New Century Poetics and Poets Online

Today is the New Century Poetics: A Poetry Colloquium at Centenary College of New Jersey.

I am presenting in a session on "Resources and Publication Options" along with Peter Murphy, poetry organizer and poet; Melissa Hotchkiss, co-editor of Barrow Street, teacher, poet; Suzanne Parker, Brookdale Community College teacher & poet; Mark Tursi, editor of Double Room, publisher of Apostrophe Books.

My own focus today is on publishing online and online poetry resources. The OnlineColleges.net website listed 100 poetry links, but that's a bit much. Here are a few in different categories - not meant be be exhaustive.

POETS ONLINE also has a frequently updated links page with links on classic and contemporary poetry, publishers, poets, workshops, readings, festivals, and books for poets.

There is certainly a lot of poetry to read online. Here are a few sites that offer primarily classic poems:

• Bartleby one of the largest free collections on the web.
• Poem Hunter poetry search engine
  
• Famous Poets and Poems
  
• Net Poets
  
• The Poetry Archive recorded poetry.

and some that offer more contemporary poetry links.

• Favorite Poem Project: Started by former US Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky
• Poetry Daily new poem each day.
• Poets.org from the Academy of American Poets - good search tools
  
• Contemporary American Poetry Archive archive for out-of-print volumes of poetry

There are sites on writing poetry, but I find this to be the most disappointing category. That's not surprising because it's tough enough helping people write poetry in face-to-face sessions. Also, amny writing workshops that are online have a fee. Of course, I must recommend our site which always has a current writing prompt, and one other interesting site - Poetic Asides.

You might actually find more writing help by connecting to a group or network online.

• Writers’ Network new and experienced writers
• YouTube: plenty of established and very unestablished poets have their readings posted online.
  
• Writing and Editing Network international network of college professors helping writers edit their work.
• Lowell (MA) Poetry Network there's probably a group near you, though most online groups have no borders
• Creative Writing and poetry groups are always popping up on Ning and other social networks that offer groups free space
• Poetry Dances @ Ning
• Poetry Critique @ Ning
  
• North Carolina Writers’ Network (even if you don’t live in NC)

Fast tips and links can come through your Twitter feeds if you follow:

• Coffee Table Poet: Daily links and writing tips.
• Poetry The Internet Writing Journal.
• PENAmerican: An association of authors working to advance literature, defend free expression, and foster international literary fellowship.
• Poetry Magazine: Follow the Tweets of this great publication.
• Poets & Writers: A source of information, support, and guidance for creative writers and poets.

And there are lots of poets talking about poetry, posting poems or just sharing their writing life through BLOGS.

• Mark Doty's blog is an easy one to recommend today. I'm guessing that most poets blogging are in the "less-published" category, because it's a great way to get your work to an audience. Mark's blog is interesting to me because it's not really about poetry (though poetry comes in and out of it).
  
Chicks Dig Poetry - like many poet-bloggers, Sandra talks about her own work, the work of others and poetry events.
• Poetry Instigator - prompts and a forum with a connection to George Mason University.,/li.
  
• One Poet’s Notes by Edward Byrne
• NJ poet, Diane Lockward, writes Blogalicious which has poetry and lots of useful links - like this post about publishers that accept online submissions.
  
• Dana Gioia has a site that is more site and less blog
• Laura Shovan's blog, Author Amok, focuses on poetry for children and includes many prompts.
  
• The Best American Poetry David Lehman and crew from the book series
  

It is pretty much required that if you publish poetry, you have a poetry site. Some of these are print and some are online-only publications.

• Poetry Foundation from the publishers of Poetry magazine
• Zyzzyva West Coast writing
• web del sol collects a number of publications
  
• Spindle: Spindle is an online literary magazine with a twist, featuring creative non-fiction, poetry and short fiction by, for and about New Yorkers.
• Fourteen Hills: The San Francisco State University literary review.

One of the great things about the Net is that the entry is so gentle that small groups and niche audiences can have a great space online. One example is Disability Writes which is an online forum for disabled writers.