Poetry Foundation Library

The Poetry Foundation Library is the Midwest’s only library dedicated to poetry. Visitors to the library may browse a collection of 30,000 volumes, experience audio and video recordings in private listening booths, and view exhibits of poetry-related materials. In addition to providing public access to its collections in the form of a reading room, the library hosts interactive programs to inspire a wider readership for poetry in people of all ages.

The origins of the library are in the working collection of Poetry magazine. Titles originally sent to the magazine for review or acquired for editorial needs now comprise a distinctive collection of the poetry of the past century.

The library’s current collection aims to present the best poetry, in English or in translation, of the modern and contemporary era, and to include representative selections of the major poetic works of all eras. The collection contains individual author monographs, anthologies, journals, rare and limited editions, broadsides, chapbooks, criticism, and prose works by poets. Audio archives include restored recordings of poets, like Gwendolyn Brooks and Czeslaw Milosz, reading their own work.

Search the collection here.

The Poetry Foundation Library is available for in person and online field trips. To schedule a field trip, please email [email protected].

To contact the librarian, please email [email protected] or call 312.799.8057

Thank you for thinking of us for your donation of materials. Due to the high cost of processing unsolicited materials, we do not typically accept donated items.

We do consider rare books, artist books, and large (100+ volumes) of poetry on a case-by-case basis. If you have a collection you would like us to consider for donation, please email [email protected].

Items we do not accept for donation include:

• Textbooks
• VHS tapes
• Poetry books that are widely available from commercial publishers
• Self-published collections.

We suggest reaching out to local shelters, nursing homes, and thrift stores if you have items to donate.

The Poetry Foundation does not provide any appraisal services. If you are interested in locating a qualified bookseller in your area for assistance, we suggest consulting the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America’s Directory.

Poetry magazine’s archives are held at the University of Chicago and the Lilly Library in Bloomington, Indiana. You can research these materials here:

University of Chicago

Lilly Library