Poets & Poetry

Find articles on poetry using these online reference sources.

The STLCC Library Catalog is your gateway to finding all items, including books, which the College Libraries own. 

The two basic methods for searching the catalog are by keyword and by LC subject heading.  Because most library users are not familiar with the official Library of Congress (LC) subject headings, it's often a good idea to begin with a keyword search. Examine the results of a keyword search can to identify appropriate subject headings.  Ask a reference librarian for help with subject searching.

Every item owned by an STLCC library is listed in the College's Library Catalog.  Each listing is called a record.  A powerful way to search for books on a particular topic is to perform a keyword search, which looks for records containing the words you use in your search.

• Example keyword search: poetry
  This will find all records in the STLCC catalog which somewhere contain the word poety.  Records generally include a book's title and author, as well as descriptions of its subject matter.  In addition, a record may include a book's chapter headings or a summary of its contents.  Therefore this search will retrieve all records with poetry in any of these areas--including a novel which contains the word poetry in the title or a video with poetry listed as a word in the summary of the item.  
• Narrowing your search with and.  Example keyword search: poetry and women
  This will find all records in the STLCC catalog which somewhere contain both the word poetry and the word women.  By using and between keywords in a search, you've specified that all of your keywords must be present in the record for it to appear in your results.  Using and in a search allows you to narrow down the kinds of records you get. 

• Using truncation.  Example keyword search:  america* and  poe*
  This will find all records in the STLCC catalog which somewhere contain both the word america and american and any words beginning with "poe," such as poem, poems, poet, poets, poetics, poetry. Using an asterisk at the end of a keyword is called truncation, and lets you search for word variations.

Library of Congress (LC) subject headings are special, standardized words and phrases which describe the primary subject(s) on which a book focuses.  Searching by subject heading rather than by keyword often allows you to look for books on a particular topic more efficiently. 

Since LC subject headings are included in a book's catalog record, looking at the records you get from a keyword search can help you identify appropriate subject headings.  A reference librarian will be happy to help you with subject searching.

Below are just a few examples of subject headings you will find in the STLCC Catalog:

1. American poetry -- 21st century
2. Poetry
3. Poetry - authorship
4. Haiku
5. African Americans - Poetry
6. Children's poetry, American
7. Whitman, Walt, 1819-1892