Agrippina the Younger: Poems

by Diana Arterian

Winner of the William Carlos Williams Award from the Poetry Society of America
Winner of the Medal Provocateur from the Eric Hoffer Awards
A Ms. Best Poetry Collection
Featured on Lit Hub's "Poetry Books to Read This June"
Featured on Poetry Northwest's "Favorites: Summer 2025"
Featured on Write or Die's "Books We Can't Wait to Read"
A NewPages Editor's Choice

A poetic journey through the past of the Roman Empress Agrippina looks toward the future

Agrippina the Younger follows one woman’s study of another, separated by thousands of miles and two millennia but bound by a shared sense of powerlessness. Agrippina was a daughter in a golden political family, destined for greatness—but she hungered for more power than women were allowed. Exhausted by the misogyny of the present, Diana Arterian reaches into the past to try to understand the patriarchal systems of today. In lyric verse and prose poems, she traces Agrippina’s rise, interrogating a life studded with intrigue, sex, murder, and manipulation. Arterian eagerly pursues Agrippina through texts, ruins, and films, exhuming the hidden details of the ancient noblewoman’s life. These poems consider the valences of patriarchy, power, and the archive to try to answer the question: How do we recover a woman erased by history?

"By stepping toward, instead of running from the ancient histories of women-hatred, Arterian, somehow, excavates these legacies with a language and lyricism that holds our horror and beauty in sublime balance. 'She does not look away…'" — Robin Coste Lewis

Genres: Poetry

136 pages, Paperback

Published June 15, 2025

About the author

Diana Arterian is the author of the poetry collection "Agrippina the Younger" (Northwestern UP, 2025), which received the 2026 William Carlos Williams Award from the Poetry Society of America. She is also editor and co-translator of "Smoke Drifts" (World Poetry Books, 2025), a collection of Nadia Anjuman's poetry co-translated with Marina Omar. Diana's first book, "Playing Monster :: Seiche," received a starred review in Publishers Weekly and was a Poetry Foundation Staff Pick.

A twice-finalist for National Poetry Series and Poetry Editor at Noemi Press, Diana’s creative work has been recognized with fellowships from the Banff Centre, Caldera, Millay Arts, Vermont Studio Center, and Yaddo. She writes “The Annotated Nightstand” column at Lit Hub. Diana holds a PhD in Literature & Creative Writing at the University of Southern California, and an MFA in poetry from CalArts. She lives in Los Angeles.

Reviews

[Yaritza Alicea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so excited to read this book when I heard about it. After reading, I’m left with a hunger to explore Italy, the traces of history Agrippina and many other women who’ve come before her; their stories are important too. I loved the prose of this piece and the lack of punctuation; it brings a certain richness to it, where I’m able to read and sit with what's being told before moving on.

I absolutely love how Arterian describes all facets of having an interest and the dedication it takes to research and create something from a seedling of inspiration. Arterian shares immersive play-by-plays of her discoveries through Rome’s ancient ruins and what information the guides and other experts may provide. She questions all sources depicting Agrippina and her family and evaluates what she finds credible and what is fiction. She even questions why some writers of that era were inspired to write such dramatizations. Arterian also provides her own depictions of what Agrippina could’ve experienced throughout her life. She fills the void modern historians and cinema have created, as Agrippina isn’t widely venerated like her male counterparts. I often felt Arterian’s frustration with the inequalities Agrippina faced. Where is she buried? Will archeologists ever find it? What could have been if we had Agrippina's writings? I loved that she shares her frustration, because it ultimately becomes her drive to create this book.

This book is a perfect example of why so many retellings of female characters based on mythologies from diverse cultures are arising. Women throughout history have made pivotal marks that should be immortalized like their male counterparts. We should have literature based on historical women that isn’t riddled with judgment from sexual bias.

[Megan Stolz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm an Emma Southon groupie, having read her biography on Agrippina the Younger and listened to her talk about her on several podcasts (as well as other aspects of ancient Roman history), so when I saw this book at AWP, I thought it was a cool subject for a poetry collection. And overall I liked it, but I kept responding to poems with a historian's skepticism and the verse itself didn't always connect with me. But I liked the blend of poetry about Agrippina and prose about the author's journey to discover the places her subject's life, and I'm glad there's a poetry collection about Agrippina in the world.

[Madeleine Nakamura · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book.

The lyric verse feels mythic, rich, deeply colorful, and almost ritualistic in places, overflowing with purposeful imagery.

The prose poems are carefully constructed and deliberate—lean, with no words wasted—working to illuminate everything the lyric verse leaves in enticing shadow.

Skillful and painstakingly researched, absolutely worth reading.

[Diana Arterian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wrote this book, am without bias :3