There is one thing every poet must do; they must read poetry. It will inspire you and help you learn your craft.
Writing poetry without reading it is like being a carpenter who has never seen a block of wood. Besides, poetry is a pleasure to the senses- by reading poetry, you learn new techniques. Here are some sites that will inspire you, teach you and make your day.
poemhunter.com
On poemhunter.com, you can read poetry by many, many modern and classical poets. From John Keats to Pablo Neruda to Billy Collins, explore every poetic movement and style. Search for poets and poems, and register for an account so you can create a favorites list. They also have downloadable ebooks of classic poets like Emily Dickinson and Edna St Vincent Millay.
poets.org
If you want to know more about poetry groups and movements, check out Poets.org. This site has audio of several well-known poets reading their work.
duotrope.com
Dutrope has a massive database of print and electronic literary magazines. Read poetry and short fiction online, then use their submissions tracker to keep track of your own poetry submissions.
merriam-webster.com
The dictionary is like unfinished poetry itself. Full of fascinating words and concepts, the dictionary and thesaurus is like a mini-encyclopedia of all human thought. The website also has alot of fun games. Each definition includes word histories, which are fascinating. Sign up for the word of the day and learn something new every time you open your inbox.
All screenshots by author.
February 24th, 2009 at 5:00 am
Hi Stephanie, It is very refreshing to find someone so helpful to others poets, I am grateful that you took the time to put this together. I think it will be very helpful.Thank you.
February 24th, 2009 at 6:41 am
thanks for sharing this
February 24th, 2009 at 7:44 am
Thanks Stephanie for sharing this very helpful article. I do have an account at poemhunter.com
February 24th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
ooh, this one is for me.. thanks for sharing
February 24th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
I will definitely take a look, thanks for this.
February 24th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
Great info…thanks.
February 28th, 2009 at 7:02 pm
You are such a wealth of valuable information. Thanks for sharing these wonderful sites.
March 5th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
Call myself an aspiring poet, and I had no idea that these websites existed! Thanks, very informative!
October 10th, 2010 at 4:05 pm
Wow! Thanks for sharing these wonderful websites!!