If You're A Leo, Here's The Poetry Collection You Should Read
We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.
When you have Leo in one of the three major placements of your astrological birth chart, it's unsurprising if you're craving poetry. With Leo season shining at the height of summer, Leos have a lot of solar-fed passion and creativity.
Leos, as Co-Star Astrology explains, love things and people that inspire them, the show of strength, and aren't afraid to show what they're feeling, especially if you hurt them. Unsurprisingly, they'd be drawn to poetry and poetry collections with similar themes. Leos love being seen, and sometimes the best way to find a reflection of yourself isn't in a mirror but in the words of a poem.
But when it comes to picking poetry collections, Allure warns to tread carefully. Sometimes, egos can get the best of a Leo and what might be well-intended or meant to inspire could have the opposite effect. Take Charles Bukowski's poetry collection "Women," for instance. On Lit Reactor's list of "10 Leo Authors And Their Most Leo Works," they call the collection "so Leo it practically bites you" and explain how the narrator of the poem — assumed to be Bukowski — explores what he believes is his "wokeness" about women, as well as his abilities as a lover.
"Bukowski-reading [people] aren't all bad," argues Electric Lit, adding that they can be, "clever, sensitive, and creative, but also, "unquestionably, messed up." If Bukowski isn't your thing, here are three other poetry collections we recommend based on whether you're a Leo sun, moon, or rising.
Sun in Leo? You'll want to read Life of the Party: Poems by Olivia Gatwood
Leo's, for better or worse, love and live in their emotions. Their passionate people who can wear their hearts — and every other feeling — on their sleeves. Sometimes, emotions can get the best of you but we always know what you're feeling. It's one of the qualities that make Leos so great.
But sometimes emotions can be a little much. If you're feeling alone in your hot summer of too many emotions, pick up Olivia Gatwood's "Life of the Party: Poems" immediately. "I loved every word on every page with a ferocity that frightened me," says "The Handmaid's Tale" actress Madeline Brewer, a review that echoes the experiences of many readers of Gatwood's collection (via Bookshop).
"Life of the Party: Poems" covers Gatewood's experience with violence growing up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and touches on Gatwood's love of true crime and "long-standing fear of male violence," per The New York Times.
The intensity of emotions, combined with what many reviewers call a rawness in writing style, will get under Leo's skin in all of the best ways (per Bookshop). Like Co-Star Astrology reminds us, Leo's strong fronts can often mask insecurity and self-loathing. Warning: Gatwood's collection may inspire you to be vulnerable with friends, loved ones, and yourself. But be brave, Leo, and let "Life of the Party: Poems" give you the courage to tackle your demons head-on.
Read Rupi Kaur's The Sun and Her Flowers if your moon is in Leo
While sun signs get the most attention, it's what sign the moon was in when you were born that is tied most closely with your internal world and your emotions. Your moon sign, Cosmopolitan explains, is "who you really are."
If your moon is in Leo, Cosmopolitan says that creativity is your key to happiness, meaning you're probably constantly on the hunt for new things to inspire you both in your art and in your love life. Whether you're looking to fall more in love with someone else, Rupi Kaur's "The Sun and Her Flowers" was named by both Reader's Digest and Good Housekeeping as one of the best poetry books ever.
Kapur's writing style — short and simple, Instagram-worthy — will appeal especially to those with their moon in Leo. Astrologer Narayana Montúfar explained to Well + Good that a Leo moon prefers quality over quantity, and that can apply to their relationships as well as what they read.
Kapur packs some serious Leo energy into her short poems, too. Not only has she been called the "Writer of the Decade" by The New Republic, said to have "reinvented poetry" by The Economist, and called a "rock star" by The Kansas City Star, but she's also "one of the most — if not the most — popular poets in America," according to The Boston Globe (via Bookshop).
If you have Leo rising, you need to read Porsha Olayiwola's i shimmer sometimes, too
The third and final major aspect of your astrological birth chart is your rising sign, or what zodiac sign was literally "rising in the eastern horizon," per The Cut. But while we might be getting to ascendant last, The Cut says it's actually the aspect that has the biggest influence over your chart.
So what does this mean? "Others' successes and talents inspire you," explains Cafe Astrology, adding that there's also a high level of self-awareness and body-consciousness that comes with having Leo positioned ascendant. Cosmopolitan warns this self-awareness can lead to being self-critical and an intense fear of failing.
This is why you need to read Porsha Olayiwola's debut poetry collection "i shimmer sometimes, too." Not only is Olayiwola an Individual World Poetry Slam Champion, but at the time of the writing of this article, she's the poet laureate for Boston, Massachusetts, per Bookshop. The collection, WBUR explains, has strong themes of both fear and safety, exploring the consequences of everything from catcalls to driving, especially for black, queer women. Olayiwola told WBUR that her collection, as someone who feels pulled by her multiple identities is "about how to exist as a black queer woman."
Let "i shimmer sometimes, too" remind you who you are and relight the fire inside you — the one you dampened because you self-guessed the amount of space you can take up or the amount of safety you deserved.