PSCC Libraries: Poetry: 2. Background Resources

Full-Text Poems

Are you looking for full-text poems? Explore either of the below web resources by typing the name of the poem into the respective search engine.

Introduction

The following resources are divided into segments based on the English course you are taking. They are ONLY intended for you to perform initial background research on the topic, poet, or poem of interest. Think of the books below as stepping stones for finding a topic, understanding a literary movement's historical background, or learning about an author's life. They should appear in your Works Cited, but avoid relying on them for the main portion of your analysis.

American Literature

American Poetry (subject)
Browse the following call number in the library's catalog to find resources on American poetry:

Resources by Course

African American Literature

Early American Literature

Modern American Literature

Appalachian Literature

ENGL 2055 - African American Lit

This book provides historical context for African American poetry to help you write strong introductions.

A History of African American Poetry
A History of African American Poetry has five chapters tracing its origins from the transatlantic slave trade to present day hip-hop, including one chapter on twentieth-century renaissances—ideal for studying Harlem Renaissance poets. Take notes and record page numbers for information you want to include in your essay to simplify citations and support your essay effectively.

The Harlem Renaissance
For specific information about poetry during the Harlem Renaissance, an early 20th century movement where African American literature, music, and art flourished, explore this resource from the Poetry Foundation:

ENGL 2110 - Early American Lit

These books cover early American poetry through anthologies and criticism.

Early American Poetry
Early American Poetry features five poets—Anne Bradstreet, Edward Taylor, Timothy Dwight, Philip Freneau, and William Cullen Bryant—offering biographies, analyses, and historical context. Use it to explore themes, develop essay topics, and identify key ideas, such as Bradstreet’s focus on Puritan values, family, and sin.
Changing Is Not Vanishing: A Collection of Early American Indian Poetry to 1930
Use Changing is Not Vanishing if you want to read a variety of full-text poetry from Native Americans, poems you might not be able to find in your course materials. The poems in this collection address such topics as colonialism and the federal government, land, politics, nature, love, war, Christianity, and racism.

Native American Poetry and Culture
To learn more about Native American poetry, explore this resource from the Poetry Foundation:

ENGL 2120 - Modern American Lit

These titles provide historical and cultural context for modern American poetry from the post-Civil War era to today, emphasizing mid-20th-century post-war poets.

Modern Poetry after Modernism
Modern Poetry after Modernism offers biographies and critical analyses of writers such as Bishop, Jarrell, Wilbur, Ashbery, Clampitt, Howard, Pinsky, and Graham. Rethinking the influential "breakthrough" narrative, the oft-told story of postmodern poets throwing off their modernist shackles in the 1950s, Longenbach offers a more nuanced perspective.
The Age of Auden: Postwar Poetry and the American Scene
Use The Age of Auden to explore W. H. Auden’s influence on American poetry. The book offers detailed analyses of his work—identify recurring themes and connect them to his life, values, and poetic form to develop focused arguments for your assignment.

Poets of World War I: National Perspectives
Explore differing perspectives of WWI poetry at this Poetry Foundation link.
The Poetry of the Vietnam War
Explore poetry written during and about the Vietnam War at this Poetry Foundation link.
Poetry and the Civil Rights Movement
For more information about how poetry existed during the Civil Rights movement, explore this link from the Poetry Foundation

ENGL 2150 - Appalachian Lit

This book explores Appalachian poetry and the regional themes tied to it.

Appalachian Gateway: An Anthology of Contemporary Stories and Poetry
Early sections of Appalachian Gateway provide background for essay introductions, followed by full-text poems from various authors. Use the table of contents to find topics of interest—such as representations of the Appalachian landscape—and analyze shared themes (e.g., love of the land, family ties, progress vs. heritage) to develop focused, regionally grounded arguments.

British Literature

English Poetry (subject)
Browse the following call number in the library's catalog to find resources on British poetry:

Resources by Course

Early British Literature

Modern British Literature

ENGL 2210 - Early British Lit

Representations of the Natural World in Old English Poetry
For essay inspiration on early British poetry, explore Representations of the Natural World. It examines how poets' environments shaped their work. Browse the table of contents—for example, if you're interested in human nature, read the chapter "Defining and Confining Humanity"—and connect any themes to poems you've studied in your course. Jennifer Neville describes the physical conditions experienced by the Anglo-Saxons (animals, diseases, landscapes) and argues that poetic descriptions of these elements were not a reflection of the existing physical conditions but a literary device used to define more important issues: the state of humanity, the creation and maintenance of society, the power of individuals, the relationship between God and creation, etc.

The English Renaissance
For specific information about the Renaissance period in British history, check out the following collection from The Poetry Foundation:

ENGL 2220 - Modern British Lit

Explore the titles below to learn more about the history of Romantic, Victorian, and 20th Century British poetry.

The Facts on File Companion to British Poetry: 17th and 18th centuries
The Facts on File Companion is alphabetized by author last name or name of the poem and is best used if you already have a poet/poem in mind for your assignment. Use it for crafting author biographies or gaining analytical insight on a poem.
Modern English War Poetry
Modern English War Poetry will be useful if you are writing about Thomas Hardy, Rudyard Kipling, Wilfred Owen, Charlotte Mew, Edward Thomas, Ivor Gurney, W. H. Auden, Keith Douglas, Ted Hughes, or Geoffrey Hill and need example analyses of their poems to reinforce your own analysis.
Contemporary British Poetry
If you don't already have a topic or poet to write about, check the Table of Contents in Contemporary British Poetry for movements/themes that sound interesting. This book offers a wide-ranging look at the work of feminists and "post feminist" poets, working class poets, and poets of diverse cultural backgrounds, as well as provocative re-readings of such well-established and influential figures as Donald Davie, Ted Hughes, Geoffrey Hill, and Craig Raine.

British Romanticism
For specific information about British Romanticism, explore the following collection from The Poetry Foundation:

World Literature

Resources by Course

If you are taking Early World Lit, Modern World Lit, Early European Lit, or Modern European Lit, explore the following book to find historical information related to a specific region's poetry.

The Princeton Handbook of World Poetries
This books is alphabetized by region (e.g., French poetry is under "France, Poetry of") and can be useful when writing your introductory paragraph since it highlights distinct literary movements and provides information about the regions' most noteworthy poets.

If you already have a topic, search within the book to see if the poem/poet you are covering has an entry. If you don't have a topic, browse regions that interest you, take the knowledge you've learned, and find additional sources of information for the themes/experiences you want to write about.

The Princeton Handbook provides a comprehensive and authoritative survey of the history and practice of poetry in more than 100 major regional, national, and diasporic literatures and language traditions around the globe. It offers in-depth treatment of Indo-European, ancient Middle Eastern, subcontinental Indian, Asian and Pacific, Spanish American, and indigenous American poetries.