New England Poets

Both in its history and in modern times, New England has inspired poets with its picturesque landscape and its deep historical roots. This blog lists a few prominent poets from our region along with a link to one of their works in e-book format. This is by no means a complete list of what we have or of the poets of New England, but we hope this will inspire you to seek out more talent fostered by the six states we call home!

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A Selection of New England Poets

Elizabeth Bishop (1911-1979): Resident of Massachusetts, and was born in Worcester. Known for traveling and writing about real-life experiences.

Poems by Elizabeth Bishop
This is the definitive edition of the work of one of America's greatest poets, increasingly recognized as one of the greatest English-language poets of the 20th century. Bishop's poems combine humor and sadness, pain and acceptance, and observe nature and lives in perfect miniaturist close-up. The themes central to her poetry are geography and landscape—from New England, where she grew up, to Brazil and Florida, where she later lived—human connection with the natural world, questions of knowledge and perception, and the ability or inability of form to control chaos.

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886): Resident of Amherst, Massachusetts. Known for her slant rhyme poetry.

Poems: Series I-III by Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson was a reclusive poet, born to a family of good standing. She had fewer than a dozen poems published in her lifetime, though posthumously her sister found a cache of nearly eighteen hundred, all of which have now been published. Emily's style was broke with the common forms of poetry at the time, and foreshadowed what was to come. Her work was harshly criticized when first published, but she is now considered one of the American greats.

Donald Hall (1928-2018): Resident of New Hampshire. Known for writing about rural life.

The Selected Poems of Donald Hall by Donald Hall
Donald Hall is an American master, one of the nation's most beloved and accomplished poets. The Selected Poems of Donald Hall reflects the poet's handpicked, concise selection, showcasing work rich with humor and Eros and "a kind of simplicity that succeeds in engaging the reader in the first few lines" (Billy Collins).

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882): Lived in both Maine and Massachusetts. Known for writing poems about legends and mythology.

Favorite Poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was the most popular American poet of his time, and one of the most famous of all time. It has been said that his poems were once read in every literate home in America. A former teacher who fulfilled his dream to make a living as a poet, Longfellow taught at Bowdoin and Harvard, and is one of the few Americans to have a monument dedicated to his memory in Westminster Abbey.