Reading with a Griffin: 26 Books Written in Verse and Poetry Collections : Mar-April

26 Books Series #1:

Read 26 Books Written in Verse and

Poetry Collections in 2026

March-April

Happy National Poetry Month! I read a good amount of books written in verse and poetry collection in the last two months.

6. These Are the Words: Fearless Verse to Find Your Voice by Nikita Gill- Poetry

- Nikita Gill writes some of my absolute favorite poetry collections. This was not my favorite of her works but there was still so many great poems. Also, her illustrations go along perfectly with each of the poems.

"Seasons Change"

"You are an unrepeatable being

and by this I mean

a symphony of stars created your bones,

you are unforgettable warmth

of the last summer's day,

the brave first gold leaf of autumn.

Remember that

as summer fades into autumn

everything is temporary

Even when your heart is broken in summer,

eventually autumn will turn into winter

and winter will become

the second chances of spring."

7. Galahad and the Grail (Merlin's Isle #1) by Malcolm Guite- Epic Poem

- Galahad and the Grail is the first in a four-part epic poetry series following King Arthur and his knights. Malcolm Guite has used a ballad style for the poetry throughout the epic. This sounds great reading the poetry out loud and I highly recommend doing so if you can.

I cannot imagine the work that went into keeping the rhyme scheme going while creating this new take on the tale. Along with the beautiful lines of verse, there is stunning artwork illustrated by Stephen Crotts, which go along perfectly with the story. The full page illustrations are great and I especially enjoyed the illuminated capitals. They really helped this feel like an epic from long ago. I am highly looking forward to the next part of this series which is going to focus on Arthur's upbringing and how he became king.

"From where the waves wash Cornwall's caves

out to the white horse vale,

the lands still hold the tale of old

like hidden treasure, buried gold.

Once more the story must be told.

Poet, take up the tale.

Tell of the king who will return,

tell of the Holy Grail,

tell of old knights and chivalry,

tell of the pristine mystery,

of Merlin's Isle of Gramarye.

Poet, take up the tale."

- The quote is from an ARC of the book.

8. I Needed a Viking by Alfa- Poetry

- I was not as big of a fan of this collection of poetry as I wanted to be. It is filled with self-empowering short poems. Many of them are just a short stanza of a few lines. Short poetry is always a hit or miss for me and sadly I did not enjoy these ones. There were a few that really stood out though.

"YOU KNOW BETTER"

"Sometimes you let the distance of yesterday

overtake today. And there is a scenic trail

between what you had and what you have.

You know better.

But you reach. You reach anyway.

Maybe not with hands, but your mind is a

mental warrior and its arms have super-

natural strength.

You journey backwards, trying to retrace

your steps, and realize your feet don't fit

in them anymore.

You relive the past for a moment, trying to

capture what you lost, until the storage of

strength rises up and pulls you back.

But you're so much stronger now.

You don't linger.

You know better."

9. The Dreamer by Pam Muñoz Ryan- Prose & Poetry

- A book about the childhood of the poet Pablo Neruda, a perfect book for National Poetry Month. Most of the book is written through prose with poems scattered throughout, along with stunning illustrations.

"I am poetry,

waiting to seize the poet.

I ask the questions

for which all answers

exist.

I choose no one.

I choose every one.

Come closer...

...if you dare. "

10. The Book of Questions by Pablo Neruda- Poetry

- I decided to pick this up after reading The Dreamer because Pam Muñoz Ryan said she was partly inspired by this poetry collection to write that book. Each poem in this collection has Pablo Neruda asking multiple unanswerable questions. This was his last poetry collection which he finished a few months before his death. I definitely can see where Pam got the inspiration from this book. It had many insightful questions but this was not a collection I enjoyed as much as I wanted to.