Below I will outline 25 books that have had a profound impact on my life. Each book should be easily readable within approximately 2 weeks, meaning that all 25 could, in theory, be read over the course of 2025. All of the books, with a few exceptions, should be available for purchase through the Amazon links I provide. Disclosure: by purchasing through these links you are helping support me and this blog.

Please note that these books are in no particular order and should not be considered reviews.

1. Gospel Earth by Jeffery Beam
Jeffery Beam has been the single biggest influence on my poetry. This collection of poems from 2010 is my favorite book of poetry, and likely my favorite book, period. These short poems contain universes of micro and telescopic truth.

2. Literchoor is My Beat: A Life of James Laughlin by Ian S. MacNiven
This is a fantastic biography of the founder of New Directions, James Laughlin. Laughlin is, alongside Barney Rossett of Grove Press and Jonathan Williams of Jargon Society, one of the most important influences on my work as a publisher. This biography is extremely well written (though I do find myself skipping a fair amount of the skiing material as it is of little interest to me) and often sparks inspiration.

3. The Gist of Origin, 1951-1971: An anthology by [ed.] Cid Corman
Cid Corman will likely appear a few times on this list, as editor (in this case), poet, or translator. His work as editor of Origin has been massive to my development as a writer and publisher. This anthology includes so many poets of extreme importance to the development of literature in the 20th century. It should be required reading.

4. In Watermelon Sugar by Richard Brautigan
This short work is probably my favorite novel. It never fails to get me back in the writing mood. The prose is matter-of-fact and doesn’t shy away from the absurd.

5. Complete Minimal Poems by Aram Saroyan
This is a book I have continually returned to since I first starting writing in 2010. Saroyan is as much an artist as a poet and this work shows it.

6. Água Viva by Clarice Lispector
This short novel was first gifted to me by novelist George Salis (see number 7). Since then I have fallen under Lispector’s spell. I also recommend her “Passion According to G.H.”, however this work is a bit closer to my heart.

7. Sea Above, Sun Below by George Salis
I’ve known George for nearly a decade and I am still in awe of him. He is, without a doubt in my mind, the greatest novelist living today. This work, his debut novel, feels like the work of a seasoned novelist.

8. The Collected Poems by Samuel Beckett
Much like the next writer on this list, Beckett’s poems are often overlooked or overshadowed by his theatre and prose works. His poetry is haunting and unstoppable. My wife and I included a passage from his poetry in our wedding vows last month.

9. Next to Nothing: Collected Poems, 1926-1977 by Paul Bowles
Bowles, to me, is a poet who wrote novels and music, much like Beckett. These poems are youthful but brilliant.

10. Cocteau’s World: An Anthology of Writings by Jean Cocteau
Cocteau is one of the greatest influences on my life and career. Selecting just a single work of his is impossible, so I decided on this older anthology, otherwise 20 of the items on this list would be Cocteau’s.

11. A Visual Biography by Marina Abramovic
Abramovic is another idol of mine. This monster of a book (which is nearly 70% off at the time of writing) is such an amazing piece of art. Since it came out a little over a year ago I have flipped through it weekly and found inspiration each and every time.

12. Wasp, Gasp by Barton Smock
This is Barton’s most recent work (aside from self-published material). I have known him for closer to 20 years than I care to admit. In that time his work has remained singularly his.

13. New Collected Poems by David Gascoyne
Gascoyne is a poet who joined surrealism’s second wave, and one that I admire fully. His work is unlike any other. Along with Lamantia (see next posting) I cannot think of any other English-language surrealist on par with Eluard and Desnos.

14. Collected Poems by Philip Lamantia
I have dreamt the words of Lamantia and they were beautiful.

15. The Lost Lunar Baedeker by Mina Loy
Much to my wife’s chagrin, I am obsessed with, and very likely am in love with, Mina Loy and her work. It has stayed with and lived inside me since I first came into contact with it back in 2010.

16. Ikkyu: Crow With No Mouth versions by Stephen Berg
In this unique work, Berg has given us short variations or versions of works by the zen monk and poet Ikkyu. This is a very slim volume, and each of the poems is extremely short, yet I have thought on them for years and haven’t yet gotten them out of my head.

17. Georges Bataille: An Intellectual Biography by Michel Surya
I could not decide on a particular work by Bataille to include, so I went with Surya’s masterful biography. This work inspired my play Joseph-Aristide about Bataille’s father which was performed for the first time this year (2024) and will hopefully be explored further in 2025.

18. Leaves of Hypnos by Rene Char (trans. by Cid Corman)
This work left me absolutely floored. Char has long been one of my favorite poets, and Corman certainly does him justice in this version. If the price point frightens you off, Mary-Ann Caws also has a lovely translation included in her selected poems of Char.

19. Ghost of Chance by William S. Burroughs
I owe so much to William Burroughs. His work taught me how to write, how to experiment, and how to think about creativity and the world. It is a near impossible task to select just one work by Burroughs. I have chosen this one for this list solely due to our shared love and desire to conserve lemurs. If possible read as much work of his as you can find.

20. Nothing/Doing: Selected Poems by Cid Corman
Corman’s poetry is absolutely brilliant. I highly recommend starting here and continuing as far as your bank account allows.

21. Selected Writing by Antonin Artaud [ed. Susan Sontag]
There are no words, Artaud was and is beyond explanation.

22. The Dance of Reality by Alejandro Jodorowsky
Jodorowsky is another of the artists who have completely changed my life. I can wholeheartedly recommend each of his books, but recommend you start with this as it is the start of him and his journey.

23. Guernica and Other Plays by Fernando Arrabal
While there are other works I prefer of Arrabal’s, this is the easiest to get in English, particularly in the United States. It is a great starting point.

24. Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor
Melchor is truly on another level. Her writing is terrifying and beautiful and haunting and a million other things all rolled into one. She is definitely to be watched.

25. Wrong Norma by Anne Carson
Anne Carson’s most recent release is amazing. While you cannot go wring with any of her work, this collection of essays hit me in a way few other books have in a long time.

26. [Bonus] The Box Man by Kobo Abe
This extra title was suggested by my wife Madeline. She reads a great deal of Japanese literature and quite enjoyed this title. I’ll be picking this one up next week. I thoroughly enjoyed Abe’s The Woman in the Dunes and Kangaroo Notebook, so I am sure I will love this as well. Madeline and I typically overlap quite well with novels. I am also eager to try Abe’s theatre, especially as I dive deeper into the medium myself.

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What recommendations do you have? Please let me know in the comments below!