books

March 6, 2026

The Best Recent Poetry

Gravity Archives by Andrew Motion; Rabbitbox by Wayne Holloway-Smith; Strange Architectures by JL Williams; I Do Know Some Things by Richard Siken

The Best Recent Poetry

TL;DR

  • Andrew Motion's "Gravity Archives" confronts death and loss, shifting from ambivalent expatriate to a more resolute observer of mortality.
  • Wayne Holloway-Smith's "Rabbitbox" uses the metaphor of a "boy-rabbit" to explore the impact of male violence and prevented living.
  • JL Williams' "Strange Architectures" comprises poems based on dreams, creating varied interior and exterior spaces that reflect the self.
  • Richard Siken's "I Do Know Some Things" revisits themes of queer love and trauma, reflecting on memory and language after a stroke.
  • The collections collectively engage with themes of grief, identity, trauma, and the construction of personal narratives.

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