ART 216: Finding Poetry

There are a few ways that you can find poetry resources in the library.

• First, you can browse our poetry section by call number on the third floor of the UI Library.

                     PN1010-1551 (collections of poetry -- a good place to find a style or poet you like)

                     PN6099-6110 (works by a specific poet -- best if you have someone already in mind)

• Second, you can search our catalog to find poetry on a specific theme. For example, "nature and poetry". Find a volume you like, click "availability", and write down the call number. Then go to the third floor to find the book.

• Third, you can always search online for poets and poetry. This list of poets from Wikipedia is a good place to start, as is the website of the Academy of American Poets. Feel free to Google for poetry and themes, but be aware that there is a lot of incomplete quotation and misrepresentation of poetry on the web; be sure to verify poems in a print volume held in the library (this will help you with citation, too).

There are several avenues by which you can discover poems; you will have to cite each poem you use in the appropriate style. The examples below are taken from the MLA Style Manual, 3rd Edition. For further examples, personalized help, or examples within a different citation style, please contac the Library Reference Desk at libref@uidaho.edu or contact the Writing Center for help.

Examples of poems you might encounter:

A poem within a larger anthology:

Poet. "Title of Poem." Translator, if applicable. Title of Anthology. Editor of Anthology. Place of Publication: Publishing Company, Year of Publication. Page Numbers of the Cited Piece. Format of poem.

Example

Whitman, Walt. "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking." American Transcendental Poetry. Ed. Thomas Green. New York: Penguin, 1965. 81-83. Print.

A scholarly edition:

Poet. "Title of Poem." Date of Original Creation. Name of Volume. Editor of Edition. Place of Publication: Publishing Company (if applicable), Year of Publication. Page Numbers of the Cited Piece. Format of Poem.

Example

Whitman, Walt. "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking." 1859. Leaves of Grass. Ed. H.W. Blodgett. New York: New York University Press, 1965. 58-61. Print.