Do you want to be a poet who is recognized throughout the world? Do you want to see your work published in every bookshop across the globe? Poetry.com isn't going to make these dreams come true. A vanity publisher, Poetry.com, take the little guy and try to bolster their ego by offering printing deals and slaps on the back to writers from all over the world. The problem with their way of working is that it actually effectively encourages writers to believe that their work is good quality and merits the attention it will lavish on it.
*Joining the site.
*Getting your poetry published.
*Layout of the site.
*Competitions.
*The hard sell.
*The gathering of great poets.
*The truth.
Joining the site.
It is easy for anyone to join the site. Choose a user name, fill out an online page and suddenly you are a poet. It doesn't matter whether you have talent or not. Poetry.com don't care. From the back streets of Paris to the high rise apartment in New York, you have the possibility of joining millions of other hopeful poets in the quest for fame.
Getting your poetry published.
What many people believe is that publication online is sufficient to make them famous. In reality unless there is some kind of measure of quality, most work written to Internet sites of this nature is wasted. Sure, you can build up a showcase of your work to share with friends, and the pages look pretty, though the reality is that real paper publishing pays more and offers better feedback. There are also better websites to write poetry to, which do give comparison and give the writer some kind of feedback on the standard of their work.
Layout of the site.
The site is hard to navigate since being taken over by Lulu. It gives many pop ups which get past your pop up blocker and is difficult to navigate. Writers are encouraged to give authorization for the publication of their work. The layout isn't as good as it used to be. The presentation of poems is also less friendly than it was. Although you get to keep your copyright, what use is that if a publisher at a later date wants exclusive rights to your work. Since you cannot remove it from Poetry.com, it serves little purpose to write poems to their site, other than for vanity reasons.
The site has contests, features different areas but overall is relatively poor. The search is basic, and brings up work by theme or by writer's name.
Competitions.
The competitions on the site look promising. However, the chances of winning against millions of other poets are slim. Being realistic, it would be better to enter smaller contests with a more exclusive membership if you want your work to be judged fairly.
Instead of a team of professionals, your items are judged by your peers which leaves the system open to criticism, since there are more bad writers than good ones.
The hard sell.
If you ever received one of those emails to tell you that your work is wonderful and has been chosen to be printed in a publication, beware. One of the things they fail to tell you is that between those glossy covers on the book, the poems chosen may be totally random. If you buy the book, be aware that your friends will not just judge your work by what you wrote. They will also have an anthology of poetry which may turn out to be total tosh, making you look rather foolish.
The gathering of great poets.
At least Poetry.com have the sense to acclaim classical poets on the site. These are not Internet created poets. These are the real thing, and include works such as that written by Tennyson, Shakespeare and Longfellow. At least you are in good company, and if nothing else, you can browse the works of masters to fire up your inspiration.
The truth.
Truth to tell, you can have your work published on many websites. Others may be more honest in their appraisal of your work, though if you have a real skill with the written word, do try professional publishers as they do seek work of quality. The site was well intended, though with the population for ever increasing, it has turned into somewhat of a farce. Some offerings are extremely questionable as poetry goes, and if you wish to showcase your work among the writings of witless people with time on their hands, perhaps the site will suit you. If you wish to be a poet, however, perhaps this isn't the best stopping off point.