Poetry is a linguistic art form that uses spare language to describe feelings, memories, ideas, and more. Libraries are full of volumes of classic poetry, but the art of writing poetry is not relegated solely to the past. Many poets are still working today, creating contemporary poetry that reflects a contemporary era. Here are four techniques that readers can use to find excellent contemporary poetry to read:
1. Purchase a contemporary poetry collection.
If you want to sample many different contemporary poets' works, you can purchase a collection of contemporary poetry. Poetry collections contain the collated work of many different poets. Usually, these collections follow a particular theme. A contemporary poetry collection may be about a specific place or topic. Sometimes, poets' work is chosen for inclusion based on the identities of the poets themselves. For example, you can find collections of contemporary women's poetry or the poetry of people of color.
2. Utilize online resources.
Online resources can also help you find contemporary poetry to enjoy. You can find many online databases of contemporary poetry. These databases may feature the work of newer and lesser-known poets whose poetry has not yet been included in print anthologies. Online poetry collections are usually available to the public, free of charge, which means that people of any financial means can find great poems to read.
3. Find contemporary poets' bibliographies.
One of the best ways to find poetry that you enjoy is to continue reading work by poets whose styles you like. Once you find a poet whose work you enjoy, you can find more of their work by looking up their bibliography. A writer's bibliography is a list of all the works they have published. You can use a bibliography as a checklist for books and poems to find and read.
4. Search for poetry by topic, year, style, and more.
Finally, you can use a contemporary poetry search engine to look for poems according to parameters that are as narrow or broad as you like. You can find poetry about topics that you're interested in or places that are close to your heart. You can even look for poems written in a certain year, which can be helpful if you're looking for work that deals with a particular world event. Readers even have the opportunity to look for poetry written in specific styles, which can help even the pickiest poetry enthusiast find something great.
