Getting Started

Joining

What is Poetry.com?

Poetry.com's mission statement is to become the largest online poetry community in the world.

Why should I become a member?

Poetry.com provides the opportunity for all writers and poet appreciators to contribute work and share thoughts and feedback with others. We are committed to creating the best infrastructure, tools & services for poets worldwide whilst creating the largest online poetry community in the world.

Every time you make a submission or contribution to Poetry.com or any of our sister sites, you are a partner in making the site a high-quality, informative and creative place to be.

Does it cost to join?

We are proud to offer Poetry.com as a FREE and inclusive platform for poetry lovers and poets worldwide as a place to write and appreciate all kinds of poetry.

Are there any hidden fees?

None whatsoever!

How do I sign up?

Click right here to go directly to our Sign Up page: https://www.poetry.com/signup.php

Once you sign up, you will receive a confirmation email approving your application, along with instructions on how to log in and access your account.

What if I don't receive the confirmation email?

Check your junk and spam box and mark the email as "not spam". If you still don't see it please contact us and we’ll help you out.


Submitting Poems

How do I add a poem?

First, make sure you're logged in! Then, at the top of the page you will see a tab with your username -- this leads you to your control center. From here you can add a new poem, see all your submitted poems and edit any of your existing work.

I want inspiration / I want to read something new. Where can I find stuff?

The best place is on our homepage. You can find our enormous collection of famous and classic poets there, newly added poems, as well as our promoted poems. If you like surprises try hitting our random poem button.

I love a poem I just read. How can I share my opinion?

You can vote on every poem by awarding it up to 5 stars. 5 being excellent.

You can also share your response by commenting underneath each poem. The member who submitted the poem and any other commenters will be notified of your feedback or praise.

Finally, you can choose to send a fellow poet or contributor a private message - just click on the name of the member who submitted the poem to reach their profile page, then click contact and write away!

How can I get more views on my poem?

Once you've posted some of your own poetry, take some time to explore our site and read others' work. You can look at recently added poems and check out the promoted poems. You can leave a comment if you like something and give it a vote. Once you become an active part of the community it becomes easier to get noticed, generate more views and receive feedback.

What is a Promoted Poem?

You can pay as little as $10 to promote a poem. This guarantees you a minimum of 100 views to your poem and visibility across our website as part of a rotation.

Why should I pay to promote my work?

  • The number of poems submitted per day is high. Promoting your poem is a way to ensure your work gets seen.

  • It's a great way to introduce yourself to the community.

  • You are supporting our endeavors on the site.

  • You're keeping poetry alive and visible!

  • You can show off to your friends and family!

How do I promote my poem?

There are two ways to promote your poem:

  • When filling in the ‘Add a New Poem’ form, you have the option to apply for it to be promoted when it is submitted.

  • From your user profile page there is a button ‘Promote’ where you can select which poem or poems you would like to promote from all your submitted entries.


Accounts

I cannot access my account. Help!

Ensure you are using the right username and password you signed up with.

I can't remember my password.

If you don't remember your password or you think you might not be typing it correctly, try visiting the forgot password page and enter the email address you signed up with. You'll be emailed a new password. Once you're logged in, we recommend changing your password to something more memorable for your convenience.

Is a biography and photo required?

They're optional, but recommended. People want to read about the genius behind your words! Plus it's another way to increase views and readers can get to know you, rather than an anonymous username.

How can I delete my Poetry.com account?

Make sure you're logged in to the account you'd like to delete, go to the user profile page and click the "Edit My Details" button. On the My Details page click on the "Close account" button. A notification will appear to confirm you intend to delete the account. Use with caution and ensure you have any work you want to keep, saved somewhere safe.


Looking for poems submitted before 2020?

When did you become the new Poetry.com owners?

The STANDS4 network acquired the domain name Poetry.com at the start of 2021.

Who is STANDS4?

STANDS4 - the company that now stands behind Poetry.com has an excellent reputation and 20 years of experience providing quality platforms for its users to enjoy worldwide. Online since 2001, we are a leading digital media provider of free online reference, education & creative resources — serving millions of unique visitors worldwide with genuine content and community tools through our globally collaborative network of premium brands.

What are your plans for Poetry.com?

As the new owners of Poetry.com, we aim to be a warm, welcoming community for poets worldwide - experienced veterans and newcomers alike. Our site is a creative platform for the writer community to gain inspiration, publish their work online, and gain exposure, feedback and votes from the community.

We are constantly building the features on offer and have lots of good clean fun in the works - including the much anticipated Poetry Contests and more...

What happened to my poems from the old site?

Unfortunately, we do not hold responsibility for content from previous versions of the site.

Having said this, we are aware of how precious your work is! We did our very best to retrieve whatever we could from public internet archives. All we are in possession of currently, is available on our site.

Do you have access to my poems from previous versions of the site?

As the new owners of Poetry.com, we acquired the domain name, but couldn't obtain the accounts, poetry or publications that were associated with the old Poetry.com website.

What's the best chance of finding my old work?

We have created a system on the new site for users to locate and claim poems we have been fortunate enough to retrieve from internet records. Here's how to get the best chance of locating your work on our site, if we managed to save it:

  1. Use our search box to look for your poetry, either by poet name or poem title. If you think you may have used a slightly different name please try searching using all variations.

  2. You can also explore our poems by searching alphabetically by name of poem, or poet.

  3. You can claim ownership for the work by clicking on the 'Claim this poet' link that appears on the unclaimed poet page.

Why wasn't my search successful?

Some material dates further than records go, other work remains inaccessible for reasons unknown.

You may still have a chance to find what you're looking for by going through pages on Archive.org at https://web.archive.org/web/*/poetry.com - it is a public service website, unrelated to us and you may just get lucky if you search around the dates you posted...

My poem was in a published book/anthology. How can I get a copy?

We do not own any books published before our acquisition in 2021. Your best chance to find a copy is to search online second hand book stores such as ebay or amazon.


I'm still lost! What do I do?

You may contact us on any matter here: https://www.poetry.com/contact.php

Alternatively, You can get in touch with the community by posting an inquiry on our 'Help Me Out!' page here: https://www.poetry.com/help-me-out.php

Discuss this Poetry FAQ write up with the community:

26 Comments
  • Trevdowell
    I just submitted my poem for the monthly poetry contest and I can see in the confirmation email that the format has been altered, as well as on my page I see the format is again different from what I submitted and different from that of the confirmation email. How can I edit my submission so that the poem is as it should be? 
    LikeReply12 months ago
  • tabbycat_b
    tabbycat_b
    Where are the settings located? I want to opt out of emails.
    LikeReply1 year ago
    • acronimous
      Go to your profile page, click on Edit Details, and the settings you're looking for are under Manage Notifications.
      LikeReply1 year ago
  • babbina
    How do you delete a poem you’ve submitted for a contest a year ago?
    LikeReply1 year ago
    • mark.e.s
      I would contact support.
      LikeReply11 months ago
  • BellaTheMilkCarton
    where is the illustration box located?
    LikeReply1 year ago
  • Mommabee
    I submitted many poems to you and I just wanted to show my kids. And you’re saying there’s no record of me. Thanks a lot. No one should trust you.
    LikeReply1 year ago
    • jodi_b
      how long ago did you submit? Their FAQ says they recently acquired the poetry.com (2021) and don't have possession or rights to works before that time. Which also impacts my older publication. Thankfully I bought the book it was published in. 
      LikeReply10 months ago
  • siokhian
    How do I obtain AIDA's review for each poem I submit? Do I have to pay or earn credits? What is the criteria?
    LikeReply1 year ago
  • flourish_v
    What's the easiest way of finding a genre of poems? I'm trying to find poems about marriage and love.
    LikeReply1 year ago
  • teresac.65530
    My poems were published in 1994 In the good Ole days Teresa Cook
    LikeReply1 year ago
  • jameswrightesq
    If you submitted poems on this site anonymously and then subsequently made an account, how can you link those poems to your account?
    LikeReply1 year ago
  • thedriftinglight
    I think this is a new website since 2021. None of our older stuff will be here. I think this will help a lot of people looking for the old poetry.com stuff. The books that were published have been digitized and you can search them on here: https://archive.org/search?query=international+library+of+poetry
    LikeReply1 year ago
  • Kimi919
    Is it possible to find poems submitted in 2003 and 2005?
    LikeReply 11 year ago
  • Westley
    Where can I find the area to request help in funding my poem? I am new and entered in the contest but there is no option anywhere to request help like it said(5 entries will receive funding if they dont have the means. And yes I already became a member. Any help would be greatly appreciated! I have clicked on every possible subject at the bottom n cant find anything. And tried contacting them. 
    LikeReply2 years ago
  • musclegirl
    How do I vote on others poems?
    LikeReply2 years ago
  • cmgilbert
    If a poem is submitted, is that considered published online and therefore would not be a candidate for most poem entries and calls for submissions with other sites and journals?
    LikeReply2 years ago
    • shanamullin
      Can I submit the same poem for October if I didn’t win in September?
      LikeReply1 year ago
  • TheLanes3202
    Hi! I submitted a poem and paid the entry fee for the October 2023 contest. When will my poem show up on the site? So far, I’m still the only one who can see it. It’s titled “Never, Not Yet”. Thank you! 
    LikeReply2 years ago
    • Soulwriter
      hey! it should show up as soon as the payment has been processed
      LikeReply2 years ago
  • JokerGem
    As of August 11th the poem totals for almost all members on the 'meet the members page' has been off - by a lot in some cases. There is obviously a glitch of some kind on that page...
    LikeReply2 years ago
    • JokerGem
      spoke too soon ..bravo, l now see that newly unveiling the 'votes' and 'comments' sections was in the works! Nice new feature.
      LikeReply 12 years ago
    • Soulwriter
      well spotted - a loyal member :)
      LikeReply 12 years ago
  • jackl.73005
    What happened to my poems
    LikeReply2 years ago
  • adamroycarrigan
    I'm trying to update info and it doesn't appear to be working. I used a random photo for my bio, now I want to use one that is more appropriate. However, no matter what I do, the original photo still remains. 
    LikeReply2 years ago
  • Jonassaga
    I wish I could submit a picture to every poem as they always come paired.
    LikeReply 12 years ago
  • adamroycarrigan
    I'm trying to reply to a comment on my profile page, but my comment says it's pending for review and then the entire comment disappears. I used one swear word, thought that was the issue and changed it in another reply and the same thing happened. Now it won't let me post anything. I would very much like to post comments. I'm keeping the language clean! 
    LikeReply 12 years ago
  • chriso.83531
    Does Poetry.com still hold the catalogues of 2001? If yes, how can I find the poem submitted in 2001.
    LikeReply2 years ago
  • JokerGem
    Real quick, something l've been wondering about that it seems may have been overlooked: once a poem has been submitted, if you edit the title or content in any way, it seems the site deletes the poem's genre selections and does not allow them to be restored or denoted again going forward—which is discouraging...
    Could there be a way to fix, or get around this circumstance? 
    LikeReply 12 years ago
  • matthewm.41686
    I don't see a "contact" button on for private messages, even when I'm on the homepage of the person who I'd like to contact.
    LikeReply3 years ago
  • maxk.42145
    please help. i want to get my poem (on a different account) taken down. I deleted my account, but it's still up. Can i please get it taken down?
    LikeReply3 years ago
  • Mz_Mocha
    Can you advise me on sharing work that has been published in other ways or on other sites. I know certain writings have the potential to be punished on multiple platforms. How does that work here with previously published work or work that may be used on a different platform. I'd I share anything submitted, I would use this profile but what is the process or expectations of using this profile on other sites? 
    LikeReply3 years ago
    • acronimous
      Poetry.com doesn't require exclusiveness, you may publish your work here even if it was already published on other platforms -- looking forward to reading your stuff :-)
      LikeReply3 years ago
    • Vixility
      Does this include poetry submissions to the contests as well?
      LikeReply2 years ago
    • acronimous
      Yes.
      LikeReply2 years ago
    • JokerGem
      How about excluding or deleting poems illicitly posted on some of the classic’s pages that clearly do not belong there and are garbaging things up?? I would be delighted if the instances in which I am referring could be removed or redirected from where they have been placed as veritable pranks --and l can direct you to a few, that I am aware of, if there is any doubting or suspicion to the contrary... 
      LikeReply2 years ago
  • mikeybwood81
    michael woodyer poem is not showing up, can i search by my name? Jasonborne@mail.com it is a new email, youve been around for 23 years+.
    LikeReply3 years ago

Citation

Use the citation below to add this poetry types essay to your bibliography:

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"Frequently Asked Questions" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LTD, 2026. Web. 19 Jan. 2026. <https://www.poetry.comhttps://www.poetry.com/faq.php>.

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Quiz

Are you a poetry master?

»
"Now I become myself. It's taken time, many years and places."
A May Sarton
B Robert Frost
C Rita Dove
D W.H. Auden