April is National Poetry Month. Launched in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets, it pays tribute to the ways poetry enriches American culture, both past and present. Their website has a number of poetry-related readings and activities, including a Poem-A-Day program you can receive through email. You can also follow Natasha Trethewey, our current Poet Laureate, at the Library of Congress.
But our library is well stocked with resources for poetry and poetry criticism, as well. Among are databases are Litfinder, which includes over 150,000 full-text poems and 800,000+ poetry citations, among numerous other short stories, speeches, and plays; 20th Century American Poetry, which includes over 50,000 poems from authors like Adrienne Rich, Langston Hughes, Ezra Pound, Denise Levertov, and William Carlos Williams; and American Poetry (1600-1900), which features more than 40,000 poems from the Colonial era to the dawn of the twentieth century. We also have databases dedicated to specific types of authors, including African-American Poetry (1750-1900), Latin American Women Writers, and Black Women Writers.
And, if you were interested in exploring poetry beyond America’s shores, English Poetry (600-1900), Scottish Women Poets of the Romantic Period, and Latino Literature: Poetry, Drama, and Fiction add hundreds of thousands more.
More, we have ebook poetry anthologies exploring themes and authors across the spectrum ranging from Feminist Avant-Garde in American Poetry by Elizabeth Frost to Beautiful Enemies: Friendship and Postwar American Poetry by Andrew Epstein to Inclined to Speak: An Anthology of Contemporary Arab American Poetry by Hayan Charara. We have poetry to suit any mood!
And if you need help getting started, we have a LibGuide dedicated to 20th century American poetry here. Or contact us at iueref@iue.edu – we would love to help you!
