POETRY
Sylvia Plath: an introduction to the poetry/ Susan Bassnett (Cover title courtesy Bowker syndetics)
The best poems of the English language selected by Harold Bloom (Cover title courtesy Bowker syndetics)
And the ringmaster said / David Stavanger (Cover titile courtesy Bowker syndetics)
New and selected poems. Ouyang Yu (Cover title courtesy Bowker syndetics)
Interested in reading Kenneth Slessor, Baudelaire or even Beowulf? Trying to identify a poem? Researching a Queensland poet? We have scholarly editions, anthologies, indexes, poetry magazines, biographies and histories and, in the case of Queensland poetry, original letters and diaries.
Other features of the collection include all the major poets in English and English translation and in-depth collections of Australian poetry from colonial to contemporary. Queensland poetry is collected at research level, with original manuscripts alongside every published edition of relevant works.
Poetry indexes
If you can only remember a few words from a poem, there are many indexes to help you track it down.
Search Columbia Granger's Poetry Database (may require login) from home. It contains the full text of more than 250,000 poems and biographical information about hundreds of poets.
If you can't find what you need there, it may be in our collection of printed poetry indexes.
Queensland poetry
Published
The State Library has a comprehensive collection of publications related to poetry in Queensland. Notable works include the first volume of Queensland verse Poems and songs by Ralph Delany published in 1869 by Scottish immigrant, Thomas Beaton Hutchison Christie, under his nom de plume.
Unpublished
Collections of manuscript material related to Queensland poets include the:
Online poetry magazines
Online literary magazines began to appear around 1996 and one of the first was the online poetry magazine Jacket [new window] founded in 1997 by the Australian poet, John Tranter.
Did you know?
We have one of the few complete sets of Angry Penguins, Max Harris' modernist literary magazine from the 1940s which was the subject of the most famous literary hoax in Australian history, the Ern Malley Affair [new window].
How do I access items in this collection?
Access at the State Library of Queensland
- Find items in the collection via our One Search catalogue.
- Browse Levels 2, 3 and 4 or request items from onsite ‘Closed Access’ storage with your e-services card. If you order Closed Access items via the One Search catalogue ahead of your visit, items should be waiting for you when you arrive. You can order up to 3 days in advance. See delivery times for more information.
- Use our e-collections computers on level 2 to search the library’s catalogue; to search our databases for electronic journal, magazine and newspaper articles and to view images and manuscripts from our collection. These e-collections computers do not need to be booked and have no time limits on their use.
- You can also access our electronic resources via the State Library’s free wireless service if you have a laptop. Check our Info Guide on how to access wireless for details.
Access offsite
You can access selected offsite databases to search for electronic journal, magazine and newspaper articles. You will be prompted to login with your e-services card or QPL account.
Some State Library items are available for loan to other libraries. Contact your local library for information about interlibrary loan and copy services.
Search our collections:
Databases
- MLA International Bibliography (may require login)
- Literature Resource Center (may require login)
- Austlit database (may require login)
- Discover Queensland poetry resources
External links
Last updated: 17th November 2011
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