Poets' Corner

Reviewed by Meg Goodner

This web site was originally started in 1995 as an experiment, and has since grown to be a highly reputable poetry resource. Poets’ Corner is designed to hold a wide collection of various story poems and ballads. Users will find this web site quite easy to use with its organized and structured format. One may search for a poem by topic by using the "Search" function, or by choosing from the hundreds of topics listed under "Subjects." Titles of poems are linked and listed numerically (with the author’s name listed as well). Features that one may expect while visiting are the New and Recent Additions link, collections showcasing longer works, sonnets, and entire books, and several indexes grouped accordingly by title, author, subject, chronological, first line, etc. The page design is very "clean cut" and poetry links are clearly numbered for ease of use. This web site contains a
wide range of poetry and poets, such as popular to lesser known poets, medieval ballads, popular songs, and interpretations of American Indian chants. One can also find single stanzas to entire books of sonnets, narrative poems, and topical works. Other areas of interest are the "Quick Sampler", which shows shorter works for browsing, and the "Daily Poetry Break" which presents a new selection every weekday. The "Suggestions for Further Reading" link is also quite helpful when a user would like suggestions on more modern poems. Copyright laws are not forgotten with
this site. They are completely in compliance with copyright guidelines and provide a disclaimer stating that some poems may not be viewed at their site due to copyright restrictions. A bibliography of hardcopy resources is quite helpful for anyone doing research, or reciting poetry and needing proper documentation. There is also a "Credits" list to acknowledge works from contributors of the web site, as well as a "Guide" for works found elsewhere on the Web. This web site is a wonderful resource for anyone studying poetry, or just looking for poems to enjoy.