Resources
From Category: Poetry Archives
92nd Street Y Virtual Poetry Center
Featured authors include Truman Capote, Chinua Achebe, Joyce Carol Oates, Doris Lessing, and Norman Mailer.
American Literature
American Literature is a free online archive with the complete text of hundreds of classic public-domain short stories, poems, and novels for adults and children. There are also study guides and writing exercises for young readers.
American Prison Writing Archive
Founded by writer Doran Larson, the American Prison Writing Archive is a free online archive of personal essays submitted by currently and formerly incarcerated people, correctional officers, and prison staffers. The project grew out of an anthology of prison writing that Larson edited, Fourth City: Essays From the Prison in America (Michigan State University Press, 2014). In a 2018 interview in Poets & Writers Magazine, he called the APWA a "virtual meeting place" to "spread the voices of unheard populations."
Around the World in 8 Seconds
Monthly e-newsletter from Beto Palaio's Littera Tour blog showcases an eclectic variety of classic and contemporary poems, photographs and artwork, with commentary in English and Portuguese.
Badilisha Poetry X-Change
Badilisha Poetry X-Change is both an online audio archive and a Pan-African poetry show delivered in radio format. Now the world's largest online collective of African poets, Badilisha features over 350 poets from two dozen countries. The project aims to introduce African readers to the best contemporary and classic work from their continent, bringing together literary cultures that had been isolated from one another by colonialism and language barriers.
Baseball Bard
Baseball Bard is an organization that connects poets and writers who follow baseball with baseball fans who enjoy poetry and literature. The aim is to intensify the enjoyment of baseball by presenting it in a new and exciting way. Baseball fans will enjoy writing that captures the essence of the game in elevated, but easily accessible language. Poets will get new opportunities for publication and special recognition. Baseball Bard's two primary tasks are the maintenance of the Baseball Bard Website and the publication of Baseball Bard, an annual book (printed and digital) featuring the year's best poetry and verse on the subject of baseball.
Bibliomania - Free Online Literature and Study Guides
Searchable full text of over 2,000 books, including literary classics (Victorians predominate), study guides and reference works.
Black Poets Speak Out
Black Poets Speak Out is a video series launched in November 2014 to protest police violence against people of color. In these videos, contemporary black poets read their own writing or that of their predecessors who have written about blackness and police brutality. Featured work includes poetry by Amiri Baraka, Lucille Clifton, Toi Derricotte, Cornelius Eady, Langston Hughes, and Audre Lorde. Follow them on Twitter at #BlackPoetsSpeakOut or subscribe to this Tumblr blog to be notified of new videos.
Bloom
Bloom is a website that showcases authors whose first book was published at age 40 or older. Contemporary authors can contact the site to request a feature. There are also articles on late-blooming greats of the past. Editors say, "Bloom's mission and intention are not to critique or detract from the success of young writers; our interest is in contributing to the conversation about literary life and creative process, offering up a diverse range of paths as models. Our hope is to present some counter-balance to the disproportionate attention paid to precocity by exploring and presenting stories of slower, zig-zag, later-life, development...Bloom seeks to challenge any narrow or uniform ideas about what constitutes literary success or authenticity."
Button Poetry
Founded by National Poetry Slam champion Sam Cook, Button Poetry is committed to developing a coherent and effective system of distribution, promotion and fundraising for performance poetry. Button produces and distributes poetry media, including: video from local and national events, chapbooks, collaborative audio recordings, scholarship and criticism, and many other products.
Clips: The Video Blog at Poets & Writers
A curated selection of videos, including book trailers, brief interviews, and other literary curiosities updated daily.
Complete Works of Shakespeare at MIT Online
Hosted by the student newspaper The Tech at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) since 1993, this website offers free HTML versions of William Shakespeare's complete plays and poems.
Contemporary American Poetry Archive
This free electronic archive makes out-of-print volumes of poetry available online. Books from commercial, university and small presses are eligible, but not self-published work. Authors present include Pamela Alexander (Yale Series of Younger Poets) and Philip Levine (winner of the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize).
Contemporary Native American Poetry Essentials
At the blog of the literary journal Ploughshares, Dean Rader offers a syllabus for becoming educated about the heritage and future of Native American poetry. The essay includes links to significant poets, presses, and anthologies. Rader writes, "Reading work by Native writers and poets is important for a number of reasons, but at the very least we should be reading Native writing because it helps tell the stories of America’s original selves."
Cowboy Poetry
Folksy rhymes set in the rural West, great for reading aloud. Site contains large archive of classic and contemporary cowboy poetry, articles on the genre, and news about upcoming poetry festivals and programs.
Dodge Poetry Festival YouTube Channel
This YouTube channel features videos of readings and performances from the renowned Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival, held biennially since 1986 in northern New Jersey.
eMule Poetry Archives
Read over 5,000 classical poems free at this fast, simple online library. Sign up for the weekly email newsletter for serendipitous random selections.
Every Day Poems
A project of Tweetspeak Poetry, this free email newsletter includes a new classic or contemporary poem every weekday, information on special events, and resources for writing teachers. Each month focuses on examples of a different poetic form or topic.
Fairrosa Cyber Library of Children’s Literature
Online library of children's literature contains the full-length text of dozens of classics. Reference Shelf feature includes links to background material on many authors of children's books.
Favorite Poem Project
A project of Boston University, the Poetry Society of America and the Library of Congress. Nominate your favorite poem, and read the excellent poems chosen by others. Wide range of styles.
From the Fishouse
Audio archive of emerging poets features text and recordings of work by dozens of contemporary writers as diverse as Matthea Harvey, Leslie McGrath, Tyehimba Jess, and Xochiquetzal Candelaria.
Lannan Foundation Audio Literary Library
An extensive collection of audio recordings of poets and writers reading their work. In 2004, The Lannan Foundation awarded $925,000 in awards and fellowships in poetry, fiction and nonfiction.
Lesbian Poetry Archive
Julie R. Enszer, editor of the long-running lesbian-feminist literary journal Sinister Wisdom, maintains this free digital archive of poetry chapbooks, pamphlets, anthologies, and out-of-print journals of lesbian writing.
Library of Congress Archive of Recorded Poetry and Literature
This online archive at the Library of Congress features over 150 recordings of significant 20th and 21st century American writers reading their work.
LionHeart: 400 Years of Love Poems
Free selections from Literature Online's English, American and African-American Poetry databases on the theme of love. Browse the poets by name or search the text of the poems by keyword.
Lodestar Quarterly
Lodestar Quarterly was an online journal of gay, lesbian, and queer literature, published 2002-06. Contributors included S. Bear Bergman, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, Jane Rule, Susan Stinson, Michelle Tea, and Emanuel Xavier. Complete archives are available on the website.
Luminarium
Full texts of medieval, Renaissance and 17th-century poetry and verse-dramas, with scholarly commentary. Chaucer, Spenser, Shakespeare, Bacon, Donne, Milton...
Mobile Poets.org
The Academy of American Poets has made their entire collection of over 2,500 poems on Poets.org, as well as hundreds of biographies and essays, available in a mobile format for your Palm Pilot or iPhone.
National Jukebox
This project at the Library of Congress makes historic recordings of popular and classical music and spoken-word performances available online. Search the archives by artist name and genre, or simply enjoy the eclectic selections of the day. The collection features more than 10,000 78rpm disc sides issued by the Victor Talking Machine Company between 1900 and 1925. Other material from the archives is currently being brought online.
Neurotic Poets
Bios and links to poetry by legendary self-destructive geniuses such as Plath, Byron and Poe.
NPR Poetry Games
In honor of the 2012 Olympics, National Public Radio features contemporary poems that honor the ancient connection between the arts and athletics. The website includes the text of the poems plus audio of the authors reading them. Contributors from around the world include Kazim Ali, Monica de la Torre, and Mbali Vilakazi.
Open Culture
Educational media website Open Culture provides this archive of over 500 literary classics available as free e-book downloads for your computer or mobile device. Genres include poetry, literary novels, science fiction, philosophy, and children's stories. There are also links to other free e-book libraries.
Out of Our Minds
Free audio archive of interviews with contemporary poets. Selected from Out Of Our Minds, a weekly hour-long radio show devoted to poetry, hosted by American Poetry Journal editor J.P. Dancing Bear.
PlayShakespeare.com
This web archive for all things Shakespeare includes the full text of the Bard's plays and poems. Other features include scholarly discussion forums, podcasts, and reviews of Shakespeare performances around the world.
Poem of the Week
This website edited by Andrew McFadyen-Ketchum of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale showcases previously published work by a different contemporary poet each week, along with his or her biography, blurbs, and an interview with the author. Sign up to receive Poem of the Week as an email newsletter.
PoemHunter.com
Over 25,000 poems by 4,000 poets. Classic authors like Shakespeare and Milton are well-represented, as well as many moderns. Search by title and name (text searches can also be made but results are unpredictable). Free poem-of-the-day newsletter introduces you to wonderful work like Tarantella by Hilaire Belloc.
Poetry 180
A poem a day for American high schools. For teens who think poetry is boring, remote and not for them, US poet laureate Billy Collins has 180 surprises. Comes with welcome advice on reading poems aloud.
Poetry and Songs of World War I
Directory includes links to biographies and sample work by war poets such as Owen, Sassoon, and Graves, as well as lesser-known figures. Other links include literary criticism, historical discussion, and sheet music and recordings of popular songs from the period.
Poetry Archive (Arts Council England)
A project of Arts Council England, the Poetry Archive features great poems for adults and children, video interviews with poets, and lesson plans. Their online store offers recordings of classic poetry read by writers and celebrities, and contemporary poets reading their own work.
Poetry Daily
From hundreds of books, journals and magazines, one fresh poem is featured every day. Click here for poems from the past year. Occasionally presents essays and interviews with poets. And for every poet who's been horrified by woeful critiques of their work, this poem by Billy Collins feels your pain. Publishers, send review copies here. Beginning poets, don't miss the recommended books page.
Poetry International Web
Editors from over 20 countries collaborate on this site showcasing the best contemporary poetry from around the world, plus literary essays and interviews.
Poetry Magazines Online (Saison Poetry Library)
The Saison Poetry Library at the Southbank Centre maintains this online archive of 20th and 21st century UK poetry magazines, including both active journals and those that are no longer publishing. Not all journals have a complete press run available.
Poetry Series on the PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
PBS and the Poetry Foundation collaborated on this series of broadcasts featuring short-form profiles on living American poets and long-form segments on current debates in poetry. Listen/view past segments on their website.
Poetry.LA
Online video showcase of over 150 poets reading their work at various venues in Southern California. Poets featured include US Poet Laureate Kay Ryan and Anne Carson. The site also includes video interviews with authors and publishers. Poetry.LA was started by poet Hilda Weiss and videographer/writer Wayne Lindberg as a way to bring broader exposure to poets beyond the coffeehouses, bookstores and cafes where most of these readings were taped.
Poets for Living Waters
Poets for Living Waters is a poetry action in response to the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico begun on April 20, 2010, one of the most profound human-made ecological catastrophes in history. See website for instructions for submitting your poems by email. Previously published work accepted.
Poets on Adoption
Curated by poet and adoptive parent Eileen R. Tabios, this site is a community for poets to share their experiences as birthparents, adoptive parents, or adoptees. Notable contributors include Jim Bennett, Nick Carbo, Jennifer Kwon Dobbs, Karen G. Johnston, and Carol Moldaw.
Queer Indigenous Women Poets at LitHub
Award-winning Mojave poet Natalie Diaz curates this bimonthly feature of selected poems by contemporary queer indigenous women. The first installment includes work by No'u Revilla, Janet McAdams, Lehua M. Taitano, Deborah A. Miranda, and Arianne True.
Quotidiana
Online anthology of classic essays from antiquity to the early 20th century, by such authors as Francis Bacon, G.K. Chesterton, Jonathan Swift, and Mark Twain.
ReadPrint
Searchable full text of many classic works of English and American literature.
Representative Poetry Online
Comprehensive site from the University of Toronto Library features a glossary of poetic terms, a daily calendar of events in the lives of famous poets, poetry critiques, and extensive poetry archives. Site is indexed by poem titles, first lines, last lines, author names, keywords and more.
