Roughly how many books of poetry do you have?

[Ultra]

I know I should probably go over to Goodreads to do something like this, but I'm too lazy right now to catalog my books. Instead, I just counted them up.

Right now, I've got 331 on the the shelves, not including anthologies and chapbooks that don't have spines. I feel like this collection has a lot of holes in it, but it's at least a start.

Odd fact: I have more books by William Matthews (12) than any of the other authors, but W.S. Merwin takes up more room on the shelves.

The following books serve not only as books but also as bookends: Emily Dickinson's Complete Poems, The Complete Poems of D.H. Lawrence, and Machado: Border of a Dream.

How many books of poems do you have? Any curious facts about them you can share?

[Medievalist]

Lord. I have no idea.

I've hundreds. Mostly pre-1832, otherwise known as The Good Stuff :D

[Pat~]

I don't know right off, but just guessing I'd say you have me beat. I have so many books it'd take all day to count them, but proportionately I don't have that many poetry books. I only got interested in it a few years ago.
I do favor the older poets, though...in fact my Norton anthology is perhaps the only book I have with some 'contemporary' poetry. Almost all my poetry books are by religious or mystical poets (Donne, Herbert, Blake, Rossetti, etc.).

ETA: The Good Stuff, as Medievalist so wisely calls it. :)

[Medievalist]

Pat it was the Norton Anthology Vol. One, the one with the green binding from the seventies, that made me fall in love with early English lit, and helped influence me to change from a music history major to an English major.

[scarletpeaches]

I'm going to come round to your house and have myself a good big read, Medievalist. :D

[Pat~]

Pat it was the Norton Anthology Vol. One, the one with the green binding from the seventies, that made me fall in love with early English lit, and helped influence me to change from a music history major to an English major.

Mine's a lowly second-hand paperback, with selections from the 13th-20th centuries. I love it!

[Medievalist]

Mine's a lowly second-hand paperback, with selections from the 13th-20th centuries. I love it!

Is it sorta thin? If so, it's a subsection of volume I, which is English lit from 800 (Beowulf) through 1660 (Milton).

But yes, it's lovely stuff. Though I admit I do like a number of later poets, even some (gasp!) contemporary ones.

[Pat~]

It's about 1-1/4" thick and it's called the 'shorter 4th edition'--actually it also starts with Beowulf, and goes up through several 20th century poets.

And I like a few 20th c. ones, too. :)

[ddgryphon]

Probably more than I think, probably less than I should.

I would estimate around 30-50 more if you include Shakespeare collections (plays) and Lorca plays in translation (Like Blood Wedding) and Eliot's Murder in the Cathedral.