Guide to some Poetry Resources on the Internet

  "Poems come out of wonder, 

Not out of knowing" 


Lucille Clifton (with thanks to The Poetry Archive)

  "Poetry's a Zoo in which you keep demons and angels" 

Les Murray (with thanks to The Poetry Archive)

The resources listed here are free unless otherwise indicated.
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Some Resources About Poetry:

Glossary of Poetic Terms from Bob's Byway - a Poetic Diversion
"
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  "I am not so lost in lexicography as to forget
that words are the daughters of earth, and that things are the sons of heaven." 


-- Samuel Johnson, in the preface to his Dictionary (with acknowledgements to  Bob's Byway Web Site.)
```
Bob's extensive Glossary of Poetic Terms includes notes on Phonetic pronunciation, examples, cross references etc. as well as definitions, with all keywords and cross references hyperlinked for ease of use - excellent!
Bob's Byway also includes:
1. Examples of Poetic Terms taken from the work of major poets, to illustrate terms defined in the Glossary.
2. A brief selection of Tips for the Enjoyment of Poetry
3. A Selection of Bob's Poems
4. and a useful Links page including other Literary Glossaries and various Reference Resources.

http://www.poeticbyway.com/glossary.html - Bob's Glossary of Poetic Terms

Poetry Magic UK based "Poetry Magic is resource centre for the theory and craft of writing poetry" and is intended as "an introduction to poetry for students, amateurs and poetry lovers. What is poetry? How does it differ from prose? Why is poetry special, and so difficult to write? This site provides the answers to these and other vexing questions, plus a vast array of material to make your own poetry writing more compelling, authentic and relevant."
http://www.poetrymagic.co.uk/index.html - Poetry Magic

Text etc. is a continuation of Poetry Magic and is aimed more at "Professional associations of writers, and academic articles can be found in the references."
http://www.textetc.com - Text etc

Some General Poetry Resources

Poetry Archive
"The Poetry Archive is the world's premier online collection of recordings of poets reading their work."
"You can enjoy listening here, free of charge, to the voices of contemporary English-language poets and of poets from the past. The Archive is growing all the time. Please come back regularly to enjoy our latest recordings."
It is possible to browse the site by poet, by poem Title, By poem Theme and by poem Form. A text version of each poem is provided as well as the audio version, with notes by the poet and there is a brief biography of each poet.
also on the site:
1. Resources for Teachers including " lesson plans and activities for all key stages and for the inclusive classroom"
2. Resources for Students
  "The Poetry Archive includes a range of resources specially designed to help students. Alongside the recordings, you will find a wealth of background material on the poets, which will help you understand the context for their work. There are filmed interviews with some of them, so you can see and hear them giving the inside story on their writing lives."
  Plus a 'poet in residence' each term and links to other poetry websites
3. The Children's Poetry Archive poems selected specially for children, on themes as diverse as animals, death, family, football, ghosts, humour etc. etc.
4. Resources for Librarians
  "The Poetry Archive Toolkit, (developed by the The Reading Agency, TRA) is designed to help everyone working in libraries make the most of the Poetry Archive: The Poetry Archive Toolkit Part 1 (pdf, 116kb) published in September 2005, updated November with the addition of The Poetry Archive Tooklit Update ( pdf, 91kb) published in November 2005."
5. New to Poetry - "Hints & Tips for less confident readers" and links to related websites.
http://www.poetryarchive.org - Poetry Archive

Twentieth-century Poetry in English by Professor Eiichi Hishikawa, at The Faculty of Letters, Kobe University, and also available in in Japanese
Gives links to "Internet information relating to 116 poets" (March 2006) and for 11 of these Professor Eiichi Hishikawa has created his own poet pages. There are also Links to Related Resources
http://www.lit.kobe-u.ac.jp/~hishika/20c_poet.htm - Twentieth-centuary Poetry in English

Poetry from Bartleby "With thousands of poems by hundreds of authors, Bartleby.com offers one of the largest free collections of verse on the web."
Gives the full text of many out-of-copyright works, as presented in print. Includes anthologies and volumes by specific authors. The Oxford Book of English Verse, 1250–1900 includes many of the works covered in the Burton Manor set of courses Appreciating Poetry, part of Burton Manor's programme of courses on Literature & Creative Writing
http://www.bartleby.com/101/ - Oxford Book of English Verse, 1250 - 1900
http://www.bartleby.com/verse/ - various verse collections
http://www.bartleby.com - bartleby.com

The Luminarium, created by Anniina Jokinen, is a really beautiful site, now celebrating its 10th anniversary. It covers a range of English literature, including poetry, from the medieval, Renaissance, 17th Century and Restoration periods. There is also, recently added, small sections on 19th Century literature (currently only that of Robert Louis Stevenson), Contemporary Women Writers and a a link to another website, also by Anniina Jokinen, Irish Literature, Mythology, Folklore and Drama
For a quick view of the authors covered, by period, scroll towards the bottom of the Home page. For most authors covered it includes biographical information, quotations, extracts (often full text) from their work, and more. The site also includes some lovely illustrations, - a very special site indeed!
http://www.luminarium.org - The Luminarium

Representative Poetry Online, RPO from the Department of English at the University of Toronto. An excellent site giving examples of poetry in English from the seventh to the twentieth century. These can beaccessed in a number of ways including by poet's name, by poem title or first line or from a chronological listing.
There is also:
1. a A Time-Line of English Poetry
2. a A YEAR'S DAYS OF POETS, a calendar of births , deaths and other significant events in the lives of the poets included on the site.
3. an extensive Glossary of poetic Terms
4. A section of Prose & Verse Criticism of Poetry
5. An extensive Bibliography which includes both print and electronic references. The current edition is dated 2002
6. A link to Canadian Poetry, also from the University of Toronto
http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/ - Representative Poetry Online

Poets.org, from the Academy of American Poets. "Launched in 1996, Poets.org is the award-winning website of the Academy of American Poets. Visitors to Poets.org will find thousands of poems as well as hundreds of poet biographies, essays, interviews, and poetry recordings—with new material being added constantly. Also available are resources such as the National Poetry Map, a national events calendar, and poetry lesson plans for teachers. Poets.org receives a million visitors each month, making it the most popular site about poetry on the web."
A wealth of resources on this site which, despite its U.S. origins is not confined to North American poets. Well worth a visit.
http://www.poets.org - Poets.org

Resources devoted to particular Poets:

John Donne: 1572 - 1631
1. John Donne, on the Luminarium website, includes a biography, full text of some of his works, essays, quotes and more - select from the menu to the left of his photo.
  http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/donne/ - John Donne
  http://www.luminarium.org - The Luminarium
2. Metaphysical Lyrics & Poems of the Seventeenth Century. Donne to Butler Selected and Edited with an Essay by Sir Herbert J.C. Grierson, on the excellent Bartleby.com website. "“Metaphysical poetry, in the full sense of the term,” as Grierson writes, “is a poetry which has been inspired by a philosophical conception of the universe and the rôle assigned to the human spirit in the great drama of existence.”"
  Select Index of Authors and scroll down to find works by Donne.
  http://www.bartleby.com/105/ - Metaphysical Lyrics & Poems of the Seventeenth Century. Donne to Butler
  http://www.bartleby.com - Bartleby.com

William Blake, 1757-1827:
1. The (electronic) William Blake Archive - this 'welcome' page explains the conditions of use of the archive, with the 'entry button' at the bottom of the page.
  Includes a biography, glossary & other material 'about Blake', there is a Tour of the Archive and varios administrative and Help pgaes as well as the Index of Works in the Archive For more detail on the background of the archive see About the Archive
  http://www.blakearchive.org/blake/ - The William Blake Archive
2. Selected Poetry of William Blake (1757-1827) from Representative Poetry Online, RPO, "Prepared by members of the Department of English at the University of Toronto"
  As well as the full text, or excerpts, of many of his works there is also a very brief biography.
  http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poet/24.html - Selected Poetry of William Blake
3. William Blake on the web ( annotated links to Blake resources
  http://www.betatesters.com/penn/blake1.htm - William Blake on the Web

W.B. Yeats: 1865 - 1939
1. Yeats Society Sligo Although the emphasis of this site is the relationship between Yeats and Sligo and the physical Yeats resources to be found there, there are also some useful online resources. These include a brief biography, the three phases of his poetry, with some examples, his drama, influences & his Nobel Prize - all these are listed under the W.B. Yeats button, top left.
  There is also a Yeats Poetry Tour Sligo, with a map showing the locations that inspired some of his poems
  http://www.yeats-sligo.com - Yeats Society Sligo
2. The Yeats Society, New York gives a useful & extensive list of Yeats Resources on the Web. It also holds an annual Poetry Competition "open to members and nonmembers of any age, from any locality".
  http://www.yeatssociety.org/aboutus.html - The Yeats Society, New York
3. The W.B. Yeats Seminar Homepage, from California State University, Northridge, gives, towards the bottom of that page, links to other Yeats resources, including Collected Poems of W.B. Yeats available in full text, and an Alphabetical Listing of the Poems of W. B. Yeats, listed by Title in full text
  http://www.csun.edu/~hceng029/yeats/yeats.html - W.B. Yeats Seminar Homepage

Gerald Manly Hopkins, 1844 - 1889:
1. Spark Notes have a number of free resources online, including Hopkins's Poetry which gives context and some analysis as well as the full text of some of his poems.
  See About Spark Notes for more details on this valuable resource.
  http://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/hopkins/ - Hopkins's Poetry
  http://www.sparknotes.com/about - About Spark Notes
2. Gerald Manly Hopkins, on the Poets.org website (from the Academy of American Poets), includes a brief biography plus full text of a few of his poems
  http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/284 - Gerald Manly Hopkins
  http://www.poets.org - Poets.org
3. Electronic resources related to G.M. Hopkins (1844-89) and his poetry, from Dundee University, a categorised set of links, including text collections, criticism, their own Web Concordance and more ...
  http://www.dundee.ac.uk/english/hopkins.htm - Gerald Manly Hopkins Links
  http://www.dundee.ac.uk/english/wics/wics.htm - Literary Web Concordances from Dundee University

W. H. Auden: 1907 - 1973
1. The Auden Society " The W. H. Auden Society commemorates the life and work of one of the greatest poets in the English language."
  Includes a bibliography of Auden's books, poems and Operas with Libretti by Auden and other recordings of his work, links to the etext of some of his poems. Also news & notes & Selected Critical and Biographical Studies of W. H. Auden. A regular newsletter is available to members, and there is a newsletter archive on the site.
2. Poets.org, from The Academy of American Poets, includes a brief biography and bibliography of Auden along with the full text of some of his poems
  http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/120 - W.H. Auden biography etc.
  http://www.poets.org/ - Poets.org

Ted Hughes, OM, Poet Laureate, 1930 - 1998
1. Ted Hughes Remembered (by Anthony Thwaite) soon after his death, in The Times Online The Times is a rich source of information on Ted Hughes, their own search engine turns up over 600 references, including: Found after 50 years: first love poems of Ted Hughes and The double exposures of Ted Hughes
  http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/incomingFeeds/article777279.ece - Ted Hughes Remembered
  http://www.timesonline.co.uk - The Times Online
2. The BBC website is another rich source of information on Ted Hughes, including: a brief biography, stressing his connections with Devon, where he had lived since 1961, a report of his death, october 29, 1998 , a report of his memorial service, his posthumous Whitbread prize for his last published book of poems, 'Birthday Letters', and extracts from 'Birthday Letters' recalling his stormy relationship with Sylvia Plath
  http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/discovering/famous/ted_hughes.shtml - Ted Hughes Biography
  http://www.bbc.co.uk - The BBC
3. Ted Hughes at The Poetry Archive includes brief details of his life in relationship to his poetry as well as the opportunity to hear him reading some of his own work
  http://www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/singlePoet.do?poetId=7078 - Ted Hughes readings
  http://www.poetryarchive.org - The Poetry Archive
4. Faber & Faber, Hughes's publisher, include a short biography and bibliography
  http://www.faber.co.uk/author_detail.html?auid=621&clid - Ted Hughes biography & bibliography
  http://www.faber.co.uk - Faber & Faber
5. Full text of some Ted Hughes Poems on the Poem Hunter website, along with a brief biography
  http://www.poemhunter.com/ted-hughes/ - Some Ted Hughes poems
  http://www.poemhunter.com - Poem Hunter

Last Updated June 15th, 2007