List of Favorite Poetry Resources on the Web

I am continually amazed by the cool poetry resources available on the web. Thanks to my former professor Garrett Hongo for turning me on to the Bread Load Writers Conference web site where you can hear poets like Jane Hirshfield, Michael Collier, Eavaan Boland, and Garrett Hongo read at the year's conference. You can also hear writers from previous years and download them through itunes. How cool is that?

Here are a few sites that I thought you might want to know about. If you have other favorite poetry sites please feel free to leave me a comment below. In no particular order (that I am aware of) here are a few of my favorite things.

1. Bread Load Writers Conference podcasts for free via the iTunes store.

2. The Poetry Foundation web site for information on poets, poems, and 1001 different ways to search for poems on visual art, poems on cats, poems on dogs, the best poems on any subject you want. The podcasts that link with the poems in Poetry magazine are also superbly done.

3. Poetry International for information on poets beyond the borders of any one country. I always learn of a new important poet from Portugal or Peru. This site is part of the Poetry International festival that happens in Rotterdam each year. It is my secret fantasy to be invited here one year before I die.

4. Poetry Daily is just what it says. You can have a poem delivered to your mailbox everyday or you can use the poetry daily site as your home page. I'm always interested to see what's here.

5. Poets and Writers is a compilation of the most popular articles in the magazine such as The Top MFA Programs in the Country (this month)  and a selection of book contests and calls for submission.

6. The Far Field is the brainchild of Washington State Poet Laureate Kathleen Flenniken. About 3-5 times a week, Flenniken posts another poem by a poet in Washington State. Sometimes it's well known poets like Kelli Russell Agodon and Peter Pereira, but other times it might be a student poet or a poet I've never heard of. A great selection and you can search by name.

7. Then there is New Pages for everything you need to know about different literary magazines and where to submit your work. The site is easy to navigate and many of the reviews of poetry and fiction journals are thoughtful and even useful to read before sending your work.

8. Academy of American Poets runs Poets.Org with special features on good poems to teach and a spotlight on Stanley Kunitz. Great general site to keep your eye on.

9. Verse Daily is another cool site to get your poem-a-day fix. Always fun to compare the choices from this  site with those of Poetry Daily.

10. And for something completely different you can Dial-a-Poem (or listen from your computer) to a diverse array of poets including David Byrne and Patti Smith. (Thanks to January O'Neil for this one.)

11. If you are on Facebook you can click here and "like" my Susan Rich - writer page for information on upcoming contests, poets, and all things literary.

Please feel free to add your favorites below -- there are so many more than the ones listed here. I hope this list serves as a jumping off point. What have I left out?