Even from ancient times when there was no written word, poetry was an important part of our lives. Poetry was used during those days as a method of carrying on legacies and history, spoken from one generation to the next. Although not in the form that we are used to today, it was highly important, and in many cultures, elders would recite history in the form of poetry. Works like Beowulf and Everyman offer some insight into life in medieval times as we can read the works and get a better understanding of what life must have been like.

In the time when Greek and Roman society was at its high point, poetry began taking the form of high art. When only the most educated would enjoy reading, writing and listening to poetry, the form of writing began to become more of an art than a method of recording history. Works like The Iliad and The Odyssey were written during this time.

Poetry as an art form became even more glamorized over the centuries, culminating in the Victorian and Edwardian periods of history. During the nineteenth century, poetry was only read by the elite and only written by a select few. Great poets respected and read even today began to emerge. Artists like Percy Shelley, Lord Byron, and John Keats were just a few of the well known poets who wrote during the heyday of the written verse. Perhaps the most well known writers, William Shakespeare, even wrote a number of sonnets (which are poems written in a specific meter, with a specific number of lines and rhyme pattern)

In the twentieth century, poetry began to take a new form. No longer was the poem limited to rhyming verse with specific meter; free form poetry began to captivate the public. Poets like Robert Frost immortalized poetry of the twentieth century. A group of poets called Confessionalists wrote during the early to middle 1900's, and they wrote with angst and emotion never before seen in the genre.

Although it seems that the art of poetry is declining at the present, it will not disappear completely. Poetry has always been a part of our lives. From a simple verse in a greeting card to the great epic The Odyssey, poetry is a mainstay in our society.

Librarian of Congress Appoints W.S. Merwin Poet Laureate
Librarian of Congress James H. Billington today announced the appointment of W.S. Merwin as the Library’s 17th Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry for 2010-2011.

ShopPoetry.com: An Online Community and Blog about Poetry
ShopPoetry.com has introduced a new online community available to members as well as posting pages about beat poetry and famous poets.

For Four Days, the Nation's Finest Poets Come Together as Greenway Arts Alliance Presents: inkSlam: The Los Angeles Poetry Festival '09
Four days of featured poets and performers from Los Angeles' diverse communities. Daily workshops and nightly Slam competitions between 16 of the nation's elite Slam Teams culminating in a Final Slam November 7 in the 1,500 seat Fairfax Auditorium for $5,000 in cash prizes and the title of inkSlam Champion.