Sharon Olds's The Father (1992) is a poetic collection centered on the death of the speaker's father. This book continues to explore the father-daughter themes present in Olds's earlier works.

Olds's forthcoming collection, The Unswept Room, is set to be released in September 2002 by Knopf.

Since 1977, The Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses has been published annually, featuring the editor's choices for the finest contemporary poetry and fiction. Studying the poems in this collection introduces readers to contemporary poets of a similar stature as Olds.

Jane Kenyon's Otherwise: New and Selected Poems is a compilation of her work, published in 1997, two years posthumously. This collection offers insight into another contemporary female poet.

Released in 2000 by the Women’s Writing Circle, Womanifestos is an anthology of women's poetry that includes feminist and Latina works. Although Olds is not Latina, many poems in this collection address themes akin to those in her work, such as parent-child relationships and a woman's place in the world.

The Longman Anthology of American Poetry, published in 1992, is an anthology that spans various periods of American poetry. This compilation allows students to place Olds's poetry alongside other American poets and to discern how she aligns with or diverges from the poetic traditions that have influenced her.

The fifth edition of The Heath Introduction to Poetry, published in 2000, is a poetry anthology featuring works from the earliest poets to contemporary voices, with selections from across the globe. Examining the history of poetry helps readers understand how American poets are situated within a global context.