Poetry.com

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Poetry.com is a web site run by The International Library of Poetry, also known as the International Society of Poets and the International Poetry Hall of Fame,^[1] a Maryland-based company considered by many to be a vanity publisher. Poetry.com coordinates monthly poetry contests and other services through its website, though the actual competitive nature of these contests is disputed. The site's primary purpose seemingly is the sale of poetry anthologies containing poems submitted by aspiring authors, and invitations to poetry conventions hosted by the group. The Better Business Bureau of Greater Maryland classifies the business as a vanity publisher, and notes that the quality of the poetry submitted to them "does not appear to be a significant consideration for selection for publication."^[2]

Contents 1 Contests and conventions 2 Criticism 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Contests and conventions

Poetry.com runs regular contests, and publishes books of finalists. In order to qualify for the contest, a poem must be written in 20 lines or less, with a maximum of 60 characters per line. The author must also enter his or her mailing address in order for the poem to be judged in the contest. There are no other guidelines and, apparently, no artistic or academic criteria against which the submitted poems are judged.^[2] Many claim that almost all poems submitted to the competitions are selected as semi-finalists (thus qualifying for publication).^[3] The published books are sold at $59.95 per copy, and (against standard industry practice for poetry competitions)^[4] winners do not receive free copies. Insertion of a biography along with a poem is possible, although an additional $25 fee is charged for this. These books are generally considered to be of low quality, are over 500 pages in length and include at least six poems per page.^[5] It is primarily for this reason that many authors consider Poetry.com (and similar groups) to be a vanity press.

The company also organizes regular conventions, at which they hand out awards for poems they have included in their books. In order to attend, the authors must pay an individual entrance fee of USD$595, which does not include travel, food, or lodging.

It should also be noted that they will often mail the authors of the poems accepted into the anthology-like books and tell them that they may for an additional cost record their poem onto a CD that will be sold along with the anthology. All who accept the offer will then be placed onto poor quality CD that is a continuous loop of poetry readings of all participants. The CD does not feature any set list, and will sometimes distort parts of words.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Criticism

There have been a number of complaints to organizations in the United States, such as the Better Business Bureau, by those who feel they have been misled by poetry.com. Some consider the International Library of Poetry and its activities to be a fraud and/or a scam; they cite the fact that poetry.com's promotional materials lead participating writers to believe that their poems were selected for the website's monthly contest because of their quality, when in fact virtually all submissions "advance" to the semi-finals. At that point, the would-be authors are encourged to spend money on copies of the compilation books and/or visits to the poetry conventions.

Additionally, although Poetry.com's website claims that these books are available at "major bookstores",^[6] attempts to purchase these books from major retailers such as Barnes and Noble or Amazon.com generally fail.

As of November 2006, there is no verifiable report of any successful legal action being taken against the company for alleged fraud. According to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America's Writer Beware web site, however, the Maryland Attorney General's Office is interested in hearing from writers who have had dealings with the International Library of Poetry.^[3]

[edit] References

1. ^ Writer Beware: Contests and Vanity Anthologies. Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Retrieved on April 15, 2007.
2. ^ ^{a b} Margo Stever. THE CONTESTER: Poetry.com Struggles for Legitimacy. Poets and Writers Magazine. Retrieved on April 15, 2007.
3. ^ ^{a b} Writer Beware: Warnings and Cautions for Writers. Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Retrieved on April 15, 2007.
4. ^ Writing and Publishing FAQ. Academy of American Poets. Retrieved on May 8, 2007.
5. ^ Theresa Coleman. Special Report: Big Money in Poetry. Wind Publications. Retrieved on April 15, 2007.
6. ^ Frequently Asked Questions. poetry.com. Retrieved on April 15, 2007.

[edit] External links

• Winning Writers hosts the Wergle Flomp Poetry Contest in which deliberately bad poems submitted to poetry.com and selected as semi-finalists may be entered for cash prizes.