LibGuides: Literature: Poetry

The Oxford Companion to Modern Poetry

The Oxford Anthology of African-American Poetry

The Princeton Handbook of Poetic Terms

The Cambridge Companion to Latin American Poetry

The Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry in Anthologies

Finding Poetry at UMSL

You can search for poetry in UMSL's collections with Discover@UMSL, the library's main search tool. Search by theme, time period, poet's name, etc. Sample search terms:

American poetry -- African American authors
Modern poetry
AU Sylvia Plath (author search)
Haiku
English poetry -- 20th century -- History and criticism

Or, browse the library's print Literature collection using the call numbers below (for poetry in English). The Literature collection is located on level 4 of TJ Library. Visit the front desk for help with locating a specific call number.

P: Language and Literature

PN: Literature (General)
- PN 1010 - 1525: Poetry
- PN6010 - 6790: Collections of general literature
  - 6099 - 6110: Poetry
PR: English Literature
- PR 500 - 614: Poetry
PS: American Literature
- PS 301 - 326: Poetry

Poetry Databases

JSTOR This link opens in a new window
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JSTOR contains articles and books, usually at least 3-5 years old, from scholarly sources. They also have some primary resource collections. For more recent material, use Discover@UMSL or other individual databases.
Journal Collections
Arts & Sciences I – XV
Life Sciences
Business IV
Hebrew Journals
Ireland
Public Health
Lives of Literature

Reports & Research
Security Studies
Sustainability

Primary Sources
19th Century British Pamphlets (Bristol Selected Pamphlets, Cowen Tracts, Earl Grey Pamphlets Collection, Foreign and Commonwealth Office Collection, Hume Tracts, Knowsley Pamphlet Collection, LSE Selected Pamphlets, Manchester Selected Pamphlets, Wilson Anti-Slavery Collection)
World Heritage Sites: Africa (Reference)
Struggle for Freedom: Southern Africa (Reference)
Global Plants (Reference)
MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window
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Indexes critical materials on modern language, literature, linguistics, and folklore. Covers over 3,000 journals and series, books, working papers and proceedings, and bibliographies.
A related database is the MLA Directory of Periodicals which lists advertising, submission and contact information for over 3,700 journals (but does NOT index the contents of these journals).
Dictionary of Literary Biography Complete Online This link opens in a new window
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Dictionary of Literary Biography Complete Online provides more than 16,000 biographical and critical essays on the lives, works, and careers of the world's most influential literary figures from all eras and genres. DLB Complete Online includes the DLB main series, the DLB Documentary Series, and the DLB Yearbook Series. UMSL owns volumes 1 (1978) - 362 (2011). Gale's new interface offers improved navigation and searching options. Training videos are available.
Literature Criticism Online This link opens in a new window
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Literary Criticism Online is an extensive compilation of scholarly and popular commentary drawn from an extensive collection of broadsheets, pamphlets, encyclopedias, books and periodicals. UMSL has access to the following sections: Contemporary Literary Criticism - [Volume 1 (1973) - present], Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism [Volume 1 (1981) - 259 (2012)] , andTwentieth-Century Literary Criticism - [Volume 1 (1978) - present].
Project MUSE This link opens in a new window
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Project MUSE's Standard Collection provides full-text access to scholarly journal titles, primarily in the Humanities and Social Sciences.
You can look for material in two ways: "Search" to find a particular topic. By default only available content is shown. "Browse" to peruse all book and journal titles and tables of contents abstracted in MUSE. You can also uncheck the option "Only content I have full access to" when viewing your results to find abstracts of additional material.
If an item is not available through Project MUSE, it may be available in other UMSL collections or through Interlibrary Loan. Click the "Find Full-Text" link to check if the Libraries own a journal full text through another source (online or print). If the item is a book, check the UMSL Library Catalog under the book title or book author.

Free Web Resources

Poetry Foundation
The Poetry Foundation "work[s] to amplify poetry and celebrate poets by fostering spaces for all to create, experience, and share poetry." Website offers Poetry magazine, other articles, videos, podcasts, event information, and more.
Poetry Society of America
"Transforms public spaces into sites for imaginative encounters with poems, engages diverse and often underserved communities, amplifies the voices of poets around issues of common concern, and honors their aesthetic contributions to our lives."
Academy of American Poets
Nonprofit organization promoting American poets and poetry. Website offers online resources including biographies, essays, teaching materials, and more.
Cave Canem
"Cave Canem is a nonprofit organization, committed to cultivating the artistic and professional growth of Black poets. Founded by artists for artists, Cave Canem fosters community across the diaspora to enrich the field by facilitating a nurturing space in which to learn, experiment, create, and present. "

Poetry and Literature: Audio Recordings (Library of Congress)
"Historic and contemporary recordings featuring poets and writers reading and discussing their work at the Library of Congress (and beyond)." Featuring the Archive of Recorded Poetry and Literature, the PALABRA Archive, and Poetry of America.
The First World War Poetry Digital Archive
Browsable and searchable "primary source material (manuscripts of poems, letters, diaries, etc.) plus contextual information (images, audio and film material from the Imperial War Museum)."

Walt Whitman Archive
"An electronic research and teaching tool that sets out to make Whitman's vast work...easily and conveniently accessible to scholars, students, and general readers." Content includes manuscripts, letters, images, commentary, and more.
Dickinson Electronic Archives
"A creative and critical collaboratory for reading Dickinson's material bodies and for featuring new critical and theoretical work about Emily Dickinson's writings, biography, reception, and influence."
William Blake Archive
A digital archive of Blake's poetry and visual art, alongside critical editions, scholarly research tools, virtual exhibitions, and more.

Literature

Poetry on Campus

Absolute Trust in the Goodness of the Earth

District and Circle

Milk and Honey

A Trick of Sunlight

The Promise of Hope

The Prodigal

The Trouble with Poetry

Warhorses

Periodicals

The Poem Is You