Best Poets

We already have a "best Poetry Books" list, but this is different. Here you vote for a poet, or their overall output as a poet, not for one of their specific volumes. So when you add a book to this list, only vote for the poet's selected or collected works. Other volumes will be deleted.
144

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4.73 avg rating — 11 ratings
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144

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3.91 avg rating — 53 ratings
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144

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it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 9 ratings
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144

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4.67 avg rating — 12 ratings
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144

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4.64 avg rating — 11 ratings
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144

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4.83 avg rating — 6 ratings
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144

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4.31 avg rating — 339 ratings
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144

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3.93 avg rating — 229 ratings
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144

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4.80 avg rating — 5 ratings
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144

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it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 7 ratings
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144

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3.96 avg rating — 440 ratings
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144

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it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 5 ratings
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144

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4.50 avg rating — 6 ratings
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144

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4.34 avg rating — 29 ratings
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144

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4.75 avg rating — 8 ratings
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144

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it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings
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144

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4.69 avg rating — 45 ratings
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144

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4.57 avg rating — 35 ratings
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144

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4.67 avg rating — 6 ratings
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144

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4.33 avg rating — 3 ratings
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144

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4.84 avg rating — 32 ratings
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144

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4.67 avg rating — 3 ratings
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144

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4.50 avg rating — 4 ratings
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144

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4.18 avg rating — 55 ratings
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144

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it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings
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144

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4.58 avg rating — 817 ratings
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144

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4.47 avg rating — 285 ratings
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144

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 3 ratings
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144

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 4 ratings
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144

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3.85 avg rating — 48 ratings
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144

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4.23 avg rating — 13 ratings
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144

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it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating
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144

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it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings
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144

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4.48 avg rating — 208 ratings
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144

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4.42 avg rating — 19 ratings
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144

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0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings
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144

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it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 7 ratings
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144

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4.67 avg rating — 6 ratings
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144

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it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating
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144

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it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating
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144

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it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings
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144

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4.25 avg rating — 4 ratings
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144

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it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating
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144

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4.28 avg rating — 93 ratings
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144

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4.57 avg rating — 7 ratings
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144

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3.77 avg rating — 13 ratings
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144

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3.61 avg rating — 375 ratings
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144

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4.25 avg rating — 4 ratings
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144

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4.06 avg rating — 18 ratings
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144

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4.47 avg rating — 17 ratings
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144

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it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating
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144

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4.25 avg rating — 50,092 ratings
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144

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4.50 avg rating — 2 ratings
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144

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3.76 avg rating — 88 ratings
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144

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4.03 avg rating — 74 ratings
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144

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4.67 avg rating — 9 ratings
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144

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it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 22 ratings
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258

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it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings
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258

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3.50 avg rating — 2 ratings
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258

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4.17 avg rating — 2,424 ratings
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258

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3.83 avg rating — 2,790 ratings
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258

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4.24 avg rating — 429 ratings
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258

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4.40 avg rating — 5 ratings
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258

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it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating
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258

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4.17 avg rating — 24 ratings
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258

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4.40 avg rating — 325 ratings
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258

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0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings
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258

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4.14 avg rating — 373 ratings
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258

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4.50 avg rating — 4 ratings
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258

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4.45 avg rating — 4,626 ratings
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258

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4.88 avg rating — 42 ratings
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258

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4.07 avg rating — 105 ratings
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258

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4.42 avg rating — 12 ratings
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258

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 6 ratings
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258

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4.12 avg rating — 72 ratings
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258

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4.74 avg rating — 19 ratings
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258

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4.30 avg rating — 572,347 ratings
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258

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3.96 avg rating — 349 ratings
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258

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4.67 avg rating — 3 ratings
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258

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4.05 avg rating — 20 ratings
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258

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4.50 avg rating — 2 ratings
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258

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4.75 avg rating — 4 ratings
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258

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4.46 avg rating — 39 ratings
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258

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it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 5 ratings
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258

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it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 4 ratings
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258

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4.14 avg rating — 21 ratings
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258

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3.71 avg rating — 2,289 ratings
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258

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4.38 avg rating — 55 ratings
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258

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4.79 avg rating — 14 ratings
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258

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it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating
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258

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it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating
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258

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3.64 avg rating — 28 ratings
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258

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it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 4 ratings
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258

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it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating
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258

by
it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings
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258

by
3.71 avg rating — 7 ratings
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258

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4.50 avg rating — 2 ratings
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258

by
4.43 avg rating — 6,324 ratings
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258

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 210 ratings
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258

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it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating
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515 books · 385 voters · list created August 29th, 2009 by John Burns (votes) .
102 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


John 846 books
53 friends
Christy 7507 books
2609 friends
Ruth 2646 books
382 friends
Khanh 554 books
18 friends
Susanna - Censored by GoodReads 3384 books
853 friends
Judy 879 books
8 friends
Gwyn 122 books
81 friends
Joan 1874 books
43 friends

More voters…


Comments Showing 1-10 of 10 (10 new)

dateUp arrow    newest »

message 1: by John (new)

John Burns Deleted the wasteland and other poems because it isn't a selected or collected volume. If a poet has a selected or collected volume add those instead. You're voting for poets here, not for specific volumes of poetry.


message 2: by John (new)

John Burns Removed leaves of grass.

It's interesting how different this is to the "best poetry books" list. Leaves of grass and howl are the top 2 books there, but whitman and ginsberg barely register on this list. Shows the distinction between voting for best books and best poets. PPL have heard of howl and leaves of grass because of their historical significance, but not many seem to care for the poetry so much...


message 3: by Peter (new)

Peter Should the Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge not be removed? After all, it only represents a very small part of either poet's output...

Anyway, I'm really quite surprised at Yeats being at the top, though I suppose given how paradoxical and contradictory he was throughout his life there's going to be at least one poem in their collection for any kind of nutcase.


message 4: by John (new)

John Burns Peter wrote: "Should the Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge not be removed? After all, it only represents a very small part of either poet's output...

Anyway, I'm really quite surprised at Yeats being ..."


Well spotted. Deleted the lyrical ballads.

I though yeats was pretty good... i don't think paradox and contradiction necessarily bother ppl. Most probly don't notice it, i didnt.


message 5: by Peter (new)

Peter Hah, I suppose Yeats's contradictory nature is really only going to be highlighted if you happen to study him or you're involved with Irish poetry/politics in some way... He's definitely one of the greats though. Perhaps the last great Romantic and certainly among the first Modernists too. Personally, I'll always prefer Keats and Shelley though.


message 6: by Antoine (new)

Antoine Killthepopular wrote: "Removed leaves of grass.

That's fine, I guess. But it is worth knowing that Leaves of Grass (unlike Howl or the Waste Land) is basically Whitman's only book. Some poets do not have a proper "collected works." Virgil comes to mind. So does Shel Silverstein, who appears on this list three times. I suggest you leave his highest ranking book in place and delete the others.



message 7: by BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) (last edited May 04, 2016 07:23AM) (new)

BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) I don't think Eugene Onegin (#90) or The Divine Comedy (#11) should be on this list...?


message 8: by John (new)

John Burns Dante is only really known for two works: Divine comedy and Vita Nuova. Vita Nuova is a short and comparatively obscure volume and the divine comedy is a compilation of three previously published works so I'm inclined to regard The Divine Comedy as being more or less the same as a collected works volume.


message 9: by John (new)

John Burns Deleted The Prophet seeing as we have the collected works of Gibran hanging round #50.


message 10: by Vincent (new)

Vincent By God, why is this list so anglosphere oriented. Where are the great French, German, Norse poets in the top 10? The only ' foreign' poet in the top is Dante Alighieri and he is only tenth!


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