Often, we know that we need a poem so we find that specific poem and locate it immediately in the library. This is such an easy process today compared to even 15 years ago.
Sometimes, we may find something surprising or interesting just by browsing for it. When we go to a store to buy clothes, we don't always know exactly what we want so we look around and we try things on. The result of this process not only gives us a wardrobe of clothes to wear, but it leads us in directions that we may not always plan on exploring. Try this with the library's book collection. Find an author or a type of text and browse that area of the library where those books are located. For example, if you have read a short story or a novel by Henry James and you like his work, browse the books of short stories in the PS 2112 call number range in the library. By browsing, you may find something perfect that you never would have seen if you if you looked only at a specific book.
Once you find an a book by an author or a specific text in the library using the library catalog, browse that area of the shelves and see other related texts that might be useful. Literary works are organized by geographic location (PR is mostly British Literature while PS is American literature), and then further organized by time period and author. Use the map on the "finding literary texts by author" tab to help guide you as you browse the library's fourth floor.
Some books include a variety of important or innovative literary works by a number of different authors. This may be another way of "browsing" instead of limiting your research focus. Here are a few examples...
The Oxford Book of American Short Stories (PS 648 S5 O94 2013)
The New Anthology of American Poetry (PS 586 N49 2003)
The Art of the Story: An International Anthology of Contemporary Short Stories (PN 6120.2 A74 1999)
Angles of Ascent: A Norton Anthology of African-American Poetry (PS 508 N3 A86 2013)
You can find other examples of collected poems and stories by searching the library catalog using the simple search "poetry anthology" or "story anthology."
The Sun is a contemporary literary magazine publishing poetry, stories, and essays. While the library does not have access to the print version of this resource, you can access texts from this publication online at the The Sun archives page.