Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Planets: A Cosmic Pastoral[Poems] | 1976 | Diane Ackerman | Buy |
| 2 | Wife of Light | 1978 | Diane Ackerman | Buy |
| 3 | Lady Faustus | 1983 | Diane Ackerman | Buy |
| 4 | Reverse Thunder: A Dramatic Poem | 1988 | Diane Ackerman | Buy |
| 5 | Jaguar of Sweet Laughter: New and Selected Poems | 1991 | Diane Ackerman | Buy |
| 6 | I Praise My Destroyer: Poems | 1998 | Diane Ackerman | Buy |
| 7 | Origami Bridges: Poems of Psychoanalysis and Fire | 2000 | Diane Ackerman | Buy |
| 8 | The Senses of Animals: Poems | 2000 | Diane Ackerman | Buy |
| 9 | Animal Sense | 2003 | Diane Ackerman | Buy |
Diane Ackerman’s poetry collections span nearly three decades, from her first book The Planets: A Cosmic Pastoral (1976) through Animal Sense (2003). Her poems draw on science and the natural world, with subjects ranging from astronomy to animal behavior. Wife of Light (1978) and Lady Faustus (1983) established her style of blending scientific observation with lyric verse.
Later collections like Jaguar of Sweet Laughter (1991) gathered new and selected poems, while I Praise My Destroyer (1998) and Origami Bridges (2000) explored more personal territory including psychoanalysis. The Senses of Animals (2000) and Animal Sense (2003) returned to the natural world, examining how other creatures experience their environments. Ackerman’s poetry is closely linked to her nonfiction work, sharing the same curiosity about how living things perceive the world.