Hilda C. Landers Library & Archives

Writing Poetry

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Magnetic Poetry Set

image: Magnetic Fridge Poetry by Steve Johnson [cropped from original] / https://flic.kr/p/86i9j2

Celebrate National Poetry Month by dusting off your journal and putting down a few lines of verse.

Need help getting started? Check out (literally) this selection of books about writing poetry available in the SMCM Library collection!

Want more? Try searching poetry AND (creative writing OR authorship) OR poetics using the search for words in… subject dropdown option on the search page in the St. Mary’s Catalog.

Writing Poetry Books

How poems think by Reginald Gibbons. Ebook

Poem-making: ways to begin writing poetry by Myra Cohn Livingston. Call number: LB 1576 .L578 1991

Today you are my favorite poet: writing poems with teenagers by Geof Hewitt. Call number: PN 1101 .H46 1998

Helping students learn to write poetry: an idea book for poets of all ages by Joyce C. Bumgardner. Call number: LB 1576 .B889 1997

Next word, better word: the craft of writing poetry by Stephen Dobyns. Call number: PN 1059 .A9 .D63 2011

The poetry home repair manual: practical advice for beginning poets by Ted Kooser. Call number: PN 1059 .A9 .K66 2005

Twentieth-century American poetics: poets on the art of poetry edited by Dana Gioia, David Mason, and Meg Schoerke with D.C. Stone. Call number: PS 323 .5 .T87 2004

Thirteen ways of looking for a poem: a guide to writing poetry by Wendy Bishop.  Call number: PN 1059 .A9 .B58 2000

Blue notes: essays, interviews, and commentaries by Yusef Komunyakaa; edited by Radiclani Clytus. Call number: PS 3561 .O455 .Z463 2000

Rules for the dance: a handbook for writing and reading metrical verse by Mary Oliver. Call number: PE 1505 .O37 1998

Trying to say it: outlooks and insights on how poems happen by Philip Booth. Call number: PS 3503 .O532 .Z475 1996

Poemcrazy: freeing your life with words by Susan G. Wooldridge. Call number: PN 1059 .A9 .W66 1996

A poetry handbook by Mary Oliver. Call number: PE .1505 .O35 1994

Writing poems by Peter Sansom. Call number: PN 1059 .A9 .S36 1994

Getting the knack: 20 poetry writing exercises by Stephen Dunning and William Stafford. Call number: PN 1059 .A9 .D86 1992

Poem-making: ways to begin writing poetry by Myra Cohn Livingston. Call number: LB 1576 .L578 1991

Writing light verse and prose humor by Richard Armour. Call number: PN 1042 .A7 1971

The sounds of poetry: a brief guide by Robert Pinsky. Call number: PN 4151 .P55 1998

Beyond JSTOR: Poetry Criticism Online

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Viewfinder logo for beyond jstorToday we’re launching a new series “Beyond JSTOR” where we’ll periodically highlight different databases available through the SMCM Library. Find out both the content as well as a few targeted tips and tricks through screenshot tutorials and expand your searching horizons.

 

 

 

Poetry Criticism Online

Note: SMCM Library databases are found by: 1. going to the library homepage (dev-library-smcm.pantheonsite.io/); 2. clicking the “Databases” icon; and searching by name or browsing by A-Z letter.

Accessible online through the Literature Criticism Online database, the Poetry Criticism series encompasses over 100 volumes, each volume featuring 3-6 poets and/or featured works from all eras and locations around the world.

Each volume has a standard format including:

  • a biographical essay with an image or portrait if available
  • a bibliography of poet’s work
  • selection of literary criticism on the poet and/or individual works with full, preformatted citations
  • source lists to direct additional research

The online version available through Literature Criticism Online, has powerful search, browse, and entry table of contents features highlighted below. Use the linked text to jump to the relevant screenshot sections.

How to…

Search

1. Limit your search to Poetry Criticism Online sources, by selecting it from the “by Product/Services” dropdown, under “More Options” in the search screen.

2. Forget to select it before starting your search? You can always limit search results to Poetry Criticism Online sources but selecting it under the “Publication Title” filter in the left column.

Browse

1. Browse the volumes of Poetry Criticism by following “What’s Inside” (on any page), and selecting “Literature Criticism Online”…

2. …then expand the list under “Poetry Criticism” to see all available volumes.

3. Browse volume by table of contents, search within a single volume, or search within all volumes of Poetry Criticism!

Entry table of contents feature

1. Easily view the available content on a poet by selecting “Entry Table of Contents” in the right hand column.

2. Jump to a specific section or critical work using the linked titles.

Limit your search to Poetry Criticism Online sources, by selecting it from the “by Product/Services” dropdown, under “More Options” in the search screen.
poetry_crit_search1

 

Forget to select it before starting your search? You can always limit search results to Poetry Criticism Online sources but selecting it under the “Publication Title” filter in the left column.

poetry_crit_search2

Return to top

Browse

Browse the volumes of Poetry Criticism by following “What’s Inside” (on any page), and selecting “Literature Criticism Online”…

poetry_crit_browse1

 

…then expand the list under “Poetry Criticism” to see all available volumes.

poetry_crit_browse3

 

Browse volume by table of contents, search within a single volume, or search within all volumes of Poetry Criticism!

poetry_crit_browse2

Return to top

Entry table of contents feature

Easily view the available content on a poet by selecting “Entry Table of Contents” in the right hand column.

poetry_crit_search3

 

Jump to a specific section or critical work using the linked titles.

poetry_crit_search4

Return to top

Poetry and Nature / Nature and Poetry

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Flowering trees in Spring at SMCM

Celebrate National Poetry Month’s Poem in Your Pocket Day (on April 21) AND Earth Day (on April 22) with a nature or environmental themed poem.

Need a suggestion? Check out (literally) this selection of nature/environmental poetry and criticism available in the SMCM Library collection!

Want more? Try searching poetry AND (nature OR ecology) using the search for words in… subject dropdown option on the search page in the St. Mary’s Catalog.

Poetry and Criticism Books: Nature and Environmental Themed

Sustainable poetry: four American ecopoets by Leonard M. Scigaj. Call number: PS 310 .N3 .S38 1999

Can poetry save the earth?: a field guide to nature poems by John Felstiner. Call number: PS 310 .N3 .F45 2009

Mountain home: the wilderness poetry of ancient China selected and translated by David Hinton. Call number: PL 2658 .E3 .M65 2005

Greening the lyre: environmental poetics and ethics by David W. Gilcrest. Call number: PS 310 .N3 .G55 2002

Black nature: four centuries of African American nature poetry edited by Camille T. Dungy. Call number: PS 591 .N4 .B49 2009

Urban nature: poems about wildlife in the city edited by Laure-Anne Bosselaar. Call number: PS 595 .N22 .U63 2000

Wild song: poems of the natural world edited by John Daniel; illustrations by Deborah Randolph Wildman. Call number: PS 595 .N22 .W55 1998

Poems for a small planet: contemporary American nature poetry edited by Robert Pack and Jay Parini. Call number: PS 595 .N22 .P63 1993

Pterodactyl Rose: poems of ecology by William Heyen. Call number: PS 3558 .E85 .P74 1991

Rivers to the sea by Sara Teasdale. Ebook

A chime of windbells: a year of Japanese haiku in English verse. Translations with an essay by Harold Stewart. Call number: PR 6037 .T4645 .C5

The haiku anthology: haiku and senryu in English edited by Cor van den Heuvel. Call number: PS 593 .H3 .H34 1999

Spring Break Hours 2016

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Spring break beachStarting Friday, March 11, the Library and Media Center will have different hours during Spring Break.

Of course, the Library website is open for business 24/7 if you need access to databases or e-books during the break!

(BTW: you can totally check out a Kindle for all your beach reading needs. I highly recommend The Martian if you’re going to be doing a lot of flying/spending time in airports, but there are tons of other great titles to choose from on each and every Kindle!)

Library Hours for March 11-March 20:

Friday, March 11:  8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Saturday, March 12 – Sunday, March 13:  CLOSED
Monday, March 14 – Thursday, March 17: 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Friday, March 18 – Saturday, March 19: CLOSED
Sunday, March 20: 2:00 pm – 1:00 am
Monday, March 21: Library and Media Center return to regular hours

Media Center Hours for March 11-March 20:

Friday, March 11:  8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Saturday, March 12 – Sunday, March 13:  CLOSED
Monday, March 14 – Thursday, March 17: 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Friday, March 18 – Sunday, March 20: CLOSED
Monday, March 21: Library and Media Center return to regular hours

Laptops and Chromebooks Policy Update

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Student borrowing laptop

Our Laptop and Chromebook Policies Have Changed (effective 2/26/16)

  • All of the laptops and Chromebooks at the SMCM Library are now available for two-week loan. There are no more three-hour loans for these devices.
  • They are now subject to overdue fines of $10.00 per day. If they reach seven days overdue, they will incur a replacement fee of $500.00. This fee will be waived if the device is returned, but any daily overdue fines will remain (i.e., if it is returned 10 days late, there will be a $100.00 fine).
  • If all the devices are checked out, you may place a hold on one using the SMCM Catalog (search for “laptop computer” or “chromebook computer”). The next one that is returned will be placed on the hold shelf for you. You will receive an email notifying you when it arrives and you must pick it up within 24 hours.
  • The devices are not renewable online. If you want to borrow the device again, you must bring it to the circulation desk and we will check it in and immediately check it out to you again. Note that if someone has placed a hold on the device, you will not be able to check it out again.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please contact Conrad Helms, Patron Services Librarian, at cahelms@smcm.edu or 240-895-3214.

Black History Month: A Mini-Bib of Children’s Books

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Black History Month Children's Books

For our last Black History Month post, we’ve got a mini bibliography (what we’re calling a mini-bib) of children’s books in the SMCM Library collection. Grab one (or a stack) and take a break from those scholarly sources!

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats, call number: PZ7.K2253 Sn

The Patchwork Quilt by Valerie Flournoy, call number: PZ7.F667 Pat 1985

Aunt Martha and the Golden Coin by Anita Rodriguez, call number: PZ7.R6188 Au 1993

The Faithful Friend by Robert D. San Souci, illustrated by Brian Pinkney, call number: PZ8.1.S227 Fai 1995

Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears: a West African Tale retold by Verna Aardema, pictures by Leo and Diane Dillon, call number: PZ8.1.A213 Wh 1978

Research Spotlight: Octavia Butler

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Butler signing

image by Nikolas Coukouma [CC BY-SA 2.5], via Wikimedia Commons

For Black History Month, we’re shining our first ever Research Spotlight on Octavia E. Butler’s life and works. Learn more about Butler – the first science-fiction writer to receive the MacArthur Foundation award (aka the Genius Grant) – through the reference works, books, and article databases highlighted below.

Learn about Octavia Butler’s life in Credo Reference

Looking for some background information on Butler? The Credo Reference database provides online access to a number of high quality reference encyclopedias and dictionaries with entries on Butler.

Using the entry in the Encyclopedia of African-American Writing found in Credo Reference, can you name the prestigious science-fiction writing awards Butler won during her lifetime?

Read Octavia Butler’s novels, find them with the St. Mary’s Catalog

Experience Butler’s award winning sci-fi novels, featuring African-American female protagonists, first hand by checking them out of the SMCM Library!

Contained in one volume, Parable of the Sower; Parable of the Talents; and Kindred, three of Butler’s most well known works are available for check out. The first two works, which make up the Parable series, are set in California in the 2020s and present a dystopian future where corporate greed and lack of environmental stewardship lead to political and social collapse. The stand alone novel Kindred follows a 20th-century African-American woman who travels back in time to 19th century Maryland, where she meets her ancestors.

Find this collection under call number PS 3552. U827 P37 1999 in the second floor Stacks.

Want more? Search the USMAI catalog to borrow other Butler books from other Maryland libraries!

Research the scholarly response to Octavia Butler’s works in MLA International Bibliography and Project Muse

Maybe now you’ve learned a little about Octavia Butler’s life, read a couple of her novels, and are interested in doing research in the literature for a paper or project. While you might start you research using OneSearch (or *cough*googlescholar*cough*), how about giving a more targeted subject specific database like MLA International Bibliography or Project Muse a try?

Produced by the Modern Language Association (of MLA citation style fame) the MLA International Bibliography contains over 1.8 MILLION citations for books, journals, dissertations and theses, dating back to 1926! A search for “Octavia Butler and Kindred” turned up 38 highly relevant results. As the name suggests, results the MLA International Bibliography are mainly citations, but you can access the full text – if available – in one of the library’s other databases, or through Interlibrary Loan.

Looking to get your hands on full-text sources right away? The Project Muse database has full-text sources from over 400 titles. A search for “Octavia Butler and Kindred” turned up 117 full-text articles from journals ranging from literary criticism to women’s studies!

 

Homepage image credit: Containment Zone by L.E. Spry (CC BY 2.0) via flic.kr/p/3d9TcK

Contemporary Black Artists in ARTstor

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ARTstor is a library database containing nearly one-million high quality images. A perfect place to research art and architecture, ARTstor is also a great place to explore works by both well known and new artists.

Search by artist name, artwork title, and keyword or browse images by geographic location or type of art.

By creating an account, you can save images to specific folders and download images individual, in groups, or directly to PowerPoint presentations!

In honor of Black History Month, use ARTstore to explore more works by the four contemporary Black artists highlighted below.

Off the Dome by Iona Rozeal Brown

Iona Rozeal Brown‘s painting combine Japanese and hi-hop iconography as a commentary on race and culture.

image: Off the Dome: don’t front, you know we got you open, by Iona Rozeal Brown; photo by Cliff via https://flic.kr/p/5vx9P8

 

 

 

 

Kehinde Wiley, A New RepublicKehinde Wiley‘s larger than life portraits combine old and new by referencing or recreating Old Masters paintings with contemporary figures as a way to address the image and status of young African-American men in contemporary culture.

image: Kehinde Wiley, A New Republic, Brooklyn Museum; photo by Garrett Ziegler via https://flic.kr/p/r2VqeD
 

Nick Cave SoundsuitNick Cave is a sculptor, dancer, and performance artist most well know for his “Soundsuits” – wearable sculptures made of fabric and other materials.

image: Nick Cave, Soundsuit, 2010; photo by Sharon Mollerus via https://flic.kr/p/ocTio6

 

 

 

 

 

Work by Kara Walker; photo by Phillip Merritt via https://flic.kr/p/4gVDka

Kara Walker is best known for her large scale silhouette installations through which she explores themes of race, gender, sexuality, violence, and identity.

image: work by Kara Walker; photo by Phillip Merritt via https://flic.kr/p/4gVDka

 

 

 

Database Page New Look

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If you’ve been to the SMCM Library’s databases page in the last few weeks you’ve probably noticed some changes from the previous version.

Don’t stress! The new versions has all the same great features (and databases!) just in a slightly different format.

New database page layout

The main difference is the new version defaults to an A-Z list of allllll the SMCM Library databases. Want to find suggestions based on subject (like the old version)? Just use the “All Subjects” drop-down menu under the search bar.

Speaking of the search bar, you can easily go directly to your favorite database (*cough*JSTORE*cough*) by searching OR using the A-Z letter links near the top of the page.

As always if you have any trouble or questions, Ask Us by sending an email to ask@smcm.libasnwers.com or calling the Reference desk at 240-895-4272.

Contact Us:

(240) 895-4264

ask@smcm.libanswers.com
47645 College Drive
St. Mary's City, MD, 20686-3001

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