University of Louisville Libraries

Literature & Languages Guide: Poetry

Finding the Text of a Poem | Literary Criticism of Poetry | Explanations of Poetic Terms | Interpreting a Poem | Publishing Your Poem

Finding the Text of a Poem

American Verse Project (University of Michigan)

Electronic versions of American poetry prior to 1920

Bingham Poetry Room
Ekstrom Library, Northeast corner of first floor

Search Minerva by author, title, or keyword to find collections and anthologies of poetry from around the world. Most are in English.

Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry
Ekstrom Library Reference PN1022 .C63

Indexes poems in anthologies by author, title, and first line. Coverage is from early part of 20th century to present in editions published regularly.

Index of American Periodical Verse
Ekstrom Library Reference Z1231 .P7I47

Index of poems published in approximately 200-300 poetry periodicals. Covers 1971-1998.

Poetry Index Annual
Ekstrom Library Reference PN 1022.P63

Index to poetry published in anthologies for the years 1982-1993. See also American Poetry Annual 1988-1990 and American Poetry Index 1982-1986.

Also, use Internet search engines to find poems posted on the Internet.

Literary Criticism of Poetry

Bibliography of Contemporary American Poetry 1945-1985: An Annotated Checklist
Ekstrom Library Reference PS323.5 .M46 1986

Now somewhat dated. Annotations are still useful for older materials though.

Contemporary Poets
Ekstrom Library Reference Biography Wall PR603 .C6 1991

Essays on poets and their work.

Critical Survey of Poetry
Ekstrom Library Reference Desk PR502 .C85 1992

Critical essays on English language poets.

Poetry Criticism
Ekstrom Library Reference Index Table PN 1010 .P499

Excerpts of poetry critiques. See also Literary Criticism.

Explanations of Poetic Terms

New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
Ekstrom Library Reference PN 1021 .N39 1993

Definitions and explanations of poetry terms and poetry related issues.

Interpreting a Poem

Poetry Explication
Ekstrom Library Reference Desk Z2014 .P7 K8 1980

Somewhat dated now but still can be helpful when trying to interpret an older poem.

Publishing Your Poem

Poet's Market
Ekstrom Library Reference Desk PN 1059 .M3 P59