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Poetry

Today's Writer's Almanac
A short daily Public Radio program by Garrison Keillor which includes a selected poem and literary and historical notes for the day.

 

Selected Books

The following selections can be found in our International Poetry Collection on the second floor of the Main Library in Oakland.

Baudelaire, Charles
Flowers of Evil
Translated by Keith Waldrop, Wesleyan University Press, 2006.
If you have always wanted to know, or thought you already knew, what the Baudelaire fuss is all about, this is the volume for you. This brand new translation by Keith Waldrop eschews the pretense (no forced rhymes or stilted meter here) for the pure power of direct speech and modernity. A word of caution, however; given the right circumstances, this is life-altering verse.
 
Gluck, Louise
Averno
Former Poet Laureate Louise Glück, in her tenth collection, delves once more into the rich subject of mythology, both personal and classical, presenting a sequence of poems revolving around themes loosely connected to Persephone and our fascination with the idea of an Underworld. Terse, literate, and powerful, like much of her previous work, this volume seems an extended elegy for life itself.
PS3557.L8 A96 2006
 
Han-shan
Cold Mountain
Translated by Burton Watson
A classic translation of arguably one of the most important books of Chinese poetry, Cold Mountain put the Zen into poetry for a whole generation of modern Beats. A mountain, a hermit & nature: can pure, lyric philosophy be far behind?
PL2677.H3 1970
 
Keillor, Garrison (editor)
Good Poems
Variously reviled & praised, this volume of poems, selected and introduced by Garrison Keillor, is perhaps one of the very best new introductions to high quality, accessible poetry. Stern, Frost, Sexton, Bukowski, Dickinson, Bishop & Yeats - and that’s just for starters. Guaranteed to grab you & not let go.
PS3586.G58 2002
 
Kerouac, Jack
Book of Sketches, 1952-57
More a companion volume to Kerouac’s recently released Book of Haikus than the bottom drawer material one might expect all these years after his death, the Book of Sketches is for every Kerouac fan who loves his poetry as much as his prose. Written between 1952 and 1957 and culled by Kerouac himself from fifteen handwritten notebooks, this volume is an endless stream of imagery studded with brilliant flashes of poetry and insight that can only be described as vintage Kerouac.
PS3521.E735 B667 2006
 
Matsuo Basho, 1644-1694
Basho’s Haiku
Translated & introduced by David Lanis Barnhill
A comprehensive selection of master poet Matsuo Basho’s esteemed haiku, extensively annotated for both the beginning & advanced reader. #563: “loneliness- / dangling from a nail, / a cricket.”
PL794.4.A227 2004
2nd Floor, International Poetry Collection
 
Wang, Wei
The Selected Poems of Wang Wei
Translated by David Hinton.
The seamless marriage of nature and lyricism that defines classical Chinese poetry is expertly captured in this new modern translation of master poet, Wang Wei. Journey lazily down a crystalline river, flask in hand, as a gentle, lyrical breeze caresses all your senses.
PL2676.A25 2006
 
Wright, Franz
God’s Silence: Poems
In his latest volume of poems, Pulitzer Prize winning poet Franz Wright once again stares down the man in the mirror. But who is that over his shoulder, and why so quiet?
PS3573.R5327 G63 2006
 
Wright, James Arlington, 1927-1980
Selected Poems
A near perfect introduction to one of the 20th century’s premier poets, this volume has a preface by wife Anne Wright & an introduction by close friend Robert Bly. The poems selected from The Branch Will Not Break are worth the price of admission. "A Blessing" will make your soul shimmer.
PS3573.R5327 G63 2006
(2nd Floor of Main, International Poetry Collection)
 

Browse the Catalog

To find more titles, browse the library catalog under the subjects:

 
 

Web Sites

  • The Academy of American Poets
    The Academy of American Poets was founded in 1934 to support American poets at all stages of their careers and to foster the appreciation of contemporary American poetry. Includes "Find a Poet or Poem" and the "Online Poetry Classroom."
  • The American Verse Project
    The American Verse Project is an electronic archive of volumes of American poetry prior to 1920. From the University of Michigan Humanities Text Initiative (HTI) and the University of Michigan Press.
  • The Atlantic Monthly Fiction and Poetry
    Reviews of current poetry publications and interviews of poets
  • Bartleby Library
    Includes online editions of poetry by Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, T.S. Eliot, Thomas Hardy, John Keats, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Walt Whitman, Oscar Wilde, William Wordsworth, William Butler Yeats, as well as Modern American Poetry and Modern British Poetry edited by Louis Untermeyer and The Oxford Book of English Verse.
  • The Borzoi Reader Knopf Poetry Center
    Browse their collection of poetry books, learn more about their authors, and read exerpts from their works. From Knopf Publishing Group.
  • Canadian Poetry
    Information on Canadian poets from the University of Toronto English Library
  • Cowboy Poetry.com
    CowboyPoetry.com celebrates our Western heritage and today's working West, dedicated to preserving our important history and to promoting the Western arts that carry on those traditions. CowboyPoetry.com is a project of the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry, Inc.
  • Electronic Poetry Center (EPC)
    The EPC serves as a central gateway to resources in electronic poetry and poetics produced at the State University of New York at Buffalo as well as elsewhere on the Internet, with the purpose of making a wide range of resources centered on contemporary experimental and formally innovative poetries an immediate actuality. Includes a large collection of author information.
  • Fooling with Words
    The companion website to a PBS TV special with Bill Moyers, highlighting a number of contemporary poets.
  • Gale Group: Poet's Corner
    Includes a quiz to test your knowledge, biographies, timeline, activities, and links.
  • Library of Congress: Poetry 180: A poem a day for American High Schools
    Poetry 180 is designed to make it easy for students to hear or read a poem each day of the 180 days of the school year.
  • Modern American Poetry
    An Online Journal and Multimedia Companion to Anthology of Modern American Poetry (Oxford University Press, 2000), Edited by Cary Nelson. "This web site grew out of the experience of editing Anthology of Modern American Poetry for Oxford University Press. Both I and the members of my Advisory Board realized that readers would benefit from having information readily available that could not possibly fit in a book. This ranged from historical background to analyses of the poems themselves. The site is designed to help all readers of modern poetry, not just readers of the Oxford anthology. Thus anyone interested in Robert Frost or H.D. or E. E. Cummings or Patricia Smith or any of the other poets should find interesting material here."
  • Poetry Daily
    Poetry Daily is an online anthology of contemporary poetry published by the nonprofit Daily Poetry Association
  • Poetry Foundation
    Features a Poem of the Day as well as a "Poetry Tool" for search their archive of poems. The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine, is an independent literary organization committed to a vigorous presence for poetry in our culture. Formerly the Modern Poetry Association.
  • Poetry Slam Inc.
    An organization that promotes performance poetry, especially through its National Poetry Slam.
  • Poetry Society of America
    Whether you write poetry, read poetry, or simply want to widen your literary horizons, the Poetry Society of America has readings, seminars, and competitions intended to challenge and inspire. Their Poetry Resources link to Poetry Colonies, Conferences & Festivals and to Poetry Journals & Literary Magazines.
    • Favorite Poem Project
      Includes a collection of videos you can view online of people reading their favorite poems and talking about themselves.
  • Writer's Almanac
    Listen to this short daily Public Radio program by Garrison Keillor. Includes a selected poem and literary and historical notes for the day. Available is also an archive of programs.
 

Pittsburgh Resources

  • Pittsburgh Poetry Calendar
    The Online Pittsburgh Poetry Calendar is a comprehensive poetry calendar for readings, open mics and workshops that take place throughout the city. The online listing, which has links to the organizations' web site, allows users to print out listings of events by week, month and year.
  • Autumn House Press
    publishes and promotes poetry and other fine literature for a discerning audience.
  • Gist Street Reading Series
    The Gist Street readings are held monthly and feature local and national poets and writers. The series focuses on emerging writers either publishing in national journals and magazines or publishing their first or second books.
  • International Poetry Forum
    Highlighting the spoken word in a public forum, the Interational Poetry Forum offers an annual series of poets.
  • Pittsburgh Poetry Exchange
    is a community-based organization and information exchange that promotes poets and poetry.
  • The Pittsburgh Quarterly
    The Pittsburgh Quarterly is a small press literary magazine that grew out of the community writing workshop movement.
  • Squirrel Hill Poetry Workshop
    The Squirrel Hill Poetry Workshop is a group of poets, representing a diversity of viewpoints and poetic styles, in the Pittsburgh area who gather twice a month at the Squirrel Hill branch of Carnegie Library to discuss their work.

 

Pennsylvania

  • Kelly Writers House
    a gathering place and a resource for all kinds of writers at the University of Pennsylvania. Recorded readings available online.