List of English language poets - Definition and Overview

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

• Harold Acton (1904-1994)
• Gilbert Adair
• Arthur Henry Adams (1872-1936)
• Robert Adamson
• Fleur Adcock (born 1934)
• Joseph Addison (1672-1719)
• Mark Akenside (1721-1770)
• James Alexander Allan (1889-?)
• Leslie Holdsworthy Allen (1879-1964)
• Ethel Anderson (1883-1958)
• Bruce Andrews (born 1948)
• Maya Angelou (born 1928)
• Rae Armantrout (born 1947)
• Simon Armitage (born 1963)
• Matthew Arnold (1822-1888)
• John Ashbery (born 1927)
• Thomas Ashe (1836-1889)
• Thea Astley (1925-2004)
• Edwin Atherstone (1788-1872)
• Margaret Atwood (born 1939)
• Dorothy Auchterlonie (1915-1991)
• W. H. Auden (1907-1973)
• Albert Gordon Austin (1918-1990)
• Robert Ayton (1570-1638)
• William Edmonstone Aytoun (1813-1865)
• Pam Ayres (born 1947)
• Sir Robert Ayton (1570-1638)

B

Ba

• Joanna Baillie (1762-1851)
• David Ball
• Lex Banning (born 1921)
• Amiri Baraka (born 1934)
• Anna Laetitia Barbauld (1743-1825)
• John Barbour (died 1395)
• Les Barker (born 1947)
• Richard Barnefield (1574-1627)
• Djuna Barnes (1892-1982)
• William Barnes (1801-1886)
• Ken Barratt
• Bernard Barton (1784-1849)
• David Bates (1809-1870)
• H.E. Bates (1905-1974)
• James K. Baxter (1926-1972)
• Arthur Bayldon (1865-1958)
• William Baylebridge (1883-1942)

Be-Bo

• Francis Beaumont (1586-1616)
• Bruce Beaver (1928-2004)
• Aphra Behn (1640-1689)
• Gwendolyn B. Bennett
• Asa Benveniste
• Bill Berkson
• Charles Bernstein (born 1950)
• Anselm Berrigan
• Edmund Berrigan
• Ted Berrigan
• John Berryman (1914-1972)
• John Betjeman (1906-1984)
• Maurice Biggs (born 1915)
• Elizabeth Bishop (1911-1979)
• Samuel Bishop (1731-1795)
• Thomas Blacklock (1721-1791)
• Peter Bladen (1922-2001)
• William Blake (1757-1827)
• Susanna Blamire (1747-1794)
• John Blight (1913-1995)
• Mathilde Blind (1841-1896)
• Edmund Blunden (1896-1974)
• Wilfrid Scawen Blunt (1840-1922)
• Barcroft Boake (1866-1892)
• George Henry Boker (1823-1990)
• Eavan Boland (born 1944)
• Horatius Bonar (1808-1889)
• Arna Wendell Bontemps
• Marx Alexander Boyd (1563-1601)

Br-By

• Anne Bradstreet (ca. 1612-1672)
• E. J. Brady (1869-1952)
• Christopher Brennan (1870-1932)
• John Le Gay Brereton (1871-1933)
• Nicholas Breton (1542-1626)
• Robert Bridges (1844-1930)
• Emily Brontë (1818-1848)
• Rupert Brooke (1887-1915)
• Gwendolyn Brooks, (born 1917)
• Sterling A. Brown
• Thomas Edward Brown (1830-1897)
• Isaac Hawkins Browne (1705-1760)
• William Browne (1588-1643)
• Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861)
• Robert Browning (1812-1889)
• William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878)
• Vincent Buckley (1925-1988)
• Basil Bunting (1900–1985)
• Jim Burns
• Robert Burns (1759-1796)
• William S. Burroughs (1914-1997)
• George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (1788-1824)

C

Ca-Ci

• Richard Caddel
• Charles Stuart Calverley (1831-1884)
• Thomas Campbell (1774-1844)
• Thomas Campion (1567-1620)
• Mary Wedderburn Cannan (1893-1973)
• Thomas Carew (1595-1639)
• Alice Cary
• Henry Carey (1693-1743)
• Phoebe Cary
• Lewis Carroll (1832-1898)
• William Cartwright (1611-1643)
• Charles Causley (1917-2003)
• Constantine Cavafy
• Joe Ceravolo
• John Chalkhill
• Miles Champion
• George Chapman (1560-1634)
• Geoffrey Chaucer (ca.1343-1400)
• Sandra Cisneros

Cl

• John Clare (1793-1864)
• Thomas A. Clark
• Tom Clark
• Jack Clarke
• Austin Clarke (1986-1974)
• John Cleveland (1613-1658)
• Michelle Cliff
• Lucille Clifton
• Arthur Hugh Clough (1819-1861)

Co

• Bob Cobbing
• Brian Coffey (1905-1995)
• Norma Cole
• Wanda Coleman
• Hartley Coleridge (1796-1849)
• Mary Elizabeth Coleridge (1861-1907)
• Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834)
• Billy Collins
• William Collins (1721-1759)
• William Congreve (1670-1729)
• Henry Constable (1562-1613)
• Clark Coolidge
• Thomas Cooper (poet) (1805-1892)
• Wendy Cope (born 1945)
• Corinna
• Richard Corbet (1582-1635)
• William Corbett
• James D. Corrothers
• Jayne Cortez
• William Johnson Cory (1823-1892)
• Louisa Stuart Costello (1799-1877)
• Anne Ross Cousin (1824-1906)
• Abraham Cowley (1618-1667)
• William Cowper (1731-1800)

Cr-Cu

• George Crabbe (1754-1832)
• Hart Crane, (1899-1932)
• Richard Crashaw (1613-1649)
• Thomas Creech (1659-1700)
• George Croly (1780-1860)
• William Crowe (1745-1829)
• Andrew Crozier
• Countee Cullen, (1903-1946)
• E. E. Cummings (1894-1962)
• Allan Cunningham (1784-1842)
• Allen Curnow (1911-2001)

D

Da-Do

• Samuel Daniel (1562-1619)
• George Darley (1795-1846)
• Tina Darragh
• Robert von Dassanowsky (aka Robert Dassanowsky)
• William Davenant (1606-1668)
• John Davies (1569-1626)
• Thomas Osborne Davis (1814-1845)
• John Davidson (1837-1909)
• Michael Davidson
• Jean Day
• Thomas Dekker (1575-1641)
• John Denham (1615-1669)
• Thomas Dermody (1775-1802)
• William F. DeVault
• Denis Devlin (1908-1959)
• James Dickey
• Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)
• Ray DiPalma
• Diane Di Prima
• John Donne (1572-1631)
• Maura Dooley
• Edward Dorn
• Keith Douglas (1920-1944)
• Rita Dove
• Francis Hastings Doyle (1810-1888)
• Buck Downs
• Ernest Dowson (1867-1900)

Dr-Dy

• Michael Drayton (1563-1631)
• William Drummond of Hawthornden (1585-1649)
• John Dryden (1631-1700)
• W.E.B. DuBois (1868-1963)
• Carol Ann Duffy
• Charles Gavan Duffy (1816-1903)
• Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906)
• William Dunbar (1465-1520)
• Douglas Dunn (born 1942)
• G.F.Dutton
• John Dyer

E

• Richard Eberhart (born 1904)
• Richard Edwards (1523?-1566)
• Ebenezer Elliot (1781-1849)
• Jean Elliot (1727-1805)
• T. S. Eliot (1888-1965)
• Ebenezer Elliott (1781-1849)
• Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
• William Empson (1906-1984)
• Theodore Enslin (born 1925)
• Sir George Etherege (1635-1691)
• Mari Evans

F

• Catherine Maria Fanshawe (1765-1834)
• Sir Richard Fanshawe (1608-1666)
• Edward Fairfax (1580?-1635)
• William Falconer (1732-1769)
• Francis Fawkes (1721-1777)
• Elaine Feinstein
• Elijah Fenton (1683-1730)
• James Fenton (born 1949)
• Heather Fuller
• Deanna Ferguson
• Lawrence Ferlinghetti, (born 1919)
• Peter Finch
• Ian Hamilton Finlay
• Allen Fisher
• Roy Fisher
• Edward Fitzgerald (1809-1883)
• Penelope Fitzgerald
• John Fletcher (1579-1625)
• John Ford (1586-1639)
• Janet Frame (1924-2004)
• Ulli Freer
• Philip Freneau (1752-1832)
• Robert Frost (1874-1963)
• William Fuller
• Alice Fulton (born 1952)

G

Ga-Go

• Dick Gallup
• Forest Gander
• Samuel Garth
• George Gascoigne (1525-1577)
• David Gascoyne
• John Gay (1685-1732)
• Theodor Seuss Geisel (1904-1991)
• Merrill Gilfillan
• Dame Mary Gilmour
• Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997)
• Nikki Giovanni, (born 1943)
• Michael Gizzi
• Peter Gizzi
• Denis Glover (1912-1980)
• Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774)

Gr-Gy

• W. S. Graham
• Richard Graves (1715-1804)
• Robert Graves (1895-1985)
• Thomas Gray (1716-1771)
• Robert Greene (1560-1592)
• Ted Greenwald
• Fulke Greville, Lord Brooke (1554-1628)
• Bill Griffiths (born 1948)
• Nicholas Grimald (1519-1562)
• Angelina Weld Grimke
• Charlotte Forten Grimke
• Barbara Guest
• Edgar Guest, (born 1881)
• Arthur Guiterman (1871-1943)
• Thom Gunn (born 1929)
• Ivor Gurney (1890-1937)
• Brion Gysin (1916-1986)

H

Ha-He

• William Habington (1605-1654)
• Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)
• Joy Harjo http://www.miracosta.cc.ca.us/home/gfloren/harjo.htm
• Frances E. W. Harper
• Michael S. Harper
• Carla Harryman
• Tony Harrison (born 1937)
• Lee Harwood
• Alamgir Hashmi
• Stephen Hawes (died 1523)
• Robert Hayden
• Randolph Healey
• Seamus Heaney (born 1939)
• Anthony Hecht (1923-2004)
• John Hegley
• Piero Heliczer
• Lyn Hejinian
• Felicia Hemans (1793-1835)
• Essex Hemphill
• William Ernest Henley (1849-1903)
• George Herbert (1593-1632)
• Robert Herrick (1591-1674)
• Dorothy Hewett (1923-2002)
• Thomas Heywood (157?-1650)

Hi-Hu

• Geoffrey Hill (born 1932)
• James Hogg (1770-1835)
• Anselm Hollo
• Fanny Howe
• Susan Howe
• Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809-1894)
• Thomas Hood (1798-1845)
• A. D. Hope
• Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889)
• A. E. Housman, (1859-1936)
• Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey (1517-1547)
• Frances Horovitz
• Michael Horovitz
• Langston Hughes (1902-1967)
• Ted Hughes (1930-1998)
• Richard Hugo
• Alexander Hume (1560-1609)
• Leigh Hunt, (1784-1859)

I-J

• P.Inman
• Richard Jago, (1715-1781)
• John James
• Lisa Jarnot
• Randall Jarrell (1914-1965)
• Robinson Jeffers, (died 1962)
• Fenton Johnson
• Georgia Douglas Johnson
• Helene Johnson
• James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938)
• Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)
• David Jones
• Erica Jong
• Ben Jonson (1573-1637)
• June Jordan
• Jenny Joseph
• James Joyce (1882-1941)
• Trevor Joyce
• Donald Justice (1925-2004)

K

• Bob Kaufman
• Jayne Fenton Keane
• John Keats (1795-1821)
• Jack Kerouac (1922-1969)
• Sidney Keyes (1922-1943)
• Amy King
• Henry King (1592-1669)
• William King (1663-1712)
• Galway Kinnell (born 1927)
• John Kinsella
• Thomas Kinsella (1927-)
• Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)
• Etheridge Knight
• Yusef Komunyakaa (born 1948)
• Joanne Kyger

L

La-Le

• Doug Lang
• Charles Lamb (1775-1834)
• Letitia Elizabeth Landon
• Walter Savage Landor (1775-1864)
• Emilia Lanier (1569-1645)
• Philip Larkin (1922-1985)
• D.H. Lawrence (1885-1930)
• Evelyn Lau
• Edward Lear (1812-1888)
• Francis Ledwidge, (1887-1917)
• Tom Leonard
• Philip Levine
• Larry Levis
• D. A. Levy, (1942-1968)
• Alun Lewis

Lo-Ly

• Thomas Lodge (1556-1625)
• Christopher Logue
• Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)
• Michael Longley
• Tim Longville
• Luis A. López
• Audre Lorde, (born 1934)
• Richard Lovelace (1618-1658)
• Amy Lowell (1874-1925)
• James Russell Lowell (1819-1891)
• Robert Lowell
• Mina Loy
• John Lydgate (1370-1450)
• John Lyly (1553-1606)
• George Lyttelton, Lord Lyttelton (1709-1773)

M

Ma

• Norman MacCaig (1910-1996)
• Hugh MacDiarmid (1892-1978)
• Thomas MacGreevy (1893-1967)
• Nathaniel Mackey
• Jackson Mac Low
• Louis MacNeice (1907-1963)
• Archibald MacLeish (1892-1982)
• Barry MacSweeney
• Haki R. Madhubuti
• Clarence Major
• David Mallet
• Tom Mandel
• Bill Mannhire (born 1946)
• Robert Mannyng of Brunne (1269-1340)
• Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593)
• Andrew Marvell (1621-1678)
• John Masefield, (1878-1967)

Mc-Mi

• Colleen McElroy
• Bryant H. McGill
• Karyna McGlynn
• Roger McGough, (born 1937)
• Campbell McGrath
• Claude McKay
• David Melnick
• James Merrill (1926-1995)
• Thomas Merton (1915-1968)
• George Meredith (1828-1909)
• W. S. Merwin
• Máire Mhac an tSaoi
• Edna St. Vincent Millay, (1892-1950)
• Joaquin Miller, (1837-1913)
• Spike Milligan (1918 - 2002)
• Ralph Mills
• John Milton (1608-1674)
• Adrian Mitchell

Mo-Mu

• Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax, (1661-1715)
• Marianne Moore, (1887-1972)
• Robin Moore, (1954- )
• Thomas Moore (1779-1852)
• Barbara Moraff
• Edythe Morahan de Lauzon
• Edwin Morgan
• William Morris (1834-1896)
• Andrew Motion
• Eric Mottram
• Paul Muldoon (born 1951)
• Harryette Mullen
• Anthony Munday (1553-1633)
• Les Murray (born 1938)

N-O

• Ogden Nash (1902-1971)
• Thomas Nashe (1567-1601)
• Norman Nicholson (1914-1987)
• Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin
• Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill
• Lorine Niedecker (1903[?]-1970)
• Alice Notley
• Jeff Nuttall
• Alice Moore Dunbar Nelson
• Howard Nemerov
• Kenn Nesbitt
• Henry Newbolt, (1862-1938)
• John Henry Newman, (1801-1890)
• Frank O'Hara
• Terry A. O'Neal
• George Moses Horton
• Charles Olson (1910-1970)
• Mary Devenport O'Neill (1879-1976)
• George Oppen (1908-1984)
• Maggie O'Sullivan
• Wilfred Owen (1893-1918)

P

• Ruth Padel
• Ron Padgett
• Nettie Palmer
• Dorothy Parker, (1893-1967)
• Thomas Parnell (1670-1718)
• Ian Patterson
• Thomas Love Peacock (1785-1866)
• Ted Pearson
• George Peel (1558-1597)
• Ambrose Philips
• Tom Pickard
• Robert Pinsky
• Ruth Pitter
• Sylvia Plath, (1932-1963)
• Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849)
• Alexander Pope (1688-1744)
• Ezra Pound (1885-1972)
• Jack Prelutsky
• Matthew Prior (1664-1721)
• J. H. Prynne

Q

• Francis Quarles (1592-1644)

R

Ra-Ri

• Craig Raine (born 1944)
• Carl Rakosi (1903- )
• Sir Walter Raleigh (1552-1618)
• Elaine Randell
• Thomas Randolph (1605-1635)
• John Crowe Ransome (1888-1974)
• Tom Raworth (born 1938)
• Henry Reed (1914-1986)
• Ishmael Reed
• Joan Retallack
• Kenneth Rexroth (d.1982)
• Charles Reznikoff (1894-1976)
• Adrienne Rich
• Lola Ridge (1873-1941)
• Denise Riley
• John Riley
• Peter Riley

Ro

• Kit Robinson
• Edwin Arlington Robinson, (1869-1935)
• Mary Robinson (1758-1800)
• Carolyn M. Rodgers
• Theodore Roethke, (1908-1963)
• Franklin Rosemont, (born 1943)
• Penelope Rosemont
• Isaac Rosenberg (1890-1918)
• Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)
• Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882)
• Nicholas Rowe
• Richard Rowlands (1565-1630)

S

Sa-Si

• Blanaid Salkeld (1880-1959)
• Sonia Sanchez
• Carl Sandburg (1878-1967)
• Siegfried Sassoon (1886-1967)
• Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832)
• Maurice Scully
• Peter Seaton
• Sir Charles Sedley (1639-1701)
• Robert W. Service
• Anne Sexton (1928-1974)
• William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
• Ntozake Shange, (born 1948)
• Jo Shapcott
• Karl Shapiro (1913-2000)
• Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)
• William Shenstone
• James Shirley (1596-1666)
• Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586)
• Shel Silverstein (1930-1999)
• Colin Simms
• Iain Sinclair
• Edith Sitwell (1887-1964)

Sk-Sq

• John Skelton (1460-1529)
• Myra Sklarew
• Charlotte Smith (1749-1806)
• Rod Smith
• Stevie Smith (1902-1971)
• Tobias Smollett (1721-1771)
• Gary Snyder
• William Somerville
• Charles Sorley (1895-1915)
• Caroline Southey (1787-1854)
• Robert Southey (1774-1843)
• Robert Southwell (1561-1595)
• Wole Soyinka (born 1934)
• A. B. Spellman
• Anne Spencer
• Stephen Spender
• Edmund Spenser (1552-1599)
• Geoffrey Squires

St-Sy

• William Stafford
• C.K. Stead (born 1932)
• Gertrude Stein
• Brian Kim Stefans
• Gerald Stern
• Wallace Stevens (1880-1955)
• Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)
• Mark Strand
• Sir John Suckling (1609-1642)
• Maggie O'Sullivan
• Keston Sutherland
• May Swenson
• Algernon Swinburne (1837-1909)
• Joshua Sylvester (1563-1618)

T-V

• F.W. Tancred
• Allen Tate (1899-1979)
• Edward Taylor (1645-1729)
• Sara Teasdale
• Alfred Tennyson, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892)
• Lucy Terry
• Celia Thaxter, (1824-1894)
• Ernest Thayer, (1863-1940)
• Dylan Thomas (1914-1953)
• Edward Thomas (1878-1917)
• R.S. Thomas (1913-2000)
• Francis Thompson (1859-1907)
• James Thomson (B.V.) (1834-1882)
• James Thomson (Seasons)
• Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
• Chidiock Tichborne (1558-1586)
• Thomas Tickell
• Melvin B. Tolson
• Jean Toomer
• Rodrigo Toscano
• Thomas Traherne
• Quincy Troupe
• Gael Turnbull
• Hone Tuwhare (born 1922)
• Allen Upward, Imagist
• Henry Vaughan (1621-1695)
• Janine Pommy Vega

W

Wa-We

• Ugonna Wachuku (born 1971)
• Catherine Wagner
• Diane Wakoski
• Derek Walcott (born 1930)
• Anne Waldman
• Rosmarie Waldrop
• Keith Waldrop
• Alice Walker, (born 1944)
• Margaret Walker
• Mark Wallace
• Christopher Wallace-Crabbe
• Edmund Waller (1606-1687)
• Diane Ward
• Robert Penn Warren (1905-1898)
• Isaac Watts (1674-1748)
• John Webster (died 1630)
• Ian Wedde (born 1946)
• Gilbert West
• Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784)
• Hannah Weiner
• Marjorie Welish

Wh-Wy

• James M. Whitfield
• Walt Whitman (1819-1892)
• John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892)
• Richard Wilbur
• Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)
• John Wilkinson
• Hugo Williams
• Sherley Anne Williams
• William Carlos Williams (1883-1963)
• Elizabeth Willis
• John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester (1647-1680)
• Terence Winch
• George Wither (1588-1667)
• Charles Wolfe (1791-1823)
• Dorothy Wordsworth (1771-1855)
• William Wordsworth (1770-1850)
• Sir Henry Wotton (1568-1639)
• C. D. Wright
• Judith Wright
• Thomas Wyatt (1503-1542)

Y-Z

• William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)
• Edward Young, (1683-1765)
• Benjamin Zephaniah
• Louis Zukofsky (1904-1978)

See also: list of poets, list of English people, list of people by occupation, list of people by nationality, list of women poets, List of American poets, List of Australian poets, List of Irish poets, List of English poets, List of Canadian poets, List of Chicano poets