Representative Poetry Online

One of Canada's great gifts to the world is Canadian Poetry (see Canadian Poetry Online from University of Toronto), and another is the Representative Poetry Online page, where poetic texts can be freely consulted and browsed. Thanks!

The Facts on File Companion to British Poetry, 1900 to the Present

Edited by James Persoon and Robert R. Watson, The Facts on File Companion to British Poetry, 1900 to the Present (2009) presents 450 entries, introducing students to poets, themes, topics, movements, and individual poems.    The editors state,  "We felt as editors and teachers that part of our duty was to expand the horizons of our readers—and perhaps expand the usefulness of this companion—beyond what is currently the most commonly taught."  This entailed: 

-  "a rescue mission of unfairly neglected poetry" 

-  including "emerging 21rst-century writers" 

-  broadening the companion "to include the world community of poets writing in English, minus the Americans" (page v).  

A team of 150 international academics participated in the endeavor, resulting in a reference work secondary schools and universities should have on hand.

William Shakespeare lives

Whether you like it or not, Shakespeare's English and the King James Version of the Bible are still the most influential source works for all poetry in English that has come since.  Add to that the Oxford English Dictionary, and you've got the literary trinity of the English Language.

You can access them all on-line:

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (free from MIT)

Oxford English Dictionary (for a fee from OED) or free if you have access through your library, such as users of ENS, Paris).  The Compact Oxford English Dictionary gives much less detail (free from AskOxford.com).

The Bible is available on-line in many versions and translations.  This is a limited selection (all listed here are free):

King James Version (from the University of Virginia) and a data base allowing you to search for keywords and phrases (from the University of Michigan).

Revised Standard Version (from the University of Michigan).

New American Bible (from United States States Conference of Catholic Bishops & Catechism for Adults).

Further your general knowledge of the Torah, Bible and Coran using a virtual exhibit (from the Bibliothèque Nationale de France) and visit the Online Gallery of Sacred Texts (from the British Library).