Poetry Books I’m Reading This November: Inspiration for Writers & Creatives
- Kaecey McCormick
- 10 hours ago
- 2 min read
November always feels like a super short month to me. I know, I know... it has the same number of days as September, April, and June.
But between travel, the big holiday, and the early darkness, the days seem to slip past more quickly than I expect.
It’s also the month when many writers try to draft an entire novel in thirty days, but this year I’m celebrating smaller steps—shorter forms of writing that still carry big impact. Hence, my Gentle 30-Day Micro Writing Challenge.
While I designed it with November in mind, you can start at any time and complete the micro-writing challenge in any month of the year. Get access to the challenge by clicking the image below:
With all that going on, it can be challenging to stay engaged with an entire collection. That’s where poetry chapbooks come in: compact, powerful collections that can be read in a single sitting but stay with you much longer.
To honor the spirit of micro-writing this month, I’m revisiting three chapbooks from Rattle’s annual contest. Each of these slim volumes reminds me that brevity can open up enormous creative space.
Ready? Here they are:
(1) A voice that keeps striking: In Which by Denise Duhamel
Denise Duhamel brings wit, truth, and persona-driven humor in In Which.
From a proud declaration—“I’ve never felt more like myself”—to sharp commentaries on culture, identity, and absurdity, these twenty-one "In Which” poems do more than amuse. They make you consider who you are when no one's watching.
Reading this chapbook feels like slipping into a voice both outrageous and wise—and it’s exactly the kind of creative inspiration I love to get from poetry.
(2) Poetic justice in prison life: Punishment by Nancy Miller Gomez
Nancy Miller Gomez’s Punishment emerged from her work teaching poetry in prison, and it echoes with humanity.
The title poem pierces assumptions with stark imagery. Elsewhere, poignant scenes—an inmate nurturing an apple seed “in a crack of damp concrete”—stick with you long after the page.
This chapbook brings home just how poetry can hold both power and grace in the most unexpected places.
(3) Flights of imagination: Sky Mall by Eric Kocher
Eric Kocher’s Sky Mall, the third chapbook in my stack, unfolds with surreal, expansive imagery.
Reading this chapbook feels like stepping into terrain both familiar and dreamlike—poems that hover between humor and haunting stillness..
For me, this book mirrors what a micro-writing challenge offers: not exhaustive storytelling, but glimpses that shift perspective and keep the imagination alive.
What poetry books are you reading for inspiration this month?
These are the poetry books keeping me inspired this month as I work through my Gentle 30-Day Micro Writing Challenge. I'm enjoying how each one offers something different, and I can't wait to get back to reading to uncover even more inspiration!
Now I’d love to know: what poetry books are on your nightstand right now? Share in the comments or send me a note—I’m always looking for new reading inspiration.
Enjoy reading and writing, and have a great week!
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