Library Services
Poetry is found in many sources: anthologies, books by a single poet, in periodicals, or on the Internet. Indexes lead you to sources containing the poem. Here are some tips for finding that elusive piece of poetry--whether you know only a part of it, or have the complete author and title.
Anthologies:
Collections of poetry by multiple authors are called anthologies. These sources may be divided by geographic regions, subject matter, or time period. Some of these anthologies may only be available at Central Library; call numbers that begin with R are reference books and are on the 2nd floor, and circulating collections are on the 4th floor.
- Home Book of Verse, American and English, 1580-1920 (2 volumes) R808.1 S847
- Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry 821.08 N889 1998
- An Oxford Anthology of English Poetry 821.08 O98L 1956
- Poems for the Millennium (2 volumes) 808.81 P744 1995
- World Poets (3 volumes), R809.1003 W927 2000
- The World's Best Poetry (14 volumes) 808.81 W9272 1981
Many collections of poetry by a single author are in the 811 section (American poetry) and the 821 section (British and Irish poetry). To find collections by a single author or by the title of a collection, search the Online Catalog.
- Example: Search by Author = "Eliot, T. S."
- Example: Search by Title = "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats"
To find collections of poetry by time period or geographic region, search the Online Catalog by subject.
- Example: Search
by Subject = "American Poetry"
" Poetry, medieval"
" Poetry, modern"
" Poetry, Russian"
To find poetry on a certain theme, a keyword search helps. Truncate words with an asterisk to include plurals or other suffixes.
- Example: Search
by Keyword = "poet* natur*"
"valentine* poet*"
If you know only part of the poem or a particular theme or subject of the poem, search a poetry index. The following can be found on the 2nd floor of Central Library, unless otherwise noted.
- Chicorel Index to Poetry and Poets -- Literature (2 volumes) R808.81 C533po
- Chicorel Index to Poetry in Anthologies and Collections - Retrospective (4 volumes) R808.81 C533
- Granger's Index to Poetry (multiple editions, mutiple branches) R808.8 G758
- Last Lines: An Index to the Last Lines of Poetry (2 volumes, multiple branches) R808.81 K65 1991
- Subject Index to Poetry for Children and Young People (in Kids’ Place, Central Library lower level) J808.81 S645 1977
- Women's Poetry Index R808.81 G986 1985
Tip: Most subject indexes abbreviate the sources cited in their main bodies. The keys to the abbreviations are usually found in the first pages of the indexes. Look here for the full title of the work(s) you need to use, then look up these titles in the Online Catalog to see if they are owned by the Sacramento Public Library system.
Internet:- LitFINDER. Accessbile from library computers. Searchable database of more than 125,000+ full-text poems; 25,000 copyrighted poems; 850,000+ poem citations and excerpts
- Poets' Corner (www.theotherpages.org/poems/)Over 6,725 English language poems by nearly 780 poets.
- Representative Poetry On-Line: Version 3.0 (eir.library.utoronto.ca/rpo/display/index.cfm) More than 3,000 English poems from the Middle Ages to the 20th century.
- Sonnet Central (www.sonnets.org/) An archive of sonnets arranged by period & author.
Search on Librarians' Index to the Internet (www.lii.org) using the search term "poetry" for more poetry sites to search.
Periodicals:
Located at Central Library, on 3rd floor or Sacramento Room.
- American Poetry Review Microfilm (1983-2000), Paper (2001- )
- Poetry Best known American journal of poetry (1918-1985) (1985- )
- Poetry Now Local poetry (1995- ) in Sacramento Room. Search card catalog by poet's last name
Finally, try a quotation dictionary (e.g. Bartlett's Familiar Quotations R808.8 B291). Others are shelved in 808. Or search the Online Catalog by subject: "Quotations, English”.
For further help, ask at an Information Desk.