tamas

This is the collection for you if you like you feminist poetry with a hefty side plate of paganism.

WITCH  is gritty and dirty and metal right from the start. The collection starts with the witch of the title making a deal with (and love to) the devil.

The rest of the book is set out as different spells for different problems or issues. 

Its a great dark and horror filled collection of poetry centred around giving women power over people and their surroundings.

Wild Embers: Poems of rebellion, fire and beauty – Nikita Gill

Oh you thought I was done with Nikita Gill? Oh no no no!

Wild Embers isn’t like the previous two collections. It doesn’t use framing devices of fairy tales or Greek myths to tell stories. Instead it is just a beautiful uplifting collection from start to finish.

The poems in this collection are set to inspire and encourage the people who read them.

There are a couple of poems in here that honestly left me in tears; it was incredible.

Gill’s ability to embrace the hurt and pain from different traumas in her poetry is hard to beat, particularly when it is celebrated by voices that don’t shy away, but instead use this power to move forward with their lives.

Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head – Warsan Shire

I bought this collection on the recommendation of a friend who said it left them in tears. And I can confirm, it did also leave me in tears.

Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head is similar to C+nto, in that it acts as a memoir told through poems. 

This follows a young girl who lacks the love and support she seeks from those parental figures around her.

So instead, she puts the trust in herself, and in her own inner voice to guide her through life.

The collection is full of rich descriptions of the life of immigrants and refugees. Particularly those of Black women and girls.

Throughout the collection, Shire draws influence from the people in her own life, as well as many aspects of popular culture as well.

This is an excellent collection if you want to see a full range of human emotion and experience laid bare on the page in front of you.

My recommendation would be to read it in the bath with a big glass of red wine, but no hard feelings if that’s really not your style!