List of English-language poets
Poets who wrote or write much of their poetry in the English language.
A-B
- Harold Acton (1904-1994)
- Fleur Adcock (born 1934)
- Gilbert Adair
- Joseph Addison (1672-1719)
- Mark Akenside (1721-1770)
- Bruce Andrews
- Maya Angelou (born 1928)
- Rae Armantrout
- Simon Armitage (born 1963)
- Matthew Arnold (1822-1888)
- John Ashbery (born 1927)
- Thomas Ashe (1836-1889)
- Margaret Atwood
- W. H. Auden (1907-1973)
- Pam Ayres
- Sir Robert Ayton (1570-1638)
- Joanna Baillie (1762-1851)
- Amiri Baraka (born 1934)
- Anna Laetitia Barbauld (1743-1825)
- John Barbour (died 1395)
- Richard Barnefield (1574-1627)
- Djuna Barnes
- William Barnes (1801-1886)
- James K. Baxter (1926-1972)
- Francis Beaumont (1586-1616)
- Aphra Behn (1640-1689)
- Gwendolyn B. Bennett
- Charles Bernstein
- John Berryman
- John Betjeman (1906-1984)
- Elizabeth Bishop (1911-1979)
- William Blake (1757-1827)
- Edmund Blunden
- Wilfrid Scawen Blunt (1840-1922)
- Eavan Boland (born 1944)
- Arna Wendell Bontemps
- Marx Alexander Boyd (1563-1601)
- Anne Bradstreet
- 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)
- William Browne (1588-1643)
- Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861)
- Robert Browning (1812-1889)
- William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878)
- Basil Bunting (1900–1985)
- Jim Burns
- Robert Burns (1759-1796)
- William S. Burroughs (1914-1997)
- George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (1788-1824)
C-D
- 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
- George Chapman (1560-1634)
- Geoffrey Chaucer (ca.1343-1400)
- Sandra Cisneros
- John Clare (1793-1864)
- Austin Clarke (1986-1974)
- Michelle Cliff
- Lucille Clifton
- Arthur Hugh Clough (1819-1861)
- Bob Cobbing
- Brian Coffey (1905-1995)
- 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)
- Wendy Cope
- Corinna
- James D. Corrothers
- Jayne Cortez
- Abraham Cowley (1618-1667)
- William Cowper (1731-1800)
- George Crabbe (1754-1832)
- Hart Crane, (1899-1932)
- Richard Crashaw (1613-1649)
- Andrew Crozier
- Countee Cullen, (1903-1946)
- E. E. Cummings (1894-1962)
- Allan Cunningham (1784-1842)
- Allen Curnow (1911-2001)
- Samuel Daniel (1562-1619)
- Tina Darragh
- William Davenant (1606-1668)
- John Davies (1569-1626)
- Thomas Dekker (1575-1641)
- Denis Devlin (1908-1959)
- James Dickey
- Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)
- Diane Di Prima
- John Donne (1572-1631)
- Maura Dooley
- Keith Douglas (1920-1944)
- Rita Dove
- Ernest Dowson (1867-1900)
- Michael Drayton (1563-1631)
- William Drummond of Hawthornden (1585-1649)
- W.E.B. Du Bois
- Carol Ann Duffy
- Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906)
- William Dunbar (1465-1520)
- Douglas Dunn (born 1942)
- John Dryden (1631-1700)
- Carol Ann Duffy (born 1955)
- John Dyer
E-G
- Richard Eberhart (born 1904)
- T. S. Eliot (1888-1965)
- Ebenezer Elliott (1781-1849)
- Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
- William Empson (1906-1984)
- Sir George Etherege (1635-1691)
- Mari Evans
- Sir Richard Fanshawe (1608-1666)
- Elaine Feinstein
- James Fenton (born 1949)
- Jayne Fenton Keane
- 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)
- Samuel Garth
- George Gascoigne (1525-1577)
- David Gascoyne
- John Gay (1685-1732)
- Dame Mary Gilmour
- Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997)
- Nikki Giovanni, (born 1943)
- Denis Glover (1912-1980)
- Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774)
- W. S. Graham
- Robert Graves (1895-1985)
- Thomas Gray (1716-1771)
- Robert Greene (1560-1592)
- Fulk Greville, Lord Brooke (1554-1628)
- Bill Griffiths
- Nicholas Grimald (1519-1562)
- Angelina Weld Grimke
- Charlotte Forten Grimke
- Edgar Guest, (born 1881)
- Thom Gunn (born 1929)
- Ivor Gurney (1890-1937)
- Brion Gysin (1916-1986)
H-K
- William Habington (1605-1654)
- Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)
- Frances E. W. Harper
- Michael S. Harper
- Carla Harryman
- Tony Harrison (born 1937)
- Lee Harwood
- Alamgir Hashmi
- Stephen Hawes (died 1523)
- Robert Hayden
- Seamus Heaney (born 1939)
- John Hegley
- Lyn Hejinian
- Felicia Hemans (1793-1835)
- Essex Hemphill
- William Ernest Henley (1849-1903)
- George Herbert (1593-1632)
- Robert Herrick (1591-1674)
- Thomas Heywood (157?-1650)
- Geoffrey Hill (born 1932)
- James Hogg (1770-1835)
- 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)
- 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)
- Donald Justice
- Bob Kaufman
- Yusef Komunyakaa, (born 1948)
- John Keats (1795-1821)
- Jack Kerouac (1922-1969)
- Sidney Keyes (1922-1943)
- Henry King (1592-1669)
- William King (1663-1712)
- John Kinsella
- Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)
- Etheridge Knight
- Joanne Kyger
L-M
- Charles Lamb (1775-1834)
- Letitia Elizabeth Landon
- Walter Savage Landor (1775-1864)
- Philip Larkin (1922-1985)
- D.H. Lawrence (1885-1930)
- Evelyn Lau
- Edward Lear (1812-1888)
- Francis Ledwidge, (1887-1917)
- Philip Levine
- Larry Levis
- Alun Lewis
- Thomas Lodge (1556-1625)
- Christopher Logue
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)
- Tim Longville
- 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)
- Hugh MacDiarmid (1892-1978)
- Nathaniel Mackey
- Louis MacNeice (1907-1963)
- Haki R. Madhubuti
- Clarence Major
- David Mallet
- Bill Mannhire (born 1946)
- Robert Mannyng of Brunne (1269-1340)
- Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593)
- Andrew Marvell (1621-1678)
- John Masefield, (1878-1967)
- Colleen McElroy
- Roger McGough, (born 1937)
- Thomas McGreevy (1893-1967)
- Claude McKay
- Archibald MacLeish (1892-1982)
- Barry MacSweeney
- 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)
- John Milton (1608-1674)
- Adrian Mitchell
- 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)
- Anthony Munday (1553-1633)
- Les Murray (born 1938)
N-P
- Ogden Nash (1902-1971)
- Thomas Nashe (1567-1601)
- Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin
- Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill
- Lorine Niedecker (1903[?]-1970)
- Jeff Nuttall
- Alice Moore Dunbar Nelson
- Howard Nemerov
- 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)
- Ruth Padel
- Nettie Palmer
- Dorothy Parker, (1893-1967)
- Thomas Parnell (1670-1718)
- Thomas Love Peacock (1785-1866)
- 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)
- Matthew Prior (1664-1721)
- J. H. Prynne
Q-R
- Francis Quarles (1592-1644)
- 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
- Henry Reed (1914-1986)
- Ishmael Reed
- Charles Reznikoff (1894-1976)
- Adrienne Rich
- Lola Ridge (1873-1941)
- Denise Riley
- John Riley
- Peter Riley
- 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
- Blanaid Salkeld (1880-1959)
- Sonia Sanchez
- Carl Sandburg (1878-1967)
- Siegfried Sassoon (1886-1967)
- Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832)
- Sir Charles Sedley (1639-1701)
- Robert 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)
- Colin Simms
- Iain Sinclair
- Edith Sitwell (1887-1964)
- John Skelton (1460-1529)
- Myra Sklarew
- Charlotte Smith (1749-1806)
- 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)
- A. B. Spellman
- Anne Spencer
- Stephen Spender
- Edmund Spenser (1552-1599)
- William Stafford
- C.K. Stead (born 1932)
- Gertrude Stein
- Gerald Stern
- Wallace Stevens (1880-1955)
- Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)
- Mark Strand
- Sir John Suckling (1609-1642)
- Keston Sutherland
- May Swenson
- Algernon Swinburne (1837-1909)
- Joshua Sylvester (1563-1618)
T-Z
- Allen Tate (1899-1979)
- Edward Taylor (1645-1729)
- Sara Teasdale
- Alfred Tennyson, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892)
- Lucy Terry
- Ernest Thayer, (1863-1940)
- Dylan Thomas (1914-1953)
- Edward Thomas (1878-1917)
- R.S. Thomas (1913-2000)
- Francis Thompson (1859-1907)
- James Thomson (1834-1882)
- Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
- Thomas Tickell
- Melvin B. Tolson
- Jean Toomer
- Thomas Traherne
- Quincy Troupe
- Gael Turnbull
- Hone Tuwhare (born 1922)
- Henry Vaughan (1621-1695)
- Janine Pommy Vega
- Diane Wakoski
- Derek Walcott (born 1930)
- Anne Waldman
- Rosmarie Waldrop
- Keith Waldrop
- Alice Walker, (born 1944)
- Margaret Walker
- Christopher Wallace-Crabbe
- Edmund Waller (1606-1687)
- 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
- James M. Whitfield
- Walt Whitman (1819-1892)
- John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892)
- Richard Wilbur
- Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)
- John Wilkinson
- Sherley Anne Williams
- William Carlos Williams (1883-1963)
- John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester (1647-1680)
- George Wither (1588-1667)
- Charles Wolfe (1791-1823)
- Dorothy Wordsworth (1771-1855)
- William Wordsworth (1770-1850)
- Sir Henry Wotton (1568-1639)
- Judith Wright
- Thomas Wyatt (1503-1542)
- 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 Irish poets, List of English poets, List of Canadian poets