Poetry & Poets


The following resources will help you find information on poetry and poets.

 Print Sources

Poetry for Students (REF 809.1 POE)
A quick but information-rich reference source, each volume of Poetry for Students provides analysis of approximately 20 poems that teachers and librarians have identified as the most frequently studied in literature courses. For each poem, students will discover:
  • An overview essay on the poem
  • An analysis of the work's construction and form
  • An examination of key themes addressed in the poem
  • A discussion of the historical and cultural context in which the poem was composed
  • Selected criticism on the poem or poet
  • A brief author biography

Other features include a list of sources for further study and suggested research topics.

 

World Poets (REF 920 WOR)
This illustrated 3 volume encyclopedia contains more than 100 essays on the most studied poets and 15 essays on genres such as "Harlem Renaissance Poetry," and "Performance Poetry." Each essay includes a portrait, definitions of difficult terms and concepts. The focus is on poets who either wrote in English or are often read in English translation. Some of the poets and subject articles included are T. S. Eliot, Sylvia Plath, indigenous and tribal poetry, troubadours and advice on writing poetry.

 


 World's Best Poetry (REF 811 GRA)
This 10 volume set is arranged by subject in the following areas:
  • Volume 1: Home and Friendship
  • Volume 2: Love
  • Volume 3: Sorrow and Consolation
  • Volume 4: The Higher Life
  • Volume 5: Nature
  • Volume 6: Fancy & Sentiment
  • Volume 7: Descriptive & Narration
  • Volume 8: National Spirit
  • Volume 9: Tragedy and Humor
  • Volume 10: Poetical Quotations

   

 Online Databases

Contemporary Literary Criticism
Contemporary Literary Criticism--Select is an extensive collection of critical essays on contemporary authors. Each CLC--Select entry contains a biographical/critical introduction, listing of principal works and sources for further study.

LitFinder for Schools includes full-text poetry, short stories, essays, plays, and speeches, including 126,500 poems, 5,000 short stories, 2,800 essays, 1,800 speeches, and 1,000 plays. Also includes biographies, work summaries, photographs, and a glossary.

 

Scriber's Writers Series
Scribner Writer's Series includes 15-20 page signed essays on more than 1,600 authors and literary genres drawn from the acclaimed Scribner print series.

Student Resource Center - Gold
This comprehensive resource covers a wide range of subject areas in a variety of formats: Reference, Journals, Creative Works, Primary Sources, News and more.

 
  Websites

The Borzoi Reader Online - Poetry: www.randomhouse.com/knopf/poetry/index.pperl

eMule - Poetry Archive: www.emule.com/poetry

Famous Poets and Poems: http://www.famouspoetsandpoems.com/

Library of Congress - Poetry: http://www.loc.gov/poetry/

Oldpoetry: http://oldpoetry.com/

Poetry Foundation: http://poetryfoundation.org/

Poetry Poetry: www.poetrypoetry.com/TheVault.html

Poetry Portal: www.poetry-portal.com/

Poets.org: www.poets.org

Poet's Corner: www.theotherpages.org/poems/index.html

Prosody: http://www.trobar.org/prosody/

Shadow Poetry - Types of Poetry: www.shadowpoetry.com/resources/wip/types.html

Sonnet Central: http://www.sonnets.org/


If you do not find what you're looking for in the above resources, try the search tips listed below.

Internet Search Tips

  1. Type the URL (web site address) of a search directory/engine in the address box: ex: www.yahoo.com,  www.google.com or http://scholar.google.com/.
     
  2. (Be sure to type the address exactly the way you see it, including any uppercase letters and punctuation).
     
  3. Type in keyword(s). (If your keyword has two parts such as: "Pablo Neruda", be sure to put quotes around it so that the search engine only finds the Internet sites on old English as opposed to all of the sites containing the word Pablo plus all of the sites containing the word Neruda.
     

  4. If you would like to search for something specific about Pablo Neruda, try a combined keyword search by adding a comma followed by a space and your other search term. For instance; if I wanted to find poems written by  Pablo Neruda,  I would enter the following:

    "Pablo Neruda", poems

    Hit Enter on your keyboard, or click on Search, then scan the description of the "hits" (entries) and click on the links that sound best.
     

  5. Be sure to evaluate each Internet site for the following:
    • Authority: Can you tell if the author is credible (believable)?
    • Objectivity: Is the information objective (honest and free of bias)?
    • Currency: Is the information recent and up-to-date?
    • Design: Is the site designed in a clear and user friendly way?
    • Navigation: Is the site easy to navigate through, and are all links current and usable?

     

  6. Remember: if you choose to use any information (text or graphics) found on an Internet source, 
    you must include it in your bibliography.

Remember:  YOU MUST CITE EVERY RESOURCE YOU USED to gather information on your 
Works Cited (Bibliography) page.  Use the Works Cited Guide to access MLA format.
 

Created by Liza Zandonella, Library Media Specialist.

 

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