Poetry Foundation Library

About the Library 

The Poetry Foundation library is the Midwest’s only library dedicated to poetry. Visitors can access more than 40,000 volumes of poetry, experience audio and video recordings, and view exhibitions of poetry-related materials in our reading room. 

We believe poetry is something to be shared and experienced. We invite visitors to engage with our collections by exploring, reading, writing, and discussing poems in our online book clubs and workshops. In addition to books, visitors will find writing activities, reading challenges, and art-making stations.

About the Collection

The Poetry Foundation library consists of books of poetry, anthologies, journals, rare and limited editions, broadsides, chapbooks, criticism, prose and bios by and about poets, and audio recordings that:

• Are chosen to foster diversity, inclusion, and belonging written in all poetic styles and genres for readers of all ages. 
• Include books from the modern and contemporary eras with representative selections of poetic works from all eras. 
• Feature more than 3,000 titles for younger readers. 
• Consist primarily of works in English and a significant number of works in translation. 

To read the books in our catalog, please visit our library in person, as our collection does not circulate. If there is a book that you would like to access that you do not see on our shelves, send an email to [email protected] to request its purchase.

Rare and fragile works in our collection are stored in closed stacks. To view a work in special collections, please make an appointment by emailing [email protected].