So why do we need yet another poetry comm? or: 'Poetree': not just a bad pun

[jjhunter]

I love poetry. I love its variety, with poets spanning from contemporary to classic, languages from Medieval Icelandic to Jamaican Patois, themes and types and tastes as diverse as the number of people choosing them. I love that there are three times as many poems by Margaret Atwood posted there so far as by William Shakespeare. I love the quality of the selections, the care with which people choose them. It is, in my biased opinion, the best of its kind I've ever found.


So why do we need another poetry comm?


There's one type of poetry (besides song lyrics) poetry explicitly doesn't take, and that's the poetry written by the poster. Less explicitly, there is a bias toward poetry that has been published on paper as opposed to posted online or shared through other more unorthodox channels.

Let's celebrate the poets here on Dreamwidth, on Livejournal, on blogs and in bathrooms and out and about in the world. Let's celebrate and share poetry that hasn't been published commercially, but maybe one day will be, or maybe never will be. I believe we can do so respectfully and ethically (see comm guidelines about licenses and permissions). To encourage posting of poems by a variety of poets, I ask that poets wait to share their own poetry until a week when they are named Poetry Host. Posters may post others' poetry at any time.


Signup post for being Poetry Host

(n.b. that the commitment is three, not five, poems, and that not all poems must be by same author; also, you do not have to be a poet to be Poetry Host)


Anonymous paper sculpture of a 'poetree' left at the Scottish Poetry Library.