Poetry: Quick Facts

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Last updated

Oct. 10, 2026

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International Festival of Poetry

classical poetic meter

Reading and interpretation: “The Onset” by Robert Frost

A photo of Joy Harjo, a woman with long dark hair, framed by a stylized border with a wood grain and light streaks.

Yellow letter tiles on a teal background spell 'what is a haiku?' with abstract calligraphic scribbles in the background

Engraved bust of Homer, a bearded man in a conical cap, overlaid on a painting of a galley with rowers and winged figures.

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ḥabsīyah Minnesang talk poem theory of realm cacophony zuhdiyyah zajal höfische Dorfpoesie melic prosimetrum Novel children’s literature dramatic literature biography rhetoric folk literature Modernist literature short story romance satire

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anarchism: Poetry and prose

Key People

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Iancu Văcărescu

Romanian author

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Elena Văcărescu

Romanian author

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

English author

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

German author

Engraved portrait of John Milton by Jacob Houbraken, showing Milton with shoulder-length hair, a lace collar, and period clothing, facing forward in an oval frame.

John Milton

English poet, pamphleteer, and historian

Painting of Samuel Johnson showing Johnson seated at a desk with a quill in hand and papers before him, wearing a brown coat and white wig.

Samuel Johnson

English author

Michelangelo

Michelangelo

Italian artist

William Blake

William Blake

English engraver, artist, and poet

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Charlotte Endymion Porter

American editor

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Helen Archibald Clarke

American writer and editor

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Pamphile Lemay

Canadian author

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Ion of Chios

Greek poet

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Antal

Indian poet

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Elizabeth Coatsworth

American author

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Samuel Ferguson

Irish writer

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Concha Espina de Serna

Spanish author

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Ienăchiƫă Văcărescu

Romanian author

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Alice Cary

American poet

Amrita Pritam

Amrita Pritam

Indian author and poet

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Phoebe Cary

American poet

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) only confirmed photograph of Emily Dickinson. 1978 scan of a Daguerreotype. ca. 1847; in the Amherst College Archives. American poet. See Notes:

Poetry: First Lines

Row of colorful books on a bookshelf. Stack of books, pile of books, literature, reading. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society

The Literary World

Illustration of "The Lamb" from "Songs of Innocence" by William Blake, 1879. poem; poetry

A Study of Poetry

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) only confirmed photograph of Emily Dickinson. 1978 scan of a Daguerreotype. ca. 1847; in the Amherst College Archives. American poet. See Notes:

Poetry: First Lines

Beginning of the old English poem, Beowulf, believed to have been composed between 700 and 750. (Old English literature)

Poets and Poetry (Part Two) Quiz

Colorized engraving of English author Samuel Johnson; undated portrait.

Literary Terms and More Quiz

Illustration of "The Lamb" from "Songs of Innocence" by William Blake, 1879. poem; poetry

A Study of Poetry

Illustration of John Stuart Mill by G.K. Chesterton from "Biography for Beginners" by Edmund Clerihew Bentley. No date on book, but c. 1905.

Literary Terms: A Pop Quiz

4:043 Dickinson, Emily: A Life of Letters, This is my letter to the world/That never wrote to me; I'll tell you how the Sun Rose/A Ribbon at a time; Hope is the thing with feathers/That perches in the soul

Famous Poets and Poetic Form

4:043 Dickinson, Emily: A Life of Letters, This is my letter to the world/That never wrote to me; I'll tell you how the Sun Rose/A Ribbon at a time; Hope is the thing with feathers/That perches in the soul

Famous Poets and Poetic Form

Emily Dickinson, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing right

Emily Dickinson