About The Periodical Poetry Index
The Periodical Poetry Index is a research database of citations to English-language poetry published in nineteenth-century periodicals, including texts by nineteenth-century British and American poets, poets from earlier periods, and poems in English translation. We do not currently index poems quoted in periodical essays, reviews, or fiction.
The Periodical Poetry Index will be a valuable resource for scholars and students of nineteenth-century periodicals and poetry. It is a searchable, free online resource that currently offers:
- full bibliographic citations to the poems
- links to open access, digitized periodical volumes
- the text of the poem's first line
- notes on poem length, illustrations, and other textual features
- author identification where possible
As researchers of both poetry and periodicals, we believe it is important to see a poem within its periodical context in order to understand poetry's publication in the nineteenth century. For this reason, we do not provide the full text of the poems, but instead link to external scanned volumes on Hathi Trust. This database, then, represents both the process of research and the means for research.
Additionally, we see the Periodical Poetry Index as a means for facilitating research, not only for scholars interested in Victorian periodicals and poetry, but also for collaborators who will be continuing our knowledge of nineteenth-century poetry in periodicals.
The Periodical Poetry Index is fully collaborative effort by Co-Project Directors Natalie Houston (University of Massachusetts Lowell), Lindsy Lawrence (University of Arkansas, Fort Smith), and April Patrick (Fairleigh Dickinson University). We can be reached at: editors@periodicalpoetry.org
