Locating Poetry and Poetry Resources

Information on poetry can be found in circulating books (which may be checked out of the library or viewed online, if available as electronic books), reference and reserve books (for in-library use only), journal or newspaper articles (in both print and online resources such as ProQuest), and web sites.  To search for books about a particular poem, poet, form or movement, type in the name of the poem or person in a subject search.

Subject Headings

The following terms are some of the subject headings that can be used to locate material about poetry in the online catalog:

  • Poetics
  • Poetry
  • Poetry, Modern
  • Poets
  • Poetry Authorship
  • Poetry Collections
  • Poetry Explication
  • Poetry History and criticism
  • American Poetry
  • Beat generation Poetry
  • English poetry
  • Women Poetry
  • Haiku
  • Love Poetry Sonnet
  • Sufi Poetry

Note:  For locating materials that contain critical works (about) a particular poet, select Subject Search and enter the poet’s name (last name, first name).  When looking for books that have works (written by) a specific poet, select Author Search instead.

Circulating Books

There are hundreds of books relating to the subject of poetry and poets that you may borrow from the library.  Many electronic books, which are always accessible, are included in the online catalog as well.  Listed below are just a few of the titles to be found:

  • Containing Multitudes: Poetry in the United States since 1950 (811.5409 M828c)
    An Exaltation of Forms: Contemporary Poets Celebrate the Diversity of Their Art. (809.1 E96)
    Homer (883.01 H766po)
  • Masterplots II: Poetry Series
    (809.1 M423 )
  • Notable Poets
    (Electronic Book)
  • The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century Poetry in English
    (Electronic Book)Poems for the Millennium: the University of California Book of Modern & Postmodern Poetry
    (808.81 P744a )
  • The Poetry Anthology, 1912-2002: Ninety Years of America's Most Distinguished Verse Magazine
    (811.508 P745)
  • A Poetry Handbook.
    (808.1 O48p)
  • Poetry Speaks: Hear Great Poets Read Their Work from Tennyson to Plath
    (811.509 P745a)
  • Poets Teaching Poets: Self and the World
    (809.1 P745a)
  • The Spoken Word Revolution: (Slam, Hip-Hop, & the Poetry of a New Generation)
    811.508 S762

Reference Books

The Library has a wide selection of Reference books to provide background information on a poet or poems, or to help you define terms and theories that are new to you.  Many provide a bibliography of useful resources. Listed below are a few of the sources on poetry in the library collection.   Reference books are for in-library use only.

  • The Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry in Anthologies
    (REF 016.80881 G758 )
  • The Columbia Granger's
    Index to Poetry in Collected and Selected Works
    (REF 016.80881 C726)
  • A Companion to Old and Middle English Literature
    (REF 829.09 C737)
  • Contemporary Poets
    (REF 821.910903 C761, 2001)
  • Dictionary of Poetic Terms
    (REF 808.103 M996d)
  • Encyclopedia of American Poetry
    (REF 811.309 E56)
  • Guide to American Poetry Explication
    (REF DESK 016.811009 G946)
  • A Handbook to Literature
    (REF 803 H288h, 2003)
  • Masterplots II: Poetry Series
    (REF 809.1 M423, 2002)
  • The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
    (REF 808.103 N532)
  • Poetry Criticism
    (REF 809.1005 P745)
  • Thematic Guide to American Poetry
    (REF DESK 016.811009 B967t)
  • Thematic Guide to British Poetry
    (REF DESK 821.009 G545t)

General Literary Criticism that Includes Poetry

  • Contemporary Literary Criticism
    (REF 809.04 C761)
  • Dictionary of Literary Biography
    (REF 810.9 D554)
  • Magill's Bibliography of Literary Criticism: Selected Sources
       for the Study of Outstanding Works of Western Literature
    (REF DESK 016.8 M194)
  • Modern American Literature
    (REF 810.9 M689)
  • Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism
    (REF 809.04 N714)
  • Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism
    (REF 809.04 T971)

Locating Article Sources

Article Databases

You can search the contents and access the full text of these and many other journals by using these electronic databases:

Poetry-Related Print Periodicals in the GCC Library

Web Sites

Some helpful web sites include:

The Academy of American Poets
Includes biographies, photos, and other information on more than 200 American poets.
American Poets and Poetry
A directory listing many websites, including a Spanish language site (Poesia en Espanol).

Approaches and Contexts: Elements of Poetry
                "Exploring the patterns created by the formal elements of literature—alliteration, image, tone, and metaphor, for example—helps us to understand 

more  deeply a text’s meaning and the nuances that enrich that meaning. This kind of formal close reading of the text is fundamental to any analysis of literature."

Approaches and Contexts: Cultural Contexts

                  "Understanding the cultural context of a poem can often help our understanding of some aspect of the poem itself.                                               
                   The social, political, and economic currents surrounding a writer can, and usually do, impact the writer’s literary creation. "
Approaches and Contexts: Critical Approaches

                "Critical approaches to literature reveal how or why a particular work is constructed and what its social and cultural implications are."

Atlantic Online

A database of articles from the Atlantic Monthly; Use the “Search” function to find criticism on the works of poets and authors.
Bartleby.com Great Books Online
Electronic Poetry Center
Image in Poetry
Purdue's Online Writing Lab's webpage on writing about images in poetry.
 
Modern American Poetry
Contains poems, criticism, biographical information on poets, letters, and more.
 
Poetry: Close Reading
Purdue's Online Writing Lab's webpage on close readings and writing about poetry.
Poetry Explications
From the University of North Carolina's (Chapill Hill) Writing Center, this is a useful and succinct guide on how to analyze literature by exploring a poem's structural techniques and components.
Representative Poetry On-Line
Poetry from the early medieval period; search by name, title, first line and time line. Contains a glossary of poetic terms and forms.
VirtuaLit Interactive Poetry Tutorial
Writing about Poetry
Purdue's Online Writing Lab's webpage on how to write about poetry.
 

Last Updated 04/08/14 sch

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