Poetry Database publishes the full text only of poems that are in the public domain in the United States. This page explains what that means, how we check it, and what you are free to do with the texts and the writing on this site.
Last updated: September 26, 2026
What Public Domain Means
A work is in the public domain when its copyright has expired, or when it was never protected by copyright in the first place. Anyone can then copy, print, share and adapt it without asking permission or paying a fee. Most of the great poems of the past are in the public domain, which is why we can publish them in full.
Our Rule: Published in 1930 or Earlier
Poetry Database is hosted in the United States and follows US copyright law. Under that law, works first published in the United States in 1930 or earlier are now in the public domain; each January 1, another year’s worth of works joins them. As a working rule, we publish a poem in full only if it was first published in 1930 or earlier, or if it is otherwise clearly free of copyright in the United States.
For translated poems, the translation has its own copyright, separate from the original. We therefore use translations that are themselves in the public domain, such as older English versions of Homer, Sappho, Virgil, Dante and the Chinese and Japanese poets, and we name the translator on the page.
If You Live Outside the United States
Copyright terms differ from country to country. In Canada, the United Kingdom, the European Union and many other places, copyright usually lasts for the author’s life plus 70 years, so a poem that is free to use in the United States may still be protected where you live, especially if its author died within the last 70 years or so. Before reusing a text commercially outside the United States, please check the rules in your own country.
Which Text We Use
Many classic poems exist in more than one version: the poet revised them, early printings contain errors, or editors changed spelling and punctuation. We use a text from a reliable early or standard edition and check it line by line before publishing, so that stanzas are complete and wording matches what the poet wrote. Where versions differ in ways that matter, the page says which one we follow.
Our Own Writing Is Copyrighted
The poems are public domain, but everything we write about them is not. The summaries, analyses, background sections, glossaries, poet biographies and page introductions on Poetry Database are original work and are protected by copyright. The same applies to the design of the site and the way the collection is selected and arranged.
What You Can Do With the Content
You are free to copy, print and share the poem texts themselves, for any purpose, including classroom handouts, readings, performances and your own publications. No credit is required, although a link back is always appreciated.
You are welcome to quote short passages from our analyses and biographies in essays, lessons and reviews, as long as you credit Poetry Database and link to the page you quoted. Please do not republish our summaries, analyses or biographies in full, on another website or in print, without written permission.
Poems Still in Copyright
Some well-known poems, including many from the middle of the twentieth century, are still protected by copyright. We do not publish the full text of these poems. Where we write about one, we quote only short passages as needed for commentary and criticism, and we point readers to an authorized source for the complete poem.
Corrections and Removal Requests
We take copyright seriously and check each poem’s status before publishing it, but mistakes can happen. If you hold the rights to a text on this site and believe it is not in the public domain, or if you have spotted an error in a poem’s text or publication date, please email hello [at] poetrydatabase.com with the page address and the details. We will review every request promptly and remove or correct material where needed.