Poetry books are either hated or praised. Furthermore, their authors are highly acclaimed people in society or celebrities hated for their attempts to write. Nevertheless, some famous artists don't care for the feedback – they do what they love. No one deserves hate for trying, but you'll adore some of these top ten poetry books, or they'll make you believe that these people will never be real writers!
10. "Straight James / Gay James" by James Franco
Every book from this list can be read, but you'll throw this one to the nearest trash can
James Franco might be a Ph.D. student and a fantastic actor, but his poetry collection "Straight James / Gay James" is a disaster. As soon as you open the book and see a poem named "Gucci officially," you'll throw it away. When you think it couldn't get worse, you turn the page and see cringe-worthy lines about Hollywood, James Dean, and Lana Del Rey.
Actually, James Franco admires his colleague Del Rey and praises her authenticity throughout the whole book. He even dedicated this whole work to her. Nevertheless, we don't think the singer is touched by this gesture since the book looks like it was intended to look and sound bad.
9. "The Life of a Wannabe Mogul: Mental Disarray" by Bella Thorne
Thorne's rawness keeps people around the world starstruck
Spelling mistakes, and the disarray you can't deny when you open this book, are so pretentious that you'll immediately know they're intentional. After all, expressing yourself and being unique in your poetry book is entirely fair… When poetry is actually good, and you're not focused on the visual side only.
"The Life of a Wannabe Mogul" makes you leave it before you open the first page, and Bella Thorne's controversy won't help her sell this work. Anyone who ever had a real poetry book in their hands will skip this. Still, we've seen some positive reviews every now and then, so the love-hate relationship obviously exists here!
8. "Swimming Lessons" by Lili Reinhart
The "Riverdale" star got to publish this only for her name
With the absence of proper editing, this poetry book is another perfect example of how publishers couldn't wait to profit from Reinhart's name. The story of the "Riverdale" star is sincere, and her point is clear, but the way this screams "basic Instagram poetry with no structure" should've never happened.
Surprisingly enough, this poetry book found its way to the readers, getting overall positive reviews from fans. Luckily, "Swimming Lessons" could relate to young teens looking for themselves and struggling with their insecurities. Thus, everything wrong has a right side. Just like we mentioned above, nothing deserves absolute hate, anyway.
7. "Tears for Water" by Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys is obviously named "a poet" now, but read her book to find out if she's worth that
Don't get us wrong, Keys has the voice of an angel, and she's a pure artist in the music industry. Still, we believe you hated this one when you read it. However, if you're into straightforward types of poems without trying too hard to understand them, this would be your top five without any doubt!
Actually, this poetry book would be way higher on this list if Keys didn't make her poems meaningless by putting an explanation after them. Explaining yourself while writing poetry is pointless and shows that she didn't make it when she tried to tell us a story through the poem itself.
6. "I Would Leave Me If I Could" by Halsey
uncarley pointed out the good and the bad, so choose your fighter
Telling your truth is a positive side of the 21st century because you'll obviously be praised for that right now. Halsey is raw, sincere, sometimes overly pathetic or too emotional, and a fantastic songwriter with insanely appealing album concepts. We would turn her albums into gorgeous photo books if we could, but we definitely would leave her poetry book… Somewhere far away from here!
Unfortunately, even with her uniqueness, Halsey went a bit too basic at many points here. If this one had a way better editor, it would fit into the top five. Still, with overly repetitive imagery and pretentious portraits of emotions, this could do way better. Halsey has the potential to turn her songwriting into poems, and we hope this is only the first step.
5. "A Night Without Armor" by Jewel
If you loved this book, you'd definitely like the rest of the list – Jewel is kind of "out of date" already
We don't know if you remember her now since Jewel is nowhere to be found today regarding music or anything. Still, she sold more than ten million copies of her debut album! With her gorgeously titled poetry book, "A Night Without Armor," she didn't get as lucky as the album. Still, the book's popularity was no joke!
Actually, this one used to be so famous that it would haunt every bookshop ever, with its spooky name and a minimalistic cover that also has Jewel on it. This woman alone caused wars between critics since many people recommended her book. Still, others pointed out how these poems had no authentic emotions and she didn't deliver them properly.
4. "Dark Sparkler" by Amber Tamblyn
Finally, a poetry book by a celebrity that flows naturally!
First of all, Amber Tamblyn isn't even a celebrity poet only! She already released two poetry collections before her 2015 book "Dark Sparkler," with a contradictional title that sounds a bit cliché but actually so appealing at the same time! The cover also resembles the title so perfectly, and you definitely won't be disappointed when you open the book, too!
Moreover, you'll enjoy how she showcases that she's already an acclaimed poet with a history behind her. You'll see that this woman knows what she's doing, and she's even nailing it playfully, as the book gets pretty personal. You'll like this one, most likely!
3. "Violet Bent Backwards over the Grass" by Lana Del Rey
Rachel Oates liked the poems overall and pointed out some mistakes
You may enjoy the way she's humble and careless, putting her casual selfie on the back of the book cover. Yet, you may think she's pretentious and cheap in her expression. Still, no one can say anything wrong about Del Rey's songwriting, which flows naturally, telling stories about the nostalgic 50s Hollywood dreams. Out of all these reasons, Lana tried herself at the usually-hated "celebrities poetry collection."
"Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass" isn't even receiving hate, to say the least, since its readers' reviews on Google mostly gave her a five-star evaluation! Everything in this poetry book seems casual, from the cover (made by Lana herself) to the handwritten notes and draft versions of the poems. It feels like a diary from the old times, so if you're a fan of that vibe, go for it!
2. "The Rose That Grew From Concrete" by Tupac
Is this your favorite Tupac poem?
Tupac Shakur would be ashamed of what is named poetry today since his "celebrity poems" were way more than that. Years after his tragic death, he is still considered one of the best rappers of the new generation. The way he played with rap lyrics hinted at the possibility of him being a natural poet!
His beloved poetry book "The Rose That Grew From Concrete" pretty much resembles who Tupac himself is, and his art kept growing throughout the years. Shakespeare strongly influenced him, and his writings' complexity makes a massive difference from today's "Instagram basic" works.
1. "Useless Magic" by Florence Welch
If anyone breaks the stereotypes, that will be Florence with her body of work
You know it's good when it contains everything the artists before Welch tried to accumulate in their work. The aesthetics are combined with real poetry here. In conclusion, "Useless Magic" is a treasure of celebrity publications and so beautiful inside out that we've never seen a single negative review about Welch's masterpiece!
Florence + The Machine, as the band itself, is familiar with the poetic lyrics. Still, that doesn't necessarily show that the artist would have a successful poetry book. Compared to the other talented songwriters who didn't transmit their talent to the poems, Welch did that effortlessly. This one isn't useless – it's just magic.
Call it intellectual snobbery, the boredom of rich people, or pure art, but these books indeed caught the public's attention. Some of them are worth the hype, and you'll wish you'd never read some of them. It depends on your taste, but we hope you found something you like on this top ten list!
Do you read celebrities' poetry because you like it or because you like the author? Are these poems overrated? Let us know your opinion!
Cover photo: TopTens.fun/Midjourney