PURDUE OWL
"Writing about poetry can be one of the most demanding tasks that many students face in a literature class. Poetry, by its very nature, makes demands on a writer who attempts to analyze it that other forms of literature do not. So how can you write a clear, confident, well-supported essay about poetry? This handout offers answers to some common questions about writing about poetry."
UNC'S WRITING CENTER
"A poetry explication is a relatively short analysis which describes the possible meanings and relationships of the words, images, and other small units that make up a poem. Writing an explication is an effective way for a reader to connect a poem’s plot and conflicts with its structural features. This handout reviews some of the important techniques of approaching and writing a poetry explication, and includes parts of two sample explications."
UNIVERSITY OF WISCON'S "HOW TO READ A POEM"
Clear, simple, "how to" advice.
MODERN AMERICAN POETRY SITE (MAPS)
MAPS includes "more than 30,000 pages of biographies, critical essays, syllabi and images relating to 161 poets."
NORTON'S LITWEB: WRITING ABOUT LITERATURE
Clear and detailed, this site addresses the ins and outs of writing about literature covering Paraphrase, Summary, and Description; Elements of the Essay. The Writing Process, The Research Essay; and Quotation, Citation, and Documentation. Highly Recommended.
ACADEMY OF AMERICAN POETS
Founded in 1934 to support American poets at all stages of their careers and to foster the appreciation of contemporary poetry, the Academy's site features poems, audios & videos, essays & interviews, writing aids, Poetry Near You, and much more.
THE GLADDEST THING
This delightful and handsome site is a collection of good poems, chosen and assembled by Michelle McGinnis. Fun to browse and sample.
THE POETRY ARCHIVE
"What would we not give to be able to hear Keats and Byron reading their work? ... [I]n the twentieth century, when recording technology became universal, there was no systematic attempt to record all significant poets for posterity and even some major poets .... The Poetry Archive has, therefore, been created to make sure that such omissions never happen again and that everyone has a chance to hear major poets reading their work."
POETRY DAILY
Poetry Daily each day features a new poem from new books, magazines, and journals. Included is recent news, selected reviews, and articles from the poetry world.
THE POETRY FOUNDATION
The Poetry Foundation is the publisher of Poetry magazine, the premier poetry publication in the United States, founded in 1912, and includes among its thousands of poets, all the major American poets of the last hundred years. The Foundation's site offers digital copies of every issue of the magazine, seasonal poems, audios, videos, and information about a variety of programs.
POETRY SOCIETY OF AMERICA
The Poetry Society of America's mission is to "build a larger and more diverse audience for poetry, to encourage a deeper appreciation of the vitality and breadth of poetry in the cultural conversation, and to place poetry at the crossroads of American life.the nation's oldest poetry organization." PSA was founded in 1910. Its site includes poetry, articles, events, contests, interviews, tributes, and more.
POETS & WRITERS
"Poets & Writers... is the primary source of information, support, and guidance for creative writers." Includes extensive information about lit magazines, presses, conferences& residencies, MFA programs, Writing prompts, agents, contests, and more.
Here are a few MDC databases that can help you in your poetry research:
To log in,
1) click on the databases above
2) Log in: Student ID #
Pin: Last four digits of your Student ID#
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For all the MDC Databases,
1) go to www.mdc.edu
2) scroll down to Libraries
3) click DATABASES
4) choose a database alphabetically or (drop-down) by category
5) Log in: same as your email log in
Contact Info:
305-237-8905 - Reference
305-237-8931 - Circulation
