Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature (for instance, Irish or France).

• May – "La nuit de la poésie", a poetry reading in Montreal bringing together poets from French Canada to recite before an audience of more than 2,000 in the Théâtre du Gesu, lasting until 7 a.m.^[1]
• Release of Tomfoolery, an animated film directed by Joy Batchelor and John Halas, based on the nonsense verse of Edward Lear (especially "The Courtship of the Yonghy-Bonghy-Bo") and Lewis Carroll
• First issue of Tapia (later named the Trinidad & Tobago Review) published^[2]
• In the United Kingdom, "My Enemies Have Sweet Voices", a poem by Pete Morgan, is set to music by Al Stewart and included in his "Zero She Flies" album this year.^[3]

Listed by nation where the work was first published and again by the poet's native land, if different; substantially revised works listed separately:

• Robert Adamson Canticles on the Skin
• B. Elliott and A. Mitchell, Bards in the Wilderness: Australian Colonial Poetry to 1920, anthology^[4]
• John Tranter, Parallax, South Head Press

• Earle Birney, Rag & Bone Shop. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart).^[5]
• Joan Finnigan, It Was Warm and Sunny When We Set Out
• Gail Fox, Dangerous Season
• R.A.D. Ford, The Solitary City, his poems and translations from Russian and Portuguese
• John Glassco, Memoirs of Montparnasse
• Michael Ondaatje:
  • The Collected Works of Billy the Kid: Left-handed Poems (adapted by Ondaatje into a play of the same name in 1973), Toronto: Anansi^[6] ISBN 0-88784-018-3 ; New York: Berkeley, 1975
  • Leonard Cohen (literary criticism), Toronto: McClelland & Stewart^[6]
• Joe Rosenblatt, Bumblebee Dithyramb.^[7]

• Robert Evans, editor, Song to a Seagull, collected Canadian songs and poems
• John Glassco, editor, The Poetry of French Canada in Translation, translated by English-speaking poets, including E. J. Pratt, Al Purdy, Leonard Cohen; and poetic lyrics from recent songs
• Raymond Souster and Douglas Lochhead, eds. New Poems of the Seventies. Ottawa: Oberon Press.^[8]
• Raymond Souster and Douglas Lochhead, eds. Made in Canada. Ottawa: Oberon Press, 1970.^[8]
• Raymond Souster and Richard Woollatt, eds. Generation Now. Longman Canada.^[8]

• Shiv Kumar, Articulate Silences ( Poetry in English ), Calcutta: Writers Workshop, India .^[9]
• Keki N. Daruwalla, Under Orion ( Poetry in English ), Calcutta: Writers Workshop, India .^[10] also New Delhi: Harper Collins Publishers India Pvt Ltd.;^[11]
• Sukanta Chaudhuri, The Glass King and Other Poems ( Poetry in English ), Calcutta: Writers Workshop, India .^[10]
• Gauri Deshpande, Lost Love ( Poetry in English ),^[10]
• Suniti Namjoshi, More Poems( Poetry in English ),^[12]
• Roshen Alkazi, Seventeen More Poems ( Poetry in English ), Calcutta: Writers Workshop, India . (see also Seventeen Poems 1965)^[10]
• Margaret Chatterjee, Towards the Sun ( Poetry in English ), Calcutta: Writers Workshop, India .^[10]
• Mary Ann Das Gupta, The Peacock Smiles ( Poetry in English ), Calcutta: Writers Workshop, India .^[10]
• N. Prasad, Iconography of Time, Calcutta: Writers Workshop, India .^[13]
• Monika Varma, Green Leaves & Gold ( Poetry in English ), Calcutta: Writers Workshop, India .^[14]

• Leland Bardwell, The Mad Cyclist
• Seamus Heaney, Northern Ireland poet published in the United Kingdom:
  • Night Drive, Gilbertson
  • A Boy Driving His Father to Confession, Sceptre Press
• Derek Mahon, Beyond Howth Head,^[15] Northern Ireland poet published in the United Kingdom

• James K. Baxter, Jerusalem Sonnets
• Bill Manhire, Malady
• F. McKay, New Zealand Poetry, scholarship^[16]
• Vincent O'Sullivan, editor, An Anthology of Twentieth Century New Zealand Verse
• J. E. Weir, The Poetry of James K. Baxter, a critical study

• Dannie Abse, Selected Poems
• Margaret Atwood, The Journals of Susanna Moodie
• George Barker, At Thurgarton Church
• R. H. Bowden, Poems from Italy
• Frederick Broadie, My Findings
• Michael Dennis Browne, The Wife of Winter
• Charles Causley, Figgie Hobbin
• Donald Davie, Six Epistles to Eva Hesse
• C. Day-Lewis, The Whispering Roots^[15]
• Patric Dickinson, More Than Time^[15]
• Clifford Dyment, Collected Poems
• D.J. Enright, Selected Poems
• W.S. Graham, Malcolm Mooney's Land
• Ian Hamilton, The Visit
• Tony Harrison, The Loiners^[15]
• Seamus Heaney, Northern Ireland poet published in the United Kingdom:
  • Night Drive, Gilbertson
  • A Boy Driving His Father to Confession, Sceptre Press
• Glyn Hughes, Neighbours
• Ted Hughes, Crow
• C. Day-Lewis, The Whispering Roots
• George MacBeth, The Burning Cone^[15]
• Norman MacCaig, A Man in My Position
• Hugh MacDiarmid, Selected Poems
• Sorley MacLean, George Campbell Hay, William Neill and Stuart MacGregor, Four Points of a Saltire (includes some poems in Scottish Gaelic)
• Derek Mahon, Beyond Howth Head^[15] Northern Ireland poet published in the United Kingdom
• Walter de la Mare, The Complete Poems of Walter de la Mare
• Stuart Montgomery, Circe
• Brian Patten, The Homecoming^[15]
• Christopher Pilling, Snakes and Girls, won the new Poets Award sponsored by Leeds university and the Yorkshire Post
• Peter Porter, The Last of England^[15]
• Burns Singer, Collected Poems (posthumous)
• Iain Crichton Smith, Selected Poems
• Charles Tomlinson, The Way of a World
• John Wain, Letters to Five Artists
• Ted Walker, The Night Bathers
• Hugo Williams, Sugar Daddy^[15]
• Mary Wilson (wife of Prime Minister Harold Wilson), Selected Poems, "easily the 'best selling'" poetry book of the year.^[17]
• Clive Young, Ashdragons, Flowerdeath and Sun

• Alan Bold, editor, The Penguin Book of Socialist Verse
• Peter Robins, editor, Doves for the Seventies
• Edward Lucie-Smith, editor, British Poetry since 1945, Penguin (2nd edition 1985)
• F.E.S. Finn, editor, Poems of the Sixties
• Howard Sergeant, editor, Poetry of the 1940s

• A.R. Ammons, Uplands
• John Ashbery, The Double Dream of Spring
• Paul Blackburn:
  • The Assassination of President McKinley
  • Three Dreams and an Old Poem
  • Gin: Four Journal Pieces
• Louise Bogan, A Poet's Alphabet
• Philip Booth, Margins
• Stanley Burnshaw, The Seamless Web
• Gwendolyn Brooks, Family Pictures
• Raymond Carver, Winter Insomnia
• J. P. Clark, Casualties: Poems 1966–68, Nigerian poet published in the United States
• Clark Coolidge, Space, Harper & Row
• L. Sprague de Camp, Demons and Dinosaurs
• James Dickey, The Eye-Beaters, Blood, Victory, Madness, Buckhead and Mercy
• Ed Dorn:
  • Gunslinger I & II, Fulcrum Press^[18]
  • Songs Set Two: a Short Count, Frontier Press,^[18] ISBN 978-0-686-05052-0
• Michael S. Harper, Dear John, Dear Coultrane,^[19] nominated for the National Book Award^[19]
• John Hollander, Images of Voice, criticism
• David Ignatow, Poems: 1934-1969
• LeRoi Jones, It's Nation Time
• Shirley Kaufman, the Floor Keeps Turning
• Denise Levertov, Relearning the Alphabet
• William Meredith, Earth Walk
• W. S. Merwin:
  • The Carrier of Ladders, New York: Atheneum^[20] (awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1971)
  • Signs, with graphics by A. D. Moore; Iowa City, Iowa: Stone Wall Press^[20]
• Lorine Niedecker, My Life by Water: Collected Poems, 1936-1968 (Fulcrum Press)
• Michael Ondaatje, The Collected Works of Billy the Kid
• Ezra Pound's Drafts and Fragments of Cantos CX to CXVII
• Mark Strand, Darker, Canadian native living in and published in the United States
• May Swenson, Iconographs
• Mona Van Duyn, To See, To Take
• Reed Whittemore, Fifty Poems Fifty
• William Carlos Williams, Imaginations (posthumous)

• J. P. Clark, Casualties: Poems 1966–68, Nigerian poet published in the United States

Listed by nation where the work was first published and again by the poet's native land, if different; substantially revised works listed separately:

• Nizar Qabbani, Syrian:
  • Savage Poems
  • Book of Love
  • 100 Love Letters

• Thorkild Bjørnvig, a book of "collected or selected works"^[21]
• Regin Dahl, Ærinde uden betydning
• Ivan Malinovski, a book of "collected or selected works"^[21]
• Jess Ørnsbo, a book of "collected or selected works"^[21]
• Klaus Rifbjerg, Mytologi, Denmark^[22]

• Gaston Miron, L'Homme Rapaillé
• Yves Préfontaine:
  • Débâcle
  • À l'Orée des travaux
• Fernand Dumont, Parler de septembre
• Raoul Duguay, Manifeste de l'Infonie
• Nicole Brossard, Suite logique
• Louis-Philippe Hébert, Les Mangeurs de terre

• M. Béalu, La Nuit nous garde
• Alain Bosquet and Pierre Seghers, Poèmes de l'année
• L. Brauquier, Feux d'épaves
• Mohammed Dib, Formulaires^[23]
• Emily Dickinson, Poésies complètes, translated from the original English by Guy Jean Forgue; Aubier-Flammarion
• Pierre Emmanuel, pen name of Noël Mathieu, Jacob^[23]
• Andre Frenaud, Depuis toujours déja^[24]
• Eugene Guilleveic, Paroi^[24]
• Michel Leiris, Mots sans mémoire
• C. Le Quintrec, La Marche des arbres
• M. Manoll, Incarnada
• J.L. Moreau, Sous le masque des mots
• J. Tardieu, Poèmes à jouer
• Vandercammen, Horizon de la vigie

• Paul Celan, Lightduress (Lichtzwang, Romanian, writing in German)

• M. Temkin, Shirai Yerushalayim
• A. Broides, Tahana ve-Derech
• Z. Gilead, Or Hozer
• Dan Pagis, Gilgul ("Transformations")^[25]
• I. Shalev, Naar Shav Min ha-Tzava
• Abba Kovner, Hupahba-Midbar
• T. Carmi, Davar Ahed
• Avot Yeshurun, Ze Shaim ha-Sefere

• Carmelo Bene, L'orecchio mancante
• Dino Buzzati, Poema a fumetti
• Alfredo Giuliani, Il tautofono
• Sandro Penna, Tutte le poesie
• Nelo Risi, Di certe cose
• Maria Luisa Spaziani, L'occhio del ciclone
• Giovanni Testori, Erodiade

• Rolf Jacobsen, Headlines
• Stein Mehren, Aurora
• Ragnvald Skrede, Lauvfall
• Simen Skjønsberg, Flyttedag
• Tarjei Vesaas, Liv ved straumen (posthumous)

• Augusto de Campos, Equivocábulos, collection of "semantic-visual texts, photo-poems, and 'Viagem via linguagem', a collapsible environment-poem resembling an architect's model"^[26]
• Affonso Avila, Código de Minas
• Silviano Santiago, Salto

• Andrei Voznesenski, The Shadow of Sound
• Y. Smelyakov, December
• Boris Slutski, Tales for Today
• Evgeni Vinokurov, Shows
• Leonid Martynov, Peoples' Names
• Leonid Vasilyev, Ognevistsa
• Evgeni Yevtushenko, a collection, including some new poems and omitting some "controversial earlier ones"^[27]

• Jorge Guillén, Obra poética
• José Caballero Bonald, Vivar para contarlo ("Live to Tell It"), including "Zauberlehrling"

• Washington Delgado, Un mundo dividado
• C.G. Belli, Sextinas
• J.G. Rose, Informe al rey
• M. Martos, Cuaderno de quejas y contentamientos
• C. Bustamante, El nombre de las cosas

• Julio Cortázar, Último round, miscellany of stories, poems, essays and collage games (Argentina)
• Alberto Girri, Antología temática (Argentina)
• Alberto Vanasco, Canto rodado (Argentina)
• I. López Vallecillo, Puro asombro (El Salvador)
• Ernesto Cardenal, Salmos (Nicaragua)
• R. Fernández Retamar, Que veremos arder (Cuba)
• Nicanor Parra, Obra gruesa (Chile)
• Enrique Lihn, La musiquilla de las pobres esferas (Chile)

• Werner Aspenström, Inre ("Inner")
• Gören Sonnevi, Det Måste gå ("It Must Be Possible")
• Maja Ekelöf, Rapport från en skurhink ("Report from a Scrub Bucket")
• Henry Olsson, Vinlövsranka och hagtornskrans, a study of the poet Gustaf Fröding (died 1911)

• Abraham Sutzkever, Ripened Faces
• Yaakov Zvi Shargel, Sunny Doorsteps
• Aryeh Shamri, Song in the Barn
• David Rodin, Young and Younger, for young readers
• Leizer Eichenrand, Thirst for Duration

• Joseph Rubeinstein, Exodus from Europe, third volume of a narrative trilogy
• Wolf Pasmanik, My Poems
• Kadya Molodovsky, Marzipans, for children and adults
• Moshe Shifris, Under One Roof

• Melekh Ravitch, Post Scriptus (Canada)
• Jacob Sternberg, Poem and Ballad on the Carpathians (France)
• Izzy Kharik, With Body and Life (Russia)

• Luo Fu, River Without Banks, Chinese (Taiwan)^[28]
• Rituraj, Kitna Thora Waqt; India, Hindi-language^[29]
• Nirmalendu Goon, Huliya; Pakistan (Now Bangladesh), Bengali-language

• See 1970 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.

• Cholmondeley Award: Kathleen Raine, Douglas Livingstone, Edward Brathwaite
• Eric Gregory Award: Helen Frye, Paul Mills, John Mole, Brian Morse, Alan Perry, Richard Tibbitts
• Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry: Roy Fuller

• Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress (later the post would be called "Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress"): William Stafford appointed this year.
• Pulitzer Prize for Poetry: Richard Howard, Untitled Subjects
• National Book Award for Poetry: Elizabeth Bishop, The Complete Poems
• Fellowship of the Academy of American Poets: Howard Nemerov

• Prix Max Jacob: Daniel Boulanger for Tchadiennes and Retouches
• French Academy's Grand Prix de Poèsie: Jean Follain^[23]

• Lenin Prize: Nikolai Tikhonov

• February 27 – Rachel Mann, English trans woman poet and Anglican priest
• September 10 – Phaswane Mpe (died 2004), South African novelist and poet
• September 16 – Nick Sagan, American poet, novelist and screenwriter
• September 24 – Gemma Moraleja Paz, Spanish poet and novelist
• Also:
  • Malika Booker, British poet
  • Victoria Chang, American poet^[30]
  • Tim Kendall, English poet, editor, critic and academic
  • David Roderick, American poet
  • Faruk Šehić, Bosnian poet and fiction writer
  • Brenda Shaughnessy, Japanese-born American poet

Birth years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:

• January 10 – Charles Olson, 59 (born 1910), American poet, of cancer
• January 15 – Leah Goldberg, 58 (born 1911), Israeli poet who wrote in Hebrew
• January 24 – Caresse Crosby, also known as "Mary Phelps Jacob", 78 (born 1891), American poet and New York socialite, who, in 1927, founded Black Sun Press with her husband Harry Crosby (also a poet) and who in 1910^[31] invented the first modern bra to receive a patent and gain wide acceptance
• February 4 – Louise Bogan, 72 (born 1897), American poet, United States Poet Laureate
• February 19 – Edsel Ford, 41 (born 1928), American poet
• March 26 – Rosa Zagnoni Marinoni, 82 (born 1888), American poet
• March 28 – Nathan Alterman, 59 (born 1910), Israeli poet, journalist and translator
• March 29 – Vera Brittain, 76 (born 1893) English novelist and poet
• about April 20 – Paul Celan, 49 (born 1920), Romanian-born poet who wrote in German and became a French citizen, suicide
• May 12 – Nelly Sachs, 78 (born 1891), German-Swedish poet and dramatist who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1966
• June 2 – Giuseppe Ungaretti, 82 (born 1888), Italian modernist poet, journalist, essayist, critic and academic
• June 18 – N. P. van Wyk Louw, 64 (born 1906), South African Afrikaans poet and critic
• September 23 – John Gawsworth, 58 (born 1912), English poet, anthologist, Fitzrovian and King Juan I of Redonda
• September 28 – John Dos Passos, 74 (born 1896), American novelist, poet and artist
• November 25 – Yukio Mishima 三島 由紀夫, pen name of Kimitake Hiraoka 平岡 公威, 45 (born 1925), Japanese author, poet and playwright, by public ritual suicide
• December 11 – Arthur Nortje, 27 (born 1942), South African poet, of a drug overdose
• December 31 – Lorine Niedecker, 67 (born 1903), American Objectivist poet

• 1971 Britannica Book of the Year (covering events of 1970), "Literature" article and "Obituaries of 1970" article; source of many of the books in the "Works published" list and some deaths.
• Lal, P., Modern Indian Poetry in English: An Anthology & a Credo, Calcutta: Writers Workshop, second edition, 1971 (however, on page 597 an "editor's note" states contents "on the following pages are a supplement to the first edition" and is dated "1972"); hereafter: "P. Lal (1971)"

• Poetry
• List of poetry awards
• List of years in poetry