Gregory Cowles

I was pleased to see that the poetry award went to Terrance Hayes for his fourth collection, “Lighthead,” which Stephen Burt reviewed for us in April.

Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.

Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.

The American writer, who won a Nobel Prize in 2020, wrote with cool clarity and often puckish wit.

An editor recommends Lorrie Moore’s “Birds of America” and Mary Webb’s “Precious Bane”

The Nobel laureate’s “Small Memories” is a mix of peasant life, boyhood adventure and wide-eyed wonder.

Gregory Cowles, the poetry editor of The New York Times Book Review, recommends four books that are perfect for National Poetry Month.

Carl Sandburg’s boyhood; Carolyn Forché’s political awakening.

The Nobel Prize-winning author specialized in exacting short stories that were novelistic in scope, spanning decades with intimacy and precision.

His fascination with terrorism, cults and mass culture’s weirder turns has given his work a prophetic air. Here’s where to start.