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4 Magazines Delivered to Your Door

5 Poetic Songwriters Who Don’t Get Nearly as Much Recognition as They Deserve

How do I love Joanna Newsom? Let me count the ways, plus a strongly worded plea to Leave Geese Alone (the “or else” is silent).

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The New York Times released its “30 Greatest Living American Songwriters” list in April 2026, and I noticed myself disagreeing with some of the choices. Personally, I would have replaced a few artists on the list with some that were on the ballot, but didn’t make the cut.

Additionally, maybe the following songwriters wouldn’t make it on the NYT list, but they deserve way more recognition for their talents than they get outside of their fanbases. I’m putting them on my personal list, anyway. And since this is my article, that’s all that matters right now.

Arlo Parks is an English singer-songwriter, but I’d try to put her on the NYT list anyway for her distinctly poetic lyrical voice that’s relatable yet rich. Her imagery is narrowed down so succinctly to portray specific emotions and experiences. But the language is accessible even as the ideas are raw or complicated.

The 2021 song “Too Good” is a great example of this. It starts with “I brought you breakfast, then you stared at your rings,” followed by “The air was fragrant and thick with our silence.”

The first image is concrete and real; we can picture exactly what’s happening. But the next line comes in with a concept we can’t get a solid grip on. Silence is neither fragrant nor thick, but the first line is a simple enough image that the second one easily becomes real as well. Parks is a songwriter who excels at this kind of........

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