Young Writers Society

Edna St. Vincent Millay?

Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac for the Beat Poets. They have excellent flow, as it is meant to be read aloud, and can be both spiritual and political, but mostly it's just excellent.

William Blake for old-school British type of stuff. William Blake was a crazy old man who wrote beautiful, epic fantasy-poetry. A lot of my own poetry is inspired by Blake, and he's become a sort of grandfather to the counter-cultural poetry movement.

Li Po and Tu Fu for T'ang dynasty poetry. Simply the best poets China has ever produced. My personal favorite is Li Po, for his incredible imagery.

Basho and Buson for haiku. They say much with few words. Everyone can learn a lot from their minimalism.

Kahlil Gibran (namely The Prophet) for poetic philosophical essays. He can put out a message like no other. If you want to get a point across in your poems, or just want to read excellent poetry, read Gibran.

Baudelaire and Rimbaud: surrealist, decadent poetry. Both were decadent and depraved and miserable, but their symbolism is the best.

Dante Alighieri: Although he is very judgmental and makes too many political observations, one can learn a lot from Dante's verse. He tells an epic tale, and does it with style. Check it out.

I've got a lot of PDFs of these guys. PM me if you want me to send them your way.

-Zalarus

John Keates
Percy Bysshe Shelley ( The Mask of Anarchy)
George Gordon, Lord Byron (The Vision of Judgement)
Thomas Hood
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (The rime of the Ancient Mariner)
John Clare
Thomas Love Peacock (The war song of Dinas Vawr)
Dannie Abse (born 1923), English poet
Milton Acorn (1923–1986), Canadian poet, writer, and playwright
Léonie Adams (1899–1988), American poet
Fleur Adcock (born 1934), poet and New Zealand native who has spent most of her life in England
Joseph Addison (1672–1719), English essayist, poet, writer and politician
Endre Ady (1877–1919), Hungarian poet
Aeschylus (525-456 BC), Athenian tragedian
Lucius Afranius (poet) (fl. circa 94 BC), Roman comic poet
Patience Agbabi (born 1965), English poet
James Agee (1909–1955), American novelist, screenwriter, journalist, poet, film critic
Dritëro Agolli (born 1931), Albanian poet
Ai (born 1947), American poet whose original name was Florence Anthony
Conrad Aiken (1889–1973), American poet and author
Mark Akenside (1721–1770), English poet and physician
Bella Akhmadulina (born 1957), Russian poet
Anna Akhmatova (1889–1966), Russian poet

[edit] Al-Am
Luigi Alamanni, (1495–1556)
Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi, (1207-1273)
Alcman (fl. 7th cent. BC), Ancient Greek lyric poet
Richard Aldington (1892–1962)
Vasile Alecsandri (1821-1890), Romanian poet
Claribel Alegria (born 1924), Central American poet
Vicente Aleixandre, (1898–1984), Nobel Laureate 1977
Josip Murn Aleksandrov (1879–1901)
Muhammad Ali, (born 1942), boxer, war protester, civil rights protester, and poet
Dante Alighieri, (1265-1321), Italian poet
James Alexander Allan (1889–1956), Australian poet
William Allingham, (1824 or 1828-1889)
Damaso Alonso (1898–1990), Spanish poet, philologist, and literary critic
Natan Alterman (1910–1970), Israeli poet, journalist, and translator
Al Alvarez (born 1919), English poet
Amara Sinha (fl. circa AD 375), Sanskrit grammarian and poet
Ambroise, Norman-French poet of the Third Crusade
Yehuda Amichai (1924–2000) Israeli poet
Kingsley Amis (1922–1995) English author and poet
A. R. Ammons (1926–2001) American author and poet

[edit] An-Aq
Anacreon (570 BC-488 BC), Greek lyric poet
Alfred Andersch, (1914–1980)
Hans Christian Andersen, Danish poet (1805–1875)
Jon Anderson, (born 1944), English rock music vocalist and lyricist
Mário de Andrade, (1893–1945), Brazilian poet, novelist, musicologist, art historian and critic, and photographer
Aneirin, medieval (6th century) epic poet
Maya Angelou, (born April 4, 1928), American Poet
Antler (poet), (b.1946), American poet
Brother Antoninus
Chairil Anwar, (Indonesian poet: 1922–1949)
Guillaume Apollinaire, (1880–1918)
Apollonius of Rhodes (270-after 245 BC)
Maja Apostoloska, (born 1976), Macedonian poetess
Pawlu Aquilina, (1929-2009), Maltese poet

[edit] Ar-Au
Louis Aragon, (1897-1982)
Archilochus, (ca.680-ca.645 BC), ancient Greek lyric poet
Hugh Antoine d'Arcy (1843-1925)
Walter Conrad Arensberg (1878-1954), American Dada-ist
Tudor Arghezi (1880-1967), Romanian poet
Ludovico Ariosto, (1474-1533)
Rae Armantrout, (1947-)
Simon Armitage, (born 1963)
Ernst Moritz Arndt, (1769-1860), German patriotic author and poet
Achim von Arnim, (1781-1831)
Bettina von Arnim, (1785-1859)
Matthew Arnold, (1822-1888)
Jean Arp, (1886-1966), sculptor, painter, and poet
Antonin Artaud, (1896-1948), actor, playwright, poet, essayist
John Ashbery, (born 1927)
Anton Askerc, (1856-1912)
Farid al-Din Attar, (c. 1130-c. 1230)
Margaret Atwood, (born 1939), poet, novelist, essayist
W. H. Auden, (1907-1973)
Ausiàs March, (1397-1459)
Ausonius, (c. 310-395)

[edit] Av-Ay
Margaret Avison (born 1918)
Robert Ayton (1570-1638)
Ashok Chakradhar (Born 8 February 1951)

[edit] B

[edit] Ba

[edit] Bab-Bal
Ken Babstock, Canadian
Bacchylides, (died c. 467 BC)
Ingeborg Bachmann, (1926-1973)
Sutardji Calzoum Bachri, The President of Indonesian Poet
George Bacovia, Romanian poet
Janos Bacsanyi, (1763-1845)
Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński, (1921-1944)
Julio Baghy
Bai Juyi
Joanna Baillie, (1762-1851)
Bâkî, (1526–1600), Ottoman poet
Jesse Ball American poet

[edit] Bar-Bax
Amiri Baraka (aka Leroi Jones)
Anna Laetitia Barbauld, (1743-1825)
Porfirio Barba-Jacob
John Barbour, (c. 1316-1395)
George Barker, (1913-1991)
Les Barker
Richard Barnefield, (1574-1627)
William Barnes, (1801-1886)
Elizabeth Barrett(March 6, 1806 – June 29, 1861)
Matsuo Bashō, (1644-1694), renku and haiku poet
Charles Baudelaire, (1821-1867)
James K. Baxter, (1926-1972)

[edit] Be
Francis Beaumont, (1586-1616)
Joshua Beckman
Gustavo Adolfo Becquer, (1836-1870)
Thomas Lovell Beddoes, (1803-1849) (English writer in Germany)
Aphra Behn, (1640-1689)
Marvin Bell, (1937-?)
Gioconda Belli, (born 1948)
Giuseppe Gioacchino Belli, (Roman dialect)
Xuan Bello, (born 1965), best-known asturian language poet
Hilaire Belloc
Andrey Bely, (1880-1934)
Gottfried Ben
Stephen Vincent Benét, (1898-1943)
William Rose Benét, (1886-1950)
Gwendolyn B. Bennett
Jim Bennett (1951) A Liverpool (UK) poet best known for his work during the era of punk.
Bo Bergman (1869-1967)
Ilhan Berk
Daniel Berrigan
Wendell Berry
John Berryman
John Betjeman, (1906-1984)
Helen Bevington (Dr. Johnson's Waterfall)

[edit] Bi-Bl
Laurence Binyon, (1879-1943)
Earle Birney, (1904-1995), anti-conventional poet, also wrote novels, short stories, drama
Nevin Birsa, (born 1947)
Elizabeth Bishop, (1911-1979)
Bill Bissett, (born 1939), poet, famous for incorporating sound and the visual into poetry
Lucian Blaga, Romanian poet (1895-1961)
Don Blanding, (fl. mid 20th cen.), American,
William Blake, (1757-1827), English painter, poet
Aleksandr Blok, (1880-1921)
Benjamin Paul Blood, (1832-1919)
Michael Blumenthal
Roy Blumenthal, (born 1968)
Edmund Blunden
Wilfrid Scawen Blunt
Robert Bly

[edit] Bo
Jean Bodel
Louise Bogan
Matteo Maria Boiardo, Italian poet
Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux, (1636-1711)
Eavan Boland, (born 1944)
Heinrich Böll, (1917-1985)
Nozawa Bonchō, (c.1640-1714), Japanese haikai poet
Arna Wendell Bontemps
Jorge Luis Borges, (1899-1986)
Tadeusz Borowski
Mark Alexander Boyd, (1563-1601)
Kay Boyle (A Glad Day)

[edit] Br

[edit] Bra-Bri
Di Brandt, (born 1952), Manitoba poet and literary critic
Richard Brautigan, (1935–1984)
Bertolt Brecht, (1898–1956), German Three-penny Opera lyricist
Gerbrand Adriaensz. Bredero (1585–1618), Dutch poet and playwright
Christopher Brennan, (1870–1932), Australian
Clemens Brentano, (1778–1842)
André Breton, (1896–1966)
Nicholas Breton, (1542–1626)
Ken Brewer, (born 1941)
Robert Bridges, (1844–1930)

[edit] Bro-Bry
James Brock, (born 1958)
Joseph Brodsky, (1940-1996)
Wladyslaw Broniewski
William Bronk, (died 1999)
Anne Brontë, (1820-1849)
Charlotte Brontë, (1816-1855)
Emily Brontë, (1818-1848), British author
Rupert Brooke, (1887-1915)
Gwendolyn Brooks, (born 1917)
Joan Brossa, (1919-1998)
Nicole Brossard, (born 1943), formalist poet
Flora Brovina
Petrus Brovka (1905-1980), Soviet poet
Thomas Edward Brown, (1830-1897)
George Mackay Brown
Sterling Brown, (1901-1989)
William Browne, (1588-1643)
Elizabeth Barrett Browning, (1806-1861)
Robert Browning, (1812-1889)
William Cullen Bryant, (1794-1878)
Bryher
Valeri Bryusov, (1873-1924), poet, novelist, critic

[edit] Bu-By
Georg Büchner
Vincent Buckley, (1927-1988)
Charles Bukowski, (1920-1994) poet, novelist
Basil Bunting
Anthony Burgess (1917-1993): Byrne, Revolutionary Sonnets, etc.
Stanley Burnshaw
Robert Burns, (1759-1796)
William S. Burroughs, (1914-1997)
Edwin G. Burrows
Andrzej Bursa
Yosa Buson, (1716-1784), Japanese haikai poet and painter
Raegan Butcher
Ray Buttigieg, (born 1955) poet, composer, musician
Ignazio Buttitta, (Sicilian dialect)
Witter Bynner (also under Emanuel Morgan)
Lord Byron, (1788-1824)

[edit] C

[edit] Ca

[edit] Cab-Cap
Lydia Cabrera (Cuban poet - anthropoetry)
Caedmon (old English)
Alison Calder, Canadian poet
Cali Xuseen Xirsi
Musa Cälil (1906-1944), Tatar poet, prisoner of the war
Barry Callaghan, (born 1937)
Callimachus (c.305-c.240 BC), Hellenistic poet
Robert Calvert, (1945-1988)
Luís de Camões, (author of the Lusíadas)
Roy Campbell (1901-1957)
Jan Campert,(1902-1943), Dutch poet and journalist
Remco Campert (born 1929), son of Jan, Dutch poet and novelist
Thomas Campion, (1567-1619), composer, poet
Thomas Campbell, (1774-1844)
Melville Henry Cane, (1879-1980)
Ivan Cankar, (1876-1918), author, poet, storyteller, dramatist and essayist
Mary Wedderburn Cannan, (1893-1973)
Edip Cansever (187-29, 226), formally Emperor Wen of (Cao) Wei, and poet
Cao Cao, (155 AD-220 AD), warlord, poet
Cao Zhi, (192-232), Chinese poet

[edit] Car-Cav
Ernesto Cardenal, (born 1925)
Giosuè Carducci, (1835-1907)
Thomas Carew, (1595-1639)
Henry Carey, (1693-1743)
Bliss Carman, (1861-1929) (Low Tide on Grand Pre)
Lewis Carroll, (1832-1898)
Hayden Carruth
Anne Carson, (born 1950)
Jared Carter (born 1939)
William Cartwright, (1611-1643)
Carolyn Joyce Carty, (1957) American poet
Cyrus Cassells, (born 1957)
Catullus, (c. 84BC-54BC), Roman poet
Charles Causley
C. P. Cavafy, (1863-1933)

[edit] Ce-Ci
Paul Celan, (1920-1970)
Anica Cernej, (1900-1944)
Luis Cernuda, (1903-1963)
Mário Cesariny, (1923-2006)
John Chalkhill
Jean Chapelain, (1595-1674)
Arthur Chapman, (1873-1935)
George Chapman, (1560-1634)
René Char, (1907-1998)
Craig Charles, (born 1964), (Red Dwarf, Captain Butler)
Thomas Chatterton
Geoffrey Chaucer, (ca.1343-1400), Chanticleer the Fox (extract from Canterbury Tales)
Billy Childish
Dario Chioli, Italian poet, born 1956
Choe Chiwon, Korean (Silla) poet, born 857
Chiyo-ni, (1703 - 1775)
Henri Chopin, (born 1922)
Chrétien de Troyes, (fl. 12th century)
Ralph Chubb, (1892-1960), poet, painter, printer
John Ciardi, Italian-American poet

[edit] Cl
Amy Clampitt
John Clare, (1793-1864)
George Elliott Clarke, poet, U of T professor
Paul Claudel, (1868-1955)
Matthias Claudius
Brian P. Cleary
Michelle Cliff
Lucille Clifton,
Arthur Hugh Clough, (1819-1861)

[edit] Co

[edit] Coc-Cos
Jean Cocteau, (1889-1963), French writer
Leonard Cohen, (born 1934), poet/singer
Hartley Coleridge, (1796-1849)
Mary Elizabeth Coleridge, (1861-1907)
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, (1772-1834), English poet
Billy Collins (U.S. Poet Laureate)
William Collins, (1721-1759)
William Congreve, (1670-1729), English poet
Paul Conneally, (born 1959)
Robert Conquest, historian and poet
Henry Constable, (1562-1613)
Clark Coolidge
Wendy Cope
Tristan Corbière, (1845-1875)
Francis Cornford and Frances Cornford
Gregory Corso, Beat poet, "Gasoline", "Bomb".
Jayne Cortez
George Cosbuc (1866-1918), Romanian poet

[edit] Cot-Cow
Malcolm Cowley, (1898-1989), (Dada)
Abraham Cowley, (1618-1667)
William Cowper, (1731-1800)

[edit] Cr-Cz
George Crabbe, (1754-1832)
Hart Crane, (1899-1932), (The Bridge)
Stephen Crane, (1871-1900), USA writer
Richard Crashaw, (1613-1649)
Robert Creeley, (born 1926), (A Form of Women - Black Mountain School)
Octave Crémazie
Charles Cros, (1842-1888), French poet and inventor
Aleister Crowley, (1875-1947), English Occultist and poet
Cui Hao, Tang Dynasty, Chinese poet
Countee Cullen, (died 1946)
Necati Cumalı
e e cummings, (1894-1962)
Allan Cunningham, (1784-1842)
Allen Curnow, (1911-2001)
Ivor Cutler, Scottish poet, musician and thinker

[edit] D

[edit] Da
Roque Dalton, (1935-1975) Salvadoran poet
Sapardi Djoko Damono, Indonesian Poet
David Daniels, (1933- ) Visual Poet
Jeffrey Daniels, African-American Poet
Gabriele D'Annunzio, (1863-1938), revolutionary
Rubén Darío, (1867-1916)
Erasmus Darwin, (1731-1802), British poet and herbalist
Jibanananda Das,(1899-1954), Bengali poet and author
René Daumal, (1908-1944)
Jean Daurat, (1508-1588)
Alan Davies, American poet
W. H. Davies
William Davenant, (1606-1668)
Donald Davidson, (1893-1968)
John Davies, (1569-1626), historian
Edward Davison, (organized Colorado Writers 1937 conference)
Peter Davison, (born 1951), (son of Edward)
Denis Davydov, (1784-1839)
Cecil Day-Lewis

[edit] De
James Deahl
Aurora de Albornoz, (1926-1990) 20th century Spanish poet
Aleš Debeljak, (born 1961)
Daniel Defoe, (1659/61? - 1731)
Walter de la Mare, author, poet
Thomas Dekker, (1575-1641)
Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, (1651-1695), 17th Century Mexican Poet
Leconte de Lisle, parnassian poet
François de Malherbe, (1555-1628),
Alfred de Musset, (1810-1857), 19th century poet
Gérard de Nerval, (1808-1855)
Baltasar del Alcázar, (1530-1606)
Tory Dent, (1958- ), (What Silence Equals, HIV Mon Amour)
Evariste de Parny, 18th century French poet
Regina Derieva, (born 1949)
Toi Derricotte, (born 1941), African American Poet
Babette Deutsch (1895-1982)
Alfred de Vigny, (1797-1863), 19th century poet

[edit] Di-Do
Diane Di Prima (Memoirs of a Beatnik)
Souéloum Diagho (contemporary Tuareg poet)
Jennifer K Dick, (b 1970), American Poet
Emily Dickinson, (1830-1886), American poet
James Dickey, (1923-1997)
Blaga Dimitrova
Paul Dirmeikis, (1954- ), French poet
Thomas M. Disch, (1940-2008), American poet, novelist
Tim Dlugos, (1950-1990), American poet
Henry Austin Dobson
Stephen Dobyns, American author, novelist, poet
Pete Doherty, (born 1979), British musician, songwriter, poet
Antonia Donatiello, (born 1950), Italian writer and poet
John Donne, (1572-1631)
Hilda Doolittle, (1886-1961), U.S. Imagist poet
Gavin Douglas
Keith Douglas, (1920-1944)
Rita Dove
Ernest Dowson, (1867-1900)

[edit] Dr
Jane Draycott
Michael Drayton, (1563-1631)
Aleksander Stavre Drenova, (1872-1947), Albanian poet
John Drinkwater, (1882-1937)
Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, (1797-1848), German poet
William Drummond, (1585-1649)
William Henry Drummond, (1854-1907), poet, The habitant
John Dryden, (1631-1700), poet and playwright

[edit] Du-Dy
Joachim du Bellay, (c. 1522-1560)
W. E. B. Du Bois, (1868-1963), writer, activist
Du Fu, the Poet Saint
Du Mu, (803-852), Chinese poet
Alan Dugan
Carol Ann Duffy, (born 1955)
Paul Laurence Dunbar, (1872-1906)
William Dunbar, (1465-1520)
Robert Duncan (Black Mountain School)
Douglas Dunn, (born 1942)
Stephen Dunn
Helen Dunmore, poet, novelist
Edward Plunkett, Baron Dunsany, (1878-1957), Irish poet
Lawrence Durrell, (1912-1990), (A Private Country: Poems)
Stuart Dybek
Bob Dylan, born 1941

[edit] E

[edit] Ea-Er
Richard Eberhart
Russell Edson
Joseph von Eichendorff, (1788-1857)
George Eliot, (1819-1880), (Mary Ann Evans)
T. S. Eliot, (1888-1965), writer
Ebenezer Elliott, (1781-1849)
Royston Ellis, English poet inspired by Beat Generation
Paul Éluard, French poet
Claudia Emerson, (born 1957) American poet
Ralph Waldo Emerson, (1803-1882), American author
Gevorg Emin, (1918-1998), Armenian poet
Mihai Eminescu, Romanian poet (1850-1889)
William Empson, (1906-1984)
Yunus Emre
Michael Ende, (1929-1995), German poet
Paul Engle
Ennius
Hans Magnus Enzensberger, (born 1929), German poet
Louise Erdrich, (born 1954), author
Haydar Ergülen
Max Ernst, (1891-1976), (Dada)
Mehmet Erte

[edit] Es-Ew
Maggie Estep, American slam poet
Wolfram von Eschenbach, (died 1220)
Clayton Eshleman (Antiphonal Swing)
Martin Espada, American poet and teacher
Florbela Espanca, poet
Salvador Espriu, writer
Euripides (480-406 BC), Athenian tragedian
Mari Evans
William Everson (In The Fictive Wish)
Gavin Ewart

[edit] F
U.A. Fanthorpe (1929-), British poet and CBE
J.P. Farrell, (1968-), American poet and musician

[edit] Fe-Fo
Fenggan
Ferdowsi, (935–1020), Persian poet
Lawrence Ferlinghetti (1919-)
Leandro Fernández de Moratín (1760-1828)
Ian Hamilton Finlay, (1925-2006)
Annie Finch, American poet, librettist, translator, born 1956
Edward Fitzgerald, (1809-1883)
Robert Fitzgerald (1910 - 1985)
John Fletcher, (1579-1625)
John Gould Fletcher, (1886-1950), Imagist poet
F. S. Flint (Imagist manifestos)
Theodor Fontane, (1819-1898)
John Forbes, (1950-1998), Australian poet
Carolyn Forché, born 1950
Ford Madox Ford, (1873-1939), promoter of many other writers.
John Ford, (1586-1639), playwright and poet.
John M. Ford, (1957-2006), novelist and poet.
Ugo Foscolo, (1778-1827)
Hristo Fotev, (1934-2002), Bulgarian poet
Fazil Jamili, (born 1968), Urdu Poet, Journalist from Pakistan

[edit] Fr-Fu
Janet Frame, (born 1924)
Robert Francis, (1901-1987)
Veronica Franco, (1546-1591)
Naim Frashëri (1846—1900)
Louis Fréchette, (1839-1908), poet, essayist, journalist, dramatist
Erich Fried, (1921-1988)
Max Frisch, (1911-1991), Swiss poet
Robert Frost, (1874-1963), American poet
Gene Frumkin, (1928-2007), American poet
Alice Fulton, (born 1952), Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry winner
Fazil Jamili, (born 1968), Urdu Poet, Journalist from Pakistan
Fuzûlî, (1483?–1556), Azerbaijani and Ottoman poet

[edit] G

[edit] Ga-Gl
James Galvin (poet), (1951 - )
Karina Galvez, (1964- ), Ecuadorian Poet
Asadulla Khan Ghalib, (1796-1869) Urdu & Persian Poet
Etienne-Paulin Gagne (1808-1876)
Jean Garrigue (1914 - 1972)
Samuel Garth (1661 - 1719)
George Gascoigne, (1525-1577)
David Gascoyne (1916 - 2001)
Théophile Gautier, (1811-1872)
John Gay, (1685-1732), songwriter, poet
Stefan George, (1868-1933)
Paul Gerhardt, (c. 1606-1676)
Aaref Ghazvini, (1882- 1934)
Charles Ghigna (Father Goose) (born 1946)
Khalil Gibran, (The Prophet) (1883-1931)
Wilfred Wilson Gibson (October 2, 1878 - May 26, 1962)
Allen Ginsberg, (1926-1997)
Dana Gioia (essays on poetry)
Nikki Giovanni, (born 1943)
Giuseppe Giusti, (1809-1850)
Denis Glover, (1912-1980)
Louise Glück, (1943 - ) Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry

[edit] Go
Gérald Godin, (1938-1994), Quebec poet and politician
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, (1749-1832), (part-time;)
Octavian Goga (1881-1938) Romanian poet
Lea Goldberg, (1911-1970)
Rumer Godden (In Noahs Ark)
Ziya Gökalp
Oliver Goldsmith, (1730-1774), The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes
Pavel Golia (1887-1959)
Luis de Gongora, Spanish poet
Lorna Goodison (born 1947) Jamaican poet
Sergei Gorodetsky (1884-1967)
Hedwig Gorski, (born 1949), first Performance poet, American avant-garde literature
Herman Gorter (1864-1927), Dutch poet

Edgar Allen Poe, great stuff.
Shakespeare, if you find it a pain to read just read it for culture
Robert Frost is okay, depends which poem.
Shel Silverstein, childish yes, but it's the best rhyming poetry I've read.
The author Ellen Hopkins, who wrote Crank, a story told through poems. Really impressive talent to tell a novel through decent poems

Whoa!... that's quite a list.

I don't know many poets either, but I'll be sure to check out some of the ones mentioned.

He's not my favorite poet,(*read name listed below), but there is one poem he wrote that gets me right there- (points to heart)- read it. You'll love it.

*Max Eastman- "Rainy Song"

Oscar freaking Wilde
read Ballad of Reading Gaul
and
Sphinx
also the book
Best Poems in the English Language
by
Harold Bloom
hope that helped XD

I'm fan of Sara Teasdale and I don't think Anne Bradstreet was yet mentioned.

Whitman is my inspiration for everything in life. The most brilliant man to every walk the dirt of America.

Oooh. Edgar Allan Poe--he may have been a creep, but his poem's are fantastic. Also, Robert Frost. He, is seriously, my favorite. XD Besides you people, that is. ^^ Lawl. There's such good poets on here.
-Mizz

I'd like to add Emily Dickenson.
She despenses with idels about rhyming
and simply writes short, prose-like verses. Over a hundred of them.

John keats - he wrote a really good poem called to autumn, many students in the U.K study him for qualifications in english litrature.
Sylvia Plathe - one of the most well known poets of all time.
A A milne - wrote winnie the pooh, very famous for writing poems as well for children.
Spike milligan - wrote a really famous poem called the ning nang nong
it depends what genre you want like music they have varieties

I second Pablo Neruda! Also, I think Harlem Renaissance poetry is great.

Billy Collins
Henry Longfellow
Frost and Poe were already mentioned.
Emily Dickinson

Dylan Thomas

Ted Kooser (I'll thank Kylan for that one )

My other favourites have already been mentioned. You might also try to read a story by EA Poe - I find them very funny, BECAUSE they're so dark and dangerous.

Another example of prose-poetry writer is Anton Chekhov. His writing is amazingly dense, and full of exciting vocabulary and description; themes, and emotions - he's got it. You'll find some poetic inspiration there.

I like Walt Whitman and Shakespeare. Walt Whitman uses a lot of imagery and symbolism which I like. I find it a bit difficult to read, but after a while of studying it, it's really interesting to read. Shakespeare is just awesome. I absolutely adore his writing. Personally, I like his plays and stories. My school is doing a Shakespeare play, and I can't wait to see it. Anyway, they are both great. It takes time to understand certain things in their work(or at least for me it does), but it's worth the studying in the end.