Order of poems in new book

Publishing my poetry is something I've started looking into myself recently, so I can't speak from publishing experience, but one thing I would think about is - what's the best way you could order the poems to create an "experience" for the reader. Some poems might be more powerful than others, but I bet each piece probably tells a story (or piece of a story).

I agree with you that you might not want to start off with a chunk of your "weaker" poetry, but maybe if you think about it, you'll find a certain placement that would work to make every piece really stand out. Like with my poetry, I might choose to order it chronologically, because for me, I really feel that the reader would get the most out of each piece that way. But some might choose to order their pieces more thematically, or "best for last"...especially when all of the pieces included are more recent. I think it really just depends on you.

Hope I was able to give you at least a little insight. Good luck with the book!

Have you had others beta read your poems and give opinions of the stronger ones? That may help. You want to put the best of your work in your book - the very best.