Poets' Graves
Encyclopedia
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
so that it remains available to future researchers.
History
This UK website was founded in 2003 by Cameron Self and Nicola Bushell. Originally it listed only famous English poets, but over the years has expanded to include US poets, European poets and other poets from around the world.Features
The web site lists the exact location of the poet's grave and features photographs of the grave, epitaph (where applicable) and biographical details of many of the poets included. The site contains 299 entries at present. 119 are full page entries containing: biographies, portraits of the poets and a selection of poetry - while 180 are simply listings of burial sites.The earliest burial record included on the site is that of the tomb of Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
- allegedly located on the Greek island of Ios. Other early entries include Virgil
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil in English , was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid...
, Dante
DANTE
Delivery of Advanced Network Technology to Europe is a not-for-profit organisation that plans, builds and operates the international networks that interconnect the various national research and education networks in Europe and surrounding regions...
and Chaucer. The site also includes poets from all the major poetic periods: the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
, the Neo-Classical, US Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
poets, Romantic poets and Modernist poets. More recently deceased poets' entries include Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath was an American poet, novelist and short story writer. Born in Massachusetts, she studied at Smith College and Newnham College, Cambridge before receiving acclaim as a professional poet and writer...
, Ted Hughes
Ted Hughes
Edward James Hughes OM , more commonly known as Ted Hughes, was an English poet and children's writer. Critics routinely rank him as one of the best poets of his generation. Hughes was British Poet Laureate from 1984 until his death.Hughes was married to American poet Sylvia Plath, from 1956 until...
, Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin
Philip Arthur Larkin, CH, CBE, FRSL is widely regarded as one of the great English poets of the latter half of the twentieth century...
, John Betjeman
John Betjeman
Sir John Betjeman, CBE was an English poet, writer and broadcaster who described himself in Who's Who as a "poet and hack".He was a founding member of the Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture...
, Charles Causley
Charles Causley
Charles Stanley Causley, CBE, FRSL was a Cornish poet, schoolmaster and writer. His work is noted for its simplicity and directness and for its associations with folklore, especially when linked to his native Cornwall....
, Norman Nicholson
Norman Nicholson
Norman Cornthwaite Nicholson OBE, , was an English poet, known for his association with the Cumberland town of Millom...
and Allen Ginsberg
Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
.
The site is a work in progress and visitors are encouraged to submit suggestions of poets not included together with photographs of their graves. The aim is to capture details of as many significant poets as possible.
Poets' Graves also contains an on-line glossary of poetic terms, a library of out-of-copyright classic poems, lists of UK and US Poets Laureate, lists of Oxford Professors of Poetry, a poets timeline, famous poetry quotations, and poetry book reviews. The site also gives links to poet-based societies such as The Wordsworth Trust
Wordsworth Trust
The Wordsworth Trust is a living memorial set up to celebrate the works of the poet William Wordsworth and his contemporaries. Wordsworth, conscious of the need for poetry to renew itself within a tradition speaks of writing for 'youthful poets' who 'will be my second self when I am gone.'An...
, The Philip Larkin Society and the Edward Thomas Fellowship.
There are also burial
Burial
Burial is the act of placing a person or object into the ground. This is accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing an object in it, and covering it over.-History:...
records for other writers and musicians.
Forum
The Poets' Graves Workshop is a message board where contributors can submit their own poetry, song lyrics and short stories in order to receive constructive criticism from other users. The aim of the forum is to help poets/writers to improve their own creative work by taking on board feedback from other writers. The site no longer participates in the IBPC monthly competition.There are regular featured poems and stories, selected by the site admin team and the site moderators. Some of these featured poems have been recorded by their authors and are now available for other members or visitors to listen to.
The forum has regular contributors drawn from the UK, the USA, Canada and Australia. Japan-based British poet Brian Edwards was recently enlisted as a site moderator.
See also
- Poets' CornerPoets' CornerPoets' Corner is the name traditionally given to a section of the South Transept of Westminster Abbey because of the number of poets, playwrights, and writers buried and commemorated there. The most recent additions were a memorial floor stone unveiled in 2009 for the founders of the Royal Ballet...
- Find a GraveFind A GraveFind a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...
- Mount Auburn CemeteryMount Auburn CemeteryMount Auburn Cemetery was founded in 1831 as "America's first garden cemetery", or the first "rural cemetery", with classical monuments set in a rolling landscaped terrain...
- English Cemetery, FlorenceEnglish Cemetery, FlorenceThe English Cemetery is in Piazzale Donatello, Florence, Italy.-History:In 1827 the Swiss Evangelical Reformed Church purchased land outside the medieval wall and gate of Porta a' Pinti from Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany for an international and ecumenical cemetery, Russian and Greek Orthodox...
- Protestant Cemetery, RomeProtestant Cemetery, RomeThe Protestant Cemetery , now officially called the Cimitero acattolico and often referred to as the Cimitero degli Inglesi is a cemetery in Rome, located near Porta San Paolo alongside the Pyramid of Cestius, a small-scale Egyptian-style pyramid built in 30 BC as a tomb and later incorporated...
- Canadian HeadstonesCanadian HeadstonesCanadian Headstones is a project to capture digital images and the complete transcription of cemetery stones. It is a web-based Canadian Non-Profit Corporation which is run completely by volunteers.-History:...