Poetry Websites for Poets

If you're a poet like myself, you're probably part of an online community that lets you connect with other poets. There are so many groups and pages on basic social media that offers writers the chance to share their work and participate in poetry challenges. What about outside of social media? Are there actually websites that poets alone can sign up for and focus on nothing but poetry? There certainly are! Below, I will share websites I recommend for poets and which sites I myself use.

1. Poetizer This is a social media platform for all poets. Besides sharing your writing with all to see, you can also create merchandise and books with cute illustrations. Their books are not offered for sale online. The book you create ships directly to your house. This is a great option if you want to gift something to a friend or put together a book of poems you'd like to create for an open mic reading. I am a part of this community and the famous Mark Anthony Poet also uses this platform. You can download the via Andriod or Apple play store.

2. All Poetry This websites allows poets to share their work and enter writing competitions. The creator makes this websites fun by rewarding profiles with awards for their involvement. For example, I entered a poetry contest recently and won the gold for my poem (which is their version of first place). I received five hundred points for winning. Each profile displays each poets "level". The higher your level of involvement, the more you can do on the website. It's really a fun place to practice your writings, and you can meet new poets along the way! You can also download their app if you'd like to get involved while away from home.

3. Wattpad This is a platform for writers in general who want to put together books for people to read for free. While this is not a site dedicated for poets alone, many people (including myself) use this platform to attract an audience. There are many free books to read if you enjoy reading (including poetry books!). I have one poetry book and novel I am working on in this platform. Once you have a few books written and a decent amount of followers, you can apply to become a paid writer or enter your completed work into competitions they offer to writers (which are many!). This is also good practice for anyone looking to self-publish a book. The formatting process gives you an idea of what you will be dealing with on other publishing platforms.

4. Hubpages Hear me out. While I know this is not a website directed towards poets alone, Hubpages has many wonderful poets who post poetry articles daily. What I like about this site is if you have a well put together article, websites Hubpages partner with will feature your articles on their websites (for poetry they use Letterpile). I personally love this community of writers. I've connected with some writers that are less known, and I feel one in particular is a better poet than today's modern-day poets you see in book stores.

5. Poetry This website is similar to Poetizer and All Poetry. Poets are able to share their work and enter writing competitions. The website is basic and does not seem to have an app, but the community is large. If you are just looking to share your work from a personal computer, this is the place for you.

6. Writers Cafe I am not a part of this community, but I'm thinking about signing up. This looks to be a kicked over gem for writers. Besides posting your work, you can befriend writers, get reviews for you work, join writing groups, enter contests, enter courses, and help spread knowledge about self-publishing, literary agents, and literary magazines. Even though I am already a part of a lot of writing communities, this place looks too good to pass up. My first impression is that more serious writers are a part of this community (poets and non poets).

By: Brittany Benko