Like most every writer, we like all kinds of writing. But in case you’re wondering, here are some of our favorites.

Poets: Lucille Clifton, Maya Angelou, Gwendolyn Brooks, Mary Oliver, CD Wright, Carol Frost, Louise Glück, Denise Levertov, Naomi Shihab Nye, Sharon Olds, Sylvia Plath, Adrienne Rich, Marie Howe, Jan Beatty, Linda Gregg, Julia Kasdorf, Anne Carson, Gloria Evangelina Anzaldúa, Louise Erdrich, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Eileen Myles.

Essayists/Creative Nonfiction: Cheryl Strayed, Bethanne Patrick, Antonia Crane, Wendy C. Ortiz, Samantha Dunn, Jill Christman, Pam Houston, Elena Passarello, Sonya Huber, Kate Hopper, Roxane Gay, Claudia Rankine, Abigail Thomas, Joan Didion, Maggie Nelson, Annie Dillard, Judith Kitchen, Lidia Yuknavitch, Leslie Jamison.