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Archive FAQ

Frequently asked questions about the Poetry Foundation’s online archive, including permissions, biographies, and suggestions.

Permissions

The Poetry Foundation online archive is one of the world’s largest online English-language poetry resources. The archive serves as a free database of more than 46,000 poems, 6,300 author biographies, the catalogue of Poetry magazine since 1912, hundreds of articles and educational resources, audio and video, and more. Poems are available for free for you to read, discuss, and share with friends. Please note we do not hold the rights to these poems and cannot offer licenses for commercial use.

Can I share this poem with friends, family, or students?

Yes! Please share poems via social media, linking to our site, or printing poems for personal use. Note that our poems may be protected by copyright law and you are responsible for ascertaining fair use of our content.

Can I print this poem in a newsletter or in my book?

The Poetry Foundation does not own the rights to most poems on our site. Please consult with the rightsholder to obtain permission to reprint any poems found in our archive.

What is a rightsholder?

A rightsholder is the person or organization that owns the copyright on intellectual property such as books, films, photographs, and poems. Rightsholders decide who can use their property and how they can use it. Publishers hold the rights to most poems, but sometimes other agencies or estates (such as a deceased poet’s family) hold rights; the poet is not always the righstholder. The Poetry Foundation credits publishers under each poem when available. Poets with questions about rights to their work must consult with their publisher.

Why can’t I find a poem on your site?

The Poetry Foundation acquires permission to reprint poems on our site. For a variety of reasons, we are not able to obtain permissions for every published poem. People work the archive, meaning poems expire and licenses are renewed based on human discretion. If we are missing a poem you expected to see, please read more in our suggestions FAQ on this page.

Suggestions

The Poetry Foundation archive is curated and developed collaboratively by our team of writers and editors in consideration of your needs as a reader. If you would like to suggest content for the archive, please find more information below based on the content type. For original content submissions, please see the Poetry magazine FAQ.

Need More Help?

Can I suggest a poem for the archive?

We reprint selected previously published work based on a variety of factors. Please contact us through the general information form with your suggestion and it will be routed to the digital archive editor. Suggestions will be read as time allows, and you will not receive a response to your suggestion unless the editor requires more information.

Can I suggest a poet biography page?

We are always looking to include more poets in the archive. Please contact us through the general information form and your suggestion will be routed to the digital archive editor, who evaluates suggestions as time allows.

I found an error in a poem. Can I suggest a correction?

Poems exist in many iterations and forms that change from publication to publication. For example, Walt Whitman re-published Leaves of Grass in six different print editions during his lifetime with one “deathbed edition” released after his death, making every version of those poems different. You can read more about poem versioning in this blog post. The Poetry Foundation does not intentionally modify poems, and we reproduce the text and style of the publication as cited to the best of our ability. Please verify the poem’s text by consulting a print or digital copy of the publication from which our version is copied before suggesting a correction; you can find the poem’s source listed at the bottom of the poem’s page. Please submit confirmed corrections through our contact form, and we will work to make the correction as soon as possible.

Can I submit an idea for a collection, poem guide, or other archive resource?

Please submit your idea for new archive content through Submittable. Suggestions will be routed to the digital archivist. We encourage you to review our existing collections, poem guides, and poem samplers.

Can you help me with a research question?

The Poetry Foundation is unable to respond to individual research questions, including requests for help with citations. Please consult our web resources, including collections and articles, for information that may help answer your question. Ask your local librarian and consult other researched and verifiable online resources, such as poets.org, for further information.

How can I learn more about Poetry magazine?

You can read about the history of the magazine on our website. To read primary sources from the archives of Poetry magazine, please visit the University of Chicago Special Collections and Indiana University Lilly Library.

For Authors

I’m a poet. Can I have a poet biography page?

Poets may submit their author biography for review. Do not submit more than once per year, including revision requests. Please submit your request via this form and note the following guidelines that help us manage an equitable and consistent process:

  • We are unable to accept submissions or revision requests more than once per year.
  • Your bio will be reviewed in the order received based on the capacity of our editors.
  • All biographies are edited for house style and fact-checked to maintain editorial standards. We are unable to include self-publications or forthcoming materials in biographies.
  • Submission is not a guarantee of publication.

How do I submit my poem to be published on your website?

Works in the digital archive are previously published and we do not own the rights to these works; please see our permissions FAQ on this page. If you are a poet and would like to recommend previously published work for archive acquisition, you or your publisher are welcome to mail a copy of your work to the Poetry Foundation for review. Poetry magazine has open submission periods throughout the year; all poems that appear in the magazine also appear in the digital archive. Find instructions for submitting your poems to the magazine here.

How do I submit books for review, or submit a blog or featured article pitch?

Please note that Harriet Books does not accept unsolicited review copies. Featured bloggers and reviewers for Harriet Books are hired via open calls and solicitation. If you would like to submit a book for consideration or pitch an essay for the website, please see the Poetry magazine Submittable page.

Can I write a poem guide, collection, or other piece for the digital archive?

Please submit pitches to write for the archive through the Poetry magazine Submittable page. We encourage you to review our existing collections, poem guides, and poem samplers before pitching.

How do I apply for funding opportunities?

Please visit our Grants FAQ for information on funding from the Poetry Foundation.

Need More Help? Other FAQ

Here are links to other FAQ at the Poetry Foundation to help answer any remaining questions. If you are unable to find the answer to your question here, please contact us.