Poets dot org

This a wonderful site for anyone who loves poetry; there is a huge collection of poems and verse from all ages and from all across the world and it is like a treasure box. Many times I’ve looked for a particular poet and then had my eye caught by a different name, an unknown name and then discovered pure gold!

Poets.org is the site of the Academy of American Poets, but there are not just American poets featured on the site. Whatever your taste, there will be something to enchant and delight you – but be prepared to lose a few hours as you meander through its treasures!

The site is not just a broad anthology, it has biographies of over five hundred poets, and masses of other information, including information about schools and movements. There are photos and audio and video links of poets reading their own work, interviews, essays… so much, you could spend a year here and never get to the end… oh and new poets and poems are always being added too! You can sign up for a newsletter, have a poem a day sent to your mail box… brilliant!

I’m just looking at the poets page; down the centre is a browse feature for poets by name or poems by title, or you could ‘Or find a poet by browsing through a list of Groundbreaking Books.’ Below that is a selection of the newest poets added to poets.org, and at the bottom is a list of updated biographies and information on particular writers. Down the left hand side of the page are links, including a selection of favourite links which include today, ‘LGBTQ Poets and poetry’, ‘Explore Black Heritage’, ‘Mobile Poetry Wherever You Are’ (for cell and mobile phones), ‘Poetry Map’ and ‘Poetry Store’. Beneath that is a way you can donate to the site to help maintain it and keep it running. Over on the right hand side of the page, above a list of the most popular contemporary poets and the most popular historical poets is :

This is a description of just one page!!!  When I was teaching it was my constant companion as you can browse poems by category  by occasion – Halloween, Valentine’s day, by time of year or season, by topic – revolution, aliens, drinking… look for it and you’ll find it!

I mentioned above the poets.org store, I have bought presents from it on several occasions; it does not just contain editions of poems or other things connected to poetry it has a wonderful range of lovely gifts

PS If you are wondering why I chose the featured image, let me give you a clue:

O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn's being,
Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead
Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing,

… by Shelley – my picture is shell-y…

poets.org