Anthologies Make Great Gifts!
Welcome,
Give the gift of poetry to yourself or someone you care about.
A poem can change a life; they inspire, educate, enrich, and bring pleasure. What cannot be put into words is sometimes found in the essence of a poem.
Melting apparent
surfaces away
and displaying
the infinite
which was hid.
from THE POET by David Whyte

Holiday Season, Chicago
Main Contents
- Anthology of the Week
- Poem of the Week
- Holiday/Winter Poetry
- Illustrated Anthologies
- Poetry by African Americans
- Anthologies for Young Children
- Haiku Anthologies
- Healing Poetry Anthologies
- Poems by Women - *NEW SECTION*
- Sci-Fi Poetry
- A Few of My Favorite Anthologies
- Recently Released Anthologies
- Add Your Favorite Anthology!
- Contemporary Anthologies
- Out of the Ordinary Anthologies
- Latino Poetry
- Around the World with Poetry
- Music and Dance Poetry Anthologies
- War Poetry Anthologies
- Books about Poetry & Poetic Form
- Bookmark
- Its All About Words
Anthology of the Week
Every book deserves its 7 days of fame!
FOR AGES 9 - 12
The Oxford Book of Christmas Poems
Amazon Price: $10.85 (as of 11/30/2009)![]()
Used Price: $20.78
The winter landscape at Christmas, the story of the Nativity, the celebrations of the season, and the coming of the New Year - these are explored in more than 120 poems both old and new. Illustrated. (from back cover). For ages 9 - 12.
Release Date: 12/31/1969
Poem of the Week
THE WIND OF SAYINGThe words dance in the wind of saying.
They are leaves that crispen,
sere, turning to dust. As long
as that language runs its blood --
rich river through the tongues
of people, as long as grand
mothers weave the warp and woof
of old stories with bright new
words carpeting the air
into dreams, then the words
live like good bacteria
within our guts, feeding us.
We catch the letters and trap
them in books, pearlescent butterflies
pinned down. We fasten the letters
with nails to the white pages.
Most words dry finally to husks
even though dead languages
whisper, blown sand through
the dim corridors of library stacks.
Languages wither, languages
are arrested and die in prison,
stories are chopped off at the roots
like weeds, lullabies spill
on the floor and dry up.
Conquerors force their words
into the minds of their victims.
Our natural language is a scream.
Our natural language is a cry
rattling in the night. But tongues
are how we touch, how we reach,
how we teach, the spine of words.
~ Marge Piercy ~
photo below: marcy62182 / photobucket
We catch the letters and trap
them in books, pearlescent butterflies
pinned down. We fasten the letters
with nails to the white pages.
Holiday/Winter Poetry
Illustrated Anthologies
One picture and a thousand words.
Art & Wonder
This book presents what it calls "visionary poetry" wonderfully illustrated with works from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Both well know and lesser known poets included.
The Illustrated Rumi: A Treasury of Wisdom from the Poet of the Soul
Rumi was a sufi poet living in the golden age of the Islamic civilization. To many, his poetry is a guide to spirituality and wisdom. This volume is a new translation and sensually illustrated .
Classic Poetry: An Illustrated Collection
An excellent choice for children from age 9 - up to 99. This anthology has 160 pages of diverse poems, illustrated by the artist Paul Howard. There is a portrait and short biography of each poet.
The Lover's Companion : Art and Poetry of Desire
Can a book be an aphrodisiac? The poems in this book were chosen to inspire "sexual reflection." Dr. Ruth Westheimer has some things to say in this book, if you get my drift. Most of the illustrations are of female nudes.
My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States
This book has 50 poems arranged by United States geographical regions. The illustrations are amazing. There are also maps and significant facts about each state.
Poetry by African Americans
Every Shut Eye Ain't Asleep: An Anthology of Poetry by African Americans Since 1945
Thirty-five African American poets, born between 1913 and 1962 and came of age after 1945, are represented in this anthology. The book opens with an introduction and there's a short bio for each poet.
The Oxford Anthology of African-American Poetry
An anthology that allows "black poets to create with their own words a portrait of the African-American people." Jayne Cortez, Audre Lorde, Carl Phillips, and Amiri Baraka are some of the many poets represented in the anthology.
LYRICAL MADNESS: An Anthology of Contemporary Poetry By African American Poets
Contemporary African-American poetry is represented in this anthology edited by Carla Cooks.
African-American Poetry: An Anthology, 1773-1927 (Dover Thrift Editions)
This anthology paints a vivid cultural picture. Seventy-four poems from Phillis Wheatley Peters (ca. 1753-1784) to 20th-century work of Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen. Other contributors include James Weldon Johnson, Paul Laurence Dunbar, many others.
Spirit & Flame: An Anthology of African American Poetry
With more than two hundred pieces, Spirit & Flame shares the poetry of new and established black voices around the United States. There are poems in the oral tradition, in tanka and sonnets, in lyrics that echo the sound of jazz, hip hop and rap.
Anthologies for Young Children
Haiku Anthologies
Haiku Moment: An Anthology of Contemporary North American Haiku
Eight hundred haiku, written in the English language, by 185 contemporary poets. There's a good introduction about North-American haiku poetry in relation to Japanese haiku.
Haiku: Poetry Ancient & Modern
This anthology presents both classic and contemporary poets writing about the elements: earth, air, fire, water, metal and wood.
Global Haiku: Twenty-Five Poets World-Wide
This collection starts with a good introduction to haiku, and features 25 haiku-ists from various countries. There is also biographical information on the poets.
Classic Haiku: A Master's Selection (Tuttle Classics of Japanese Literature)
Yuzuru Miura, an established Japanese haiku poet, translated classic and contemporary verse into English and present them in this anthology. The poems are printed in both English and Japanese.
The Haiku Year
Seven friends stay connected for one year by each of them writing one haiku per day. This book is a compilation of their verses. Though not written by regular practitioners of haiku, you'll fine interesting bite sized slices of contemporary life. A number of the haiku are stunning. A good gift for the haiku lover that has read "everything," or for introducing someone to haiku.
Everyone I love
loves someone else, thinking me
to far away to love
MORE HAIKU . . .

Haiku Cat
Film: Dead Poets Society
Dead Poets Society (Special Edition)
Amazon Price: $16.49 (as of 11/30/2009)![]()
"Robin Williams stars as English professor John Keating, a passionate iconoclast who changes his students' lives forever when he challenges them to live life to the fullest and "Carpe Diem" -- seize the day! Keating's unconventional approach meets with irrepressible enthusiasm from his students, but the faculty at staid, exclusive Welton Academy prep school is, to put it mildly, not amused."
Healing Poetry Anthologies
Heartquake: Songs for Healing: Prose and Poetry Anthology
A collection of prose and poetry from across the globe reflecting the journey each makes, and the process of self-healing. Words of inspiration and hope. [Note: Just want to make sure you noticed. This anthology has prose writing, as well as poetry]
The Poetry Of Shell Shock: Wartime Trauma And Healing In Wilfred Owen, Ivor Gurney And Siegfried Sassoon
The poems in this book are both disturbing (how could war not be) and healing. This is not a traditional anthology. It is more a collection of poems by three WWI poets, but that's close enough to list it here.
Poems by Women - *NEW SECTION*
100 Essential Modern Poems by Women
The 100 poets in this volume are well chosen, as are the poems. This is an extremely pleasurable book of poetry and also offers biographical material on each poet.
When She Named Fire: An Anthology of Contemporary Poetry by American Women
This book presents 97 of the most dynamic poets in America including Naomi Shihab Nye, Mary Oliver, and Kay Ryan. The collection includes a photograph and a brief biographical sketch of each poet.
A Chorus for Peace: A Global Anthology of Poetry by Women
The editors of this courageous anthology chose poems by women writing about the tragedies of war and domestic violence with clarity and authenticity.
Yellow as Turmeric, Fragrant as Cloves: A Contemporary Anthology of Asian American Women's Poetry
This anthology of Asian American Women's Poetry includes some of the best poetry available today. These poets write beneath the surface, engaging the world in depth and without fear of disrupting the status quo.
A Rain of Words: A Bilingual Anthology of Women's Poetry in Francophone Africa (Caribbean and African Literature)
This is a groundbreaking anthology that makes a major contribution to the fields of African, women's and francophone, literature. It covers a wide range of countries and generations.
Quotes About Poetry
On the Light Side
You don't have to suffer to be a poet. Adolescence is enough suffering for anyone.
~ John Ciardi ~Poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.
~ G.K. Chesterton ~Poetry is a deal of joy and pain and wonder, with a dash of the dictionary.
~ Kahlil Gibran ~Poetry is the synthesis of hyacinths and biscuits.
~ Carl Sandburg ~A poet can survive everything but a misprint.
~ Oscar Wilde ~I've written some poetry I don't understand myself.
~ Carl Sandburg ~If Galileo had said in verse that the world moved, the inquisition might have let him alone.
~ Thomas Hardy ~Poetry is truth in its Sunday clothes.
~ Joseph Roux ~My favorite poem is the one that starts 'Thirty days hath September" because
it actually tells you something.
~ Groucho Marx ~For poetry, he's past his prime,
He takes an hour to find a rhyme;
His fire is out, his wit decayed,
His fancy sunk, his muse a jade.
I'd have him throw away his pen,
But there's no talking to some men.
~ Jonathan Swift ~Ordering a man to write a poem is like commanding a pregnant woman to give birth
to a red-headed child.
~ Carl Sandburg ~Poetry, like the moon, does not advertise anything.
~ William Blissett ~Poetry heals the wounds inflicted by reason.
~ Novalis ~
Sci-Fi Poetry
The 2005 Rhysling Anthology: The Best Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Poetry of 2004
Mythic, speculative, macabre, science fictional, weird, fantastic, dystopian, dark, cosmic, magical, surreal, astrological, elfin, supernatural, futurist, spiritual, horrific, mystical, astronomic, grotesque, ethereal, folkloric, utopian, scientific, terrifying, starry, and spectral poems . . .
The 2006 Rhysling Anthology
More speculative, science fiction, fantasy, horror poetry. . .
The 2007 Rhysling Anthology
The imaginative-ness and vitality of these poems, in craft and concept, suggests that the field of fantastic poetry is reaching new heights.
The 2008 Rhysling Anthology
Poems that explore realms and ideas that hover outside the confines of our largely rational and empiric daily realities . . .
The Alchemy of Stars: Rhysling Award Winners Showcase
For the first time the Rhysling Winners have been gathered under one cover. This collection presents more than twenty-five years of the best poetry in the field of speculative literature. (amazon product description)
"If you haven't read poetry like this before, I envy you . . . you're choosing from the gourmet menu for your first taste." (Robert Frazier)

Poetry's like fish: if it's fresh, it's good . . . if you're not certain, try it on the cat. ~ Sitwell ~
A Few of My Favorite Anthologies
Writing a poem is . . .
"Writing a poem is discovering."
~ Robert Frost ~
Recently Released Anthologies
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byAdd Your Favorite Anthology!
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A Book of Luminous Things: An International Anthology of Poetry
Nobel laureate Czeslaw Milosz selects and introduc more...0 points
Art & Nature: An Illustrated Anthology of Nature Poetry
A companion volume to Art & Love presents poem more...0 points
World Poetry: An Anthology of Verse from Antiquity to Our Time
This indispensable volume contains more than 1,600 more...0 points
The Haiku Anthology
Originally a Japanese form that flourished in the more...0 points
Attn: Teachers
TEACHING POETRY
For the Good of the Earth and Sun: Teaching Poetry (Heinemann/Cassell Language & Literacy)
Amazon Price: $23.70 (as of 11/30/2009)![]()
"A comprehensive overview of the art of teaching students how to enjoy and write poetry. Heard's calm and gentle approach is verified in the examples presented. Her method should take away some of the fears felt by teachers who lack confidence in their abilities to lead students in poetry-writing activities. The emphasis on reading poetry and enjoying it before attempting to write it is a basic tenet of this program. Also of importance is the environmental setting for writing poetry, the handling of plagiarism, and the publication of the poems, even if just in a classroom setting. The student poetry examples are excellent, especially when shown in the actual handwriting of the student. The bibliographies have brief annotations, and, while not extensive, are valuable."
~ A.R. Huggins and J. Thomson, Memphis State Univ.
Contemporary Anthologies
Keep current
Bum Rush the Page: A Def Poetry Jam
Most of the poems use urban imagery, tough talk and declaration. Many are identity-centered, anti-racist and pro-activist, and focused on current events.
The Invisible Ladder: An Anthology of Contemporary American Poems for Young Readers
The thought-provoking poems in this anthology were written for adults, but are accessible to young adults. 7th grade and up is suggested.
Staying Alive: Real Poems for Unreal Times
Here's a compilation of contemporary poetry (from the early 20th century to present). Excellent way to introduce yourself, or someone else, to contemporary poetry.
From Totems to Hip-Hop: A Multicultural Anthology of Poetry Across the Americas 1900-2002
A wonderful mish-mash of poets representing different aspects of American society. The poems stretch from pre-Columbian times to hip hop lyricists of today. Has valuable introduction and head-notes.
Out of the Ordinary Anthologies
Read Outside the Box
Poetry Comics: An Animated Anthology
Excellent poetry presented in an unusual way. Kind of like Marvel Comics and Mad magazine teaming up to present some of the worlds best poems. Might be a good way to introduce an older child or adolescent to poetry.
Earth Songs: A Resurgence Anthology of Contemporary Eco-Poetry
The book is unusual in that its the first anthology of contemporary ECO-poetry. A great gift for anyone interested in environmental issues, and possibly eye-opening for readers who have not given a lot of thought to living Earth-friendly.
Poetry on a Plate (Anthologies S.)
Know a chef that loves verse? This anthology has recipes, and poetry about food.
Teaching with Fire: Poetry That Sustains the Courage to Teach
A collection of poems (submitted by educators) meant to enrich and sustain teachers. Each poem is accompanied by a story from the teacher who submitted it, explaining what the poem means to him or her.
ShrinkLits: Seventy of the World's Towering Classics Cut Down to Size
I love this one. Some of the greatest books in literature distilled into short verse.
Latino Poetry

Poetry in the Round
Around the World with Poetry
Perfect for the Traveler in All of Us
Masterpieces of Modern Urdu Poetry
95 poems from 33 Indian and Pakistani poets. The poems illuminate trends from the latter part of the 20th century: political, social, and poetical.
The Dream of the Poem: Hebrew Poetry from Muslim and Christian Spain, 950-1492 (Lockert Library of Poetry in Translation) (Lockert Library of Poetry in ... (Lockert Library of Poetry in Translation)
Superb English translation of Hebrew Poetry that was written in Muslim and Christian Spain (950 to 1492). Beautiful verse.
The Drunken Universe
A collection of Persian Sufi poetry. Some poets are more familiar, others not so much (but just as wonderful). The book also has a short bio on each poet.
Poems of the Masters: China's Classic Anthology of T'ang and Sung Dynasty Verse (Mandarin Chinese Edition)
One hundred-plus poets are represented in this
anthology. It is a bilingual edition, with biographical information and relevant explanatory notes. Awesome poems. Example:
Somehow I ended up beneath pines
sleeping in comfort on boulders
there aren't any calendars in the mountains
winter ends but who counts the years
~The Ancient Recluse ~
An Anthology of New Zealand Poetry in English
A rich and diverse collection of New Zealand verse. Established and contemporary poets are represented. Delightful anthology!
MORE WORLD POETRY
Hear Classic Poetry Read Aloud
Aren't podcasts great?
- Classic Poetry Aloud
- Hear classic poetry read aloud via podcast. The words are also available so you can follow along.
Music and Dance Poetry Anthologies
Lyricism, Rhythm and Motion

Music and Dance: poetry in motion
War Poetry Anthologies
USA Involvement
Words for the Hour: A New Anthology of American Civil War Poetry
Poems written from 1834 - 1891 that illuminate the experience of living in the US as it was splitting, divided, and re-uniting.
Rendezvous with Death: American Poems of the Great War (American Poetry Recovery Series)
Poems relating to WWI. I like this anthology because it features poems from well known poets, combatants and civilians (yes, even women).
From Both Sides Now: The Poetry of the Vietnam War and Its Aftermath
The poems in this rich anthology are written by both combatants and protesters, Americans and Vietnamese, who were involved in the war as adults, or children (now grown).
War Poems from Iraq
Poetry by poets that oppose the war in Iraq.
Brother Enemy: Poems of the Korean War (Korean Voices)
The poets are male and female, North Korean and South Korean, well-known and forgotten, writing about the reality of living in a country torn in half.
Poetry Thesaurus
In other words . . .
POEM [n]: expressive, rhythmical literary piece.ballad, beat, blank verse, composition, creation, epic, free verse, haiku, limerick, lines, lyric, ode, poesy, poetry, quatrain, rhyme,rime, rune, sestina, song, sonnet, verse, villanelle, words, writing
POET [n]: person writing expressive, rhythmic verse.
artist, author, balladist, bard, dilettante, dramatist, librettist, lyricist, lyrist, maker, metrist, odist, parodist, poetaster, rhapsodist, rhymer, rimer, sonnetist, versifier, writer
POETIC [adj]: with rhythm and beauty.
anapestic, dactylic, dramatic, elegiac, epic, epical, epodic, iambic, idyllic, imaginative, lyric, lyrical, melodious, metrical, odic, rhythmical, romantic, song-like, tuneful
POETRY [n]: expressive, rhythmic literary work.
balladry, doggerel, metrical composition, paean, poems, poesy, rhyme, rhyming, rime, rune, song, stanza, verse, versification
Other lenses you might enjoy . . .
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Marge Piercy: Poet
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Marge Piercy has authored 17 books of poetry,and just as many novels. She's won many honors, including the oldest poetry award in the USA: The Golden Rose. Piercy's poetry is usually written in free verse, with a very personal tone, often focusing o...
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David Whyte: Poet
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I was introduced to DAVID WHYTE's poetry over a decade ago. Many of the poems touched me deeply and had an impact on my life. This lens is to share his life's work. DAVID WHYTE is also a lecturer, and corporate consultant. He's an adventurous poet...
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Haiku Heaven
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haiku verse are short distillations of beauty with weightless punch lines Below you'll find a little history about three historical haiku-ists and examples of their work, information on contemporary haiku with examples, several miscellaneous sample...
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Sharon Olds: Poet
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Olds sees common things from odd corners of refraction, where fantasy takes off from the given . . . (from an essay by Kenneth Lincoln) This is a poetry which implicitly insists that all we know is the body, and our only reliable way of knowing is t...
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Denise Levertov: Poet
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Levertov is one of my favorite poets and I'm happy to share her life and work with you. Denise Levertov's poetry explores several dimensions of the human experience: nature, love and motherhood, war and the nuclear arms race, poetry, the role of the...
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Czeslaw Milosz: Poet
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In his own words . . . poetry is an "ally in the service of the good", and that it "was brought to the mountains by a unicorn and an echo". "At the entrance, my bare feet on the dirt floor, Here, gusts of heat; at my back, white clouds. I stare and...

Try saying this fast five times!
Please, take a moment to rate this lens
Be A Poet: The Basics
- Write A Poem!
- Even if you think you can't write poetry, this site may prove you wrong. Great place for young and/or beginning poets.
- Poetry Zone
- A good how-to-write poetry manual. This site was made for 8-12 year olds, and the child in all of us. Sections are brief with good examples.
- ABC Poetry
- If you're a complete "newbie" at writing poems, this site gives simple directions with minimal explanations.
- Online Writing Class
- I like this site a great deal because after you write a poem, you can share it online. Or not. This class was written by Jack Prelutsky, U.S. Children's Poet Laureate.
Books about Poetry & Poetic Form
Bookmark
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Guest Book
I'd love to hear from you.
Share a blurb, or verse, some feedback . . . whatever.
-
Reply
- confetta confetta Aug 23, 2008 @ 11:13 am
- FANTASTIC LENS!
I LOVE your SELECTIONS!
So many NEW Anthologies for me to discover too!
I wonder if you will add a plexo at the bottom maybe -- so visitors to this lens can add favorites too?
TERRIFIC!
Thanks for making this one!!
-
Reply
- Jewelsofawe Jewelsofawe Aug 12, 2008 @ 11:21 am
- Great lens. I love poetry.
Its All About Words
Presidents, and Poets, of the United States
Up to the year 1865.
The following are three verses from Abraham Lincon's poem "My Childhood Home I See Again."
As leaving some grand waterfall,
We, lingering, list its roar--
So memory will hallow all
We've known, but know no more.
Near twenty years have passed away
Since here I bid farewell
To woods and fields, and scenes of play,
And playmates loved so well.
Where many were, but few remain
Of old familiar things;
But seeing them, to mind again
The lost and absent brings.
***
Thomas Jefferson probably wrote "To Ellen" to his granddaughter, (guess who) Ellen. Here are the first 3 verses.
Tis hope supports each noble flame,
'Tis hope inspires poetic lays,
Our heroes fight in hopes of fame,
And poets write in hopes of praise.
She sings sweet songs of future years,
And dries the tears of present sorrow,
Bids doubting mortals cease their fears,
And tells them of a bright to-morrow.
And when true love a visit pays,
The minstrel hope is allways there,
To soothe young Cupid with her lays,
And keep the lover from despair.
***
Here is the first half of James Madison's, "A Poem against the Tories."
Of late our muse keen satire drew
And humourous thoughts in vollies flew
Because we took our foes for men
Who might deserve a decent pen
A gross mistake with brutes we fight
And [goblins?] from the realms of night
Where Spring & Craig lay down their heads
Sometimes a goat steps on the pump
Which animates old Warford's trunk
Sometimes a poisonous toad appears
Which Eckley's yellows carcuss bears
And then to grace us with a bull
Forsooth they show McOrkles skull
And that the Ass may not escape
He take the poet Laureat's shape . . .
***
Who knew George Washington was such a romantic! Well, he was young once, too. This poem was written for Frances Alexander (note the first letter of each line).
From your bright sparkling Eyes, I was undone;2
Rays, you have, more transparent than the sun,
Amidst its glory in the rising Day,
None can you equal in your bright array;
Constant in your calm and unspotted Mind;
Equal to all, but will to none Prove kind,
So knowing, seldom one so Young, you'l Find
Ah! woe's me that I should Love and conceal,
Long have I wish'd, but never dare reveal,
Even though severely Loves Pains I feel;
Xerxes that great, was't free from Cupids Dart,
And all the greatest Heroes, felt the smart.
***
Here are lyrics for the hymn "O God, with Goodness All Thy Own" (first verse) written by John Quincy Adams
O GOD, with goodness all thy own,
In mercy cause thy face to shine;
So shall thy ways on earth be known,
Thy saving health and power divine:
O, let the gladdening nations sing,
And praise thy name with hallowed mirth,
For thou of righteousness art King,
And rulest all the subject earth.
***
This is the first verse of "Sweet Lady, Awake!" by John Tyler.
Sweet lady awake, from your slumbers awake,
Weird beings we come o'er hill and through brake
To sing you a song in the stillness of night
Oh, read you our riddle fair lady aright?
We are sent by the one whose found heart is your own,
Who mourns in thy absence and sighs all alone.
Alas, he is distant-but tho' far, far away,
He thinks of you, Lady, by night and by day.
Sweet lady awake, sweet lady awake!





















































