1538 in poetry

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

Great Britain

 * Anonymous, The Court of Venus (see also The Courte of Venus 1563, a revised edition)
 * Sir David Lindsay, The Complaynte and Testament of a Popinjay [sic]

Other languages

 * Francesco Berni (primarily) and other poets, Rime Burlesche, Venice, published posthumously, Italy
 * Vittoria Colonna, an edition of her amatory and elegiac poems, published in Parma in 1538; a third edition, containing sixteen of her Rime Spirituali, in which religious themes are treated in Italian, was published at Florence soon afterwards; Italy
 * Clément Marot Œuvres de Clément Marot published in Lyon; France

Births
Death years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:
 * June 30 – Bonaventura Vulcanius (died 1614), Dutch humanist scholar and poet
 * December 10 – Giovanni Battista Guarini (died 1612), Italian poet, dramatist, and diplomat
 * Also:
 * Alexander Arbuthnot (died 1583), Scottish ecclesiastic poet and clergyman whose extant poetry consists of three poems: The Praises of Wemen (4 lines), On Luve (10 lines), and The Miseries of a Pure [poor] Scholar (189 lines)
 * Sir Thomas Craig (died 1608), Scottish jurist and poet
 * Amadis Jamyn (died 1593), French
 * Jacques Grévin (died 1570), French playwright, poet and physician
 * Pablo de Céspedes (died 1608), Spanish painter, poet and architect
 * Shah Hussain (died 1599), Punjabi Sufi poet and Sufi saint; born in Lahore (modern-day Pakistan); considered a pioneer of the kafi form of Punjabi poetry

Deaths
Birth years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:
 * date not known – Pierre Gringore (born 1475), French poet and playwright