7 Poets to Watch in 2022
There are so many poets creating beautiful and powerful work these days. From exciting publications to debut book releases, there’s something new to discover almost daily.
If you’re looking for some new poems to explore or various emerging voices to celebrate, check out these seven poets who are making their mark on the world this year:
Gaia Rajan
Rajan is truly unstoppable. She is the author of Moth Funerals (Glass Poetry Press), her debut chapbook released in 2020. She also has a microchap, Elsewhere, and another chapbook, Killing It, forthcoming from Variant Lit and Black Lawrence Press, respectively. Killing It is slated to be published this fall and her poem “Ascent” was recently selected for the 2022 Best of the Net anthology. Rajan is also the cofounder of the WOC Speak Reading Series, serves as an editor for several publications, and a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee.
Ayokunle Falomo
Falomo’s work cannot be missed. His poetry collection AFRICANAMERICAN'T is forthcoming from FlowerSong Press this year and he is also the author of KIN.DREAD; thread, this wordweaver must!; and African, American (New Delta Review). Falomo’s work has been featured in many places, including Write About Now, Palette Poetry, and The New York Times, and he has also received MacDowell and Vermont Studio Center fellowships and several awards over the years.
Stella Lei
Lei is a teen writer who is quickly making her mark on the literary world. She serves as the editor-in-chief of The Augment Review and has been featured in numerous publications, including Okay Donkey, trampset, Four Way Review, and others. A Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee, Lei also edits/reads for Polyphony Lit and Split Lip Magazine. Her debut prose chapbook Inheritances of Hunger (River Glass Books) is being published this year. She has been nominated for the Pushcart, Best of the Net, and Best Small Fictions.
Kyle Carrero Lopez
Lopez’s work is unforgettable. It has been featured in numerous publications, including POETRY, Academy of American Poets’ Poem-a-Day series, The Atlantic, Best New Poets, and more. His chapbook MUSCLE MEMORY is forthcoming from [PANK]. Lopez also co-founded LEGACY, “a Brooklyn-based production collective by and for Black queer artists.” He is also a Best of the Net nominee and finalist.
Joan Kwon Glass
Glass is a true poetic force. Not only was her debut chapbook How to Make Pancakes for a Dead Boy (Harbor Editions) just published in January, but she also has three more collections being released this year: the chapbook If Rust Can Grow on the Moon (Milk & Cake Press), her first full-length Night Swim (Diode Editions), and microchap Bloodline, winner of the Harbor Review Washburn Prize. She also currently serves as the poet laureate of Milford, Connecticut, and edits/reads for West Trestle Review and Rogue Agent. Glass’s work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net and has received numerous accolades over the last several years.
Aldo Amparán
Amparán’s name is one you’ll want to remember. Their debut collection Brother Sleep is forthcoming from Alice James Books this fall. Amparán’s work has also appeared in numerous publications, including The Adroit Journal, Ploughshares, Academy of American Poets, and Kenyon Review. They have also received National Endowment for the Arts and CantoMundo fellowships.
Siaara Freeman
Freeman’s words will leave a mark on anyone who reads (or hears) them. Her debut collection Urbanshee is forthcoming from Button Poetry this summer, where several of her spoken word performances have also been featured. Her work has been published in The Offing, Tinderbox, West Trestle Review, and others. She currently serves as a teaching artist for the Center for Arts-Inspired Learning and, over the years, has received several fellowships and toured internationally to perform her work.
Which poets would you add to this list?
