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1. Finding a Poem
Poems can be found in anthologies, online sources and collected volumes. Indexes can help you help you find what you are looking for. Here is a selection of sources available in the library
PRINT
The Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry in Anthologies (Z7156. A1 K38 1994)
Includes title, first line, and last line indexes for approximately 400 poetry anthologies. Useful in helping locate poems when you have limited information about them.
The New Anthology of American Poetry: Traditions and Revolutions, Beginnings to 1900 (PS 586. N49 2003)
Excellent survey of pre-twentieth century poetry, spanning a 400-year period. Around 50 writers are featured chronologically, including Poe, Dickinson and Melville. There is a short essay on each poet, text of important poems, and suggestions for further reading.
Twentieth Century American Poetry (PS614 .A5)
Poetry is arranged in chronological sections including ‘Realism and Naturalism’ and ‘Early Modernism’. Each section is accompanied by a historical and critical overview, which helps to put the work in context. Indexes are by author and title. An excellent place to find U.S. poetry of the last century from the likes of Pound, Frost and T.S. Eliot.
An Invitation to Poetry (PN 6101. I56 2004)
Selection of poems from all time periods from around the globe (some in translation). Very browseable volume with works from writers as diverse as Beckett, Burns and Keats. Includes quotations from the poets, and an index of names, titles and first lines. A good introduction to some of the major poets.
Contemporary Irish Poetry (PR 8858. C56 1988)
Anthology includes indexes of author names, titles and first lines. Focuses on Irish Poetry of the 20th century including Kavanagh, Heaney and Paulin. Some notes are included on key poems, as are photographs of each poet. Very good source for Irish poetry published between 1900 and 1988.
Modern Irish Poetry: An Anthology (PR 8858. M63 1995)
Features fifty 20th century Irish poets and a sample of their writing. Very useful short biographies of each writer are included. Indexes are by name, first line and title. Focuses largely on writing in the English language, but does include some translations from the original Gaelic.
Index to Black Poetry (PS 153. N5 C45)
Index to over 100 anthologies and collections of black poetry. Indexes are by first line, author, title, and subject. Although only deals with work before 1974, still a very useful tool for locating black poetry.
Survey of American Poetry (PS 507.S827 1982)
Ten volume set includes 1-2 page biographies and full poems. Volumes are arranged by time period. Excellent A-Z index of poem titles, last lines and poet names. Index gives volume and page number of information sought.
The New Oxford Book Of Eighteenth Century Verse (PR1215 .N48 1984)
Updated in 2003, this volume gives a sample of the best verse of the period, from figures such as Pope, Goldsmith and Blake. Less prominent writers have been added to this edition.
The Oxford Book of Nineteenth Century English Verse (PR 1221.O79)
Around 1,000 pages of poetry from the 1800s. Outstanding names from this period include Coleridge, Wordsworth and Byron. Focuses on English and Irish poetry only.
The Oxford Book of Twentieth Century English Verse (PR1225. L3)
Includes the best of English and Irish poetry of the century before 1973. Large contributions from Auden, Yeats and Lawrence. A particularly interesting volume as the selection was made by Philip Larkin, himself a highly regarded poet of the 1950s and ‘60s.
ONLINE
Web resource with the text of 6,725 works. Poems are from 780 different poets with a scope from medieval ballads to contemporary verse. Site is searchable by author, title and subject indexes.
Database of 125,000 full-text poems and 800,000 citations. Very comprehensive reference source and particularly useful as it contains more than 25,000 copyrighted works. This site also includes essays and study guides.
Website specializing in classical poems with over 5,000 posted to date. The database can be searched by poet name, first line or poem title. Full text searching is not available at present. Plusses of the site are its clean design and limited advertising.
Database of over 168,000 poems. Search capabilities include by poet name, poem title and full-text of poem. Nice feature is several pdf collections of out of copyright poems that can be downloaded and printed.
Google Book Search
Database allowing previews of books and some full versions to download. Full-text of books published before 1923 may be available as they are no longer subject to copyright law in the U.S. Examples include Shakespeare’s sonnets and the poetic works of Edgar Allan Poe. An excellent feature is that the text of books is fully searchable
Representative Poetry Online
This site surveys 1,400 years of poetry in English. You can search through a variety on indexes including titles, first lines and keywords. From the University of Toronto, the site includes an excellent section specific to Canadian poetry.
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