Looking at Some of 2021's Best Contemporary Poets Today

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Top Contemporary Poets in 2021

In the age of the internet, people no longer have to visit their local libraries or purchase a book from a bookshop to gain access to some of the freshest poems in the poetry world. People can look on such platforms as Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. And while the modern world has produced some of the finest poets in the history of this literary genre, here are the names of some of those who have defined contemporary poetry.

Ocean Vuong

The appearance of his name here is by design if his work is anything to go by. He is an American writer of Vietnam origin. He blends the two backgrounds into his easy-to-understand, message-loaded, and lyrically engaging literature. He is perhaps best known for his 'On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous,' a New York Times' best-selling novel.

Reyna Biddy

Biddy is known for some of the most engaging poems, which draw from such themes as identity, affirmation, loss, and love.

Richard Siken

The Yale Series of Young Poets award that Richard received in 2004 says it all about this poetry genius. His poems draw from marriage, obsession, love, and other themes.

Warsan Shire

For those people who love audio poetry, then Shire's collection is the best bet. Although born in Kenya, Shire is a Los Angeles-based poet. Her themes revolve around family, identity, and home, among others.

Stephen Stepanchev

The Serbian-born Stepanchev inpisired hundreds of contemporary poets with his critically acclaimed work. His vast poetry collections includes Mining the Darkness (1975), Descent (1988), Seven Horizons (1997), and Beyond the Gate: New and Selected Poems (2005), to name a few. One noteworthy poem is The Gambler where he postulates ""Will he win?"" which could easily be a reference to card games, slot machines or life in general. In 1997, he was named the first poet laurate of Queens, a title he held until 2000. Stepanchev continued to write until his death in 2017, at age 102.

Notable Mentions