This book details the lives and works of American poets. The most comprehensive reference work on American poetry ever assembled, this encyclopedia includes more than 900 alphabetically arranged entries by roughly 350 scholars. It considers the entire range of American poetry, providing an overview of major and minor authors, and combining biographical and critical entries with entries on a wide range of topics. Written for students and general readers, this set covers material from the colonial era to the present and gives special attention to contemporary poets and their works. Multicultural in scope, the encyclopedia provides entries on numerous poets from diverse ethnic backgrounds. It also devotes considerable attention to women poets and to poets who are beginning to establish their reputations. In addition, it relates American poetry to its social, historical, political, and cultural contexts. This is the most comprehensive reference set available on American poetry. It gives special attention to poets from diverse ethnic backgrounds. It profiles women poets and poets who are just beginning to establish their reputations and also offers numerous entries on genres, periods, theories, poetic terms and practices.