Collections of Poetry

This page features collections of poetry. Sites and Activities for Specific Poets and Lesson Plans and Activities for Poetry are also available.

The Academy of American Poets
A searchable collection of contemporary poetry, some not necessarily appropriate for school. Users can hear poetry being read — requires RealAudio.

American Life in Poetry
A collection of contemporary American poems, copyright cleared for classroom use.

American Verse Project
The University of Michigan Humanities Text Initiative (HTI) and the University of Michigan Press joined forces at this site. The result? An electronic archive of American poetry prior to 1920.

Barking Spiders
Poetry for children by C. J. Heck.

Contemporary American Poetry Archive
CAPA archives texts of out-of-print volumes of contemporary poetry.

Cowboy Poetry at the Bar-D Ranch
Omar West presents poetry about cowboys and the West.

The E-Server Poetry Collection
This index of Western canonical verse has a wide variety, from Angelou's "On the Pulse of Morning," the inauguration poem, to Wordsworth and Coleridge.

Favorite Poem Project
A collection of poems people have chosen as their favorites and videos of them reading.

Internet Poetry Archive
Selected poems from a number of contemporary poets.

Laugh a Lot Poetry
Fun poems, especially for elementary students (although "The Silliest Teacher in School" sounds like someone I know well ...).

Literary Kicks: BeatGen
Historical information about Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Neal Cassady, William S. Burroughs, and later Beats.

Poem Hunter
This database of poetry can be searched by poet, title, or text, for those times when you only remember a line or two.

The Poet Speaks of Art
A collection of paintings and the poems they inspired.

Poetry 180
Former Poet Laureate of the United States Billy Collins presents a program in which students read poetry aloud daily.

Poetry Daily
A new poem each day, not necessarily school-appropriate.

Poets' Corner - Home Page
An excellent, searchable collection.

Prose and Verse Criticism of Poetry
Criticism of canon poetry from the University of Toronto.

Representative Poetry Online
Poetry is indexed by poet, by title, and by first line. Also available: a keyword search of words in the poems; a timeline, of poets, poems, and events; a calendar, the year's days; a glossary of poetic terms and forms; writings on poetry by great poets and readers, and a link to UTEL, the University of Toronto English Library.

Romantic Circles High School
Poetry, criticism, and other documents related to British Romantic Poetry.