Writing, Publishing, Recording and Performing Poems

By Bob Holman & Margery Snyder, About.com Guides to Poetry

Be a poet, make poetry: Here are tools for poets, our reviews of CDs and books on poetics, directories of poetry workshops and festivals, articles on submitting poems for publication, notes on entering poems in competition and poetry award scams, how to organize and promote poetry readings, features on multimedia (audio and video) poetry, interviews with small press publishers, and articles on performance poetry, spoken word, hip hop, open mikes, and poetry slam.

1. Poetry Contests and Awards
2. Poetry Publishers
3. Poetry Readings

4. Tools for Poets
5. Performance Poetry/Spoken Word
6. Multimedia Poetry

Poetry Contests and Awards

Our articles on submitting your work in competition and the dangers of poetry award scams, plus links to poetry contests for book and chapbook publication.

• A Word To the Wise: On Entering Your Poems in Competition, by Kurt Heintz
• You Do It Because You Love It: On the Idea of Competition, by S.A. Griffin
• Contest and Award Links
• The InterBoard Poetry Competition
• The Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize, by Francisco Aragon

Poetry Publishers

Our directories of poetry publishers and online poetry journals, interviews with small press publishers, articles on submitting your poems for print publication and putting together a book or chapbook manuscript.

• Poetry Publisher Links
• "Poetry you can actually read," interview with Bruce Isaacson of Zeitgeist Press
• "Poetry in a time of fire," PressPress by Chris Mansell
• How to get started submitting your poems for print publication
• How to put together a poetry manuscript for publication

Poetry Readings

Our reviews and on-scene reports from poetry readings, slam competitions, festivals and conferences, plus how-tos pertaining to putting on poetry readings and giving readings of your own work.

• Poets Gather for "Howl" Celebration: the 50th anniversary, by Teresa Conboy
• The Teenage (R)evolution of Poetry, The Poetic (R)evolution Of Teenagers
• Canada's Spoken Word Summit 2005
• The Barbaric Yawp: How to give a good reading of your poems, by Gary Mex Glazner

• How to get started hosting a poetry reading
• How to promote your poetry reading
• More festival, reading & performance reports

Tools for Poets

Shopping lists, links and reviews of poetry journals, dictionaries, books on poetics, writing manuals, workshops and other tools of the craft.

• A Poet's Ideal Library
• Orality & Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word
• Books on poetry, poetic traditions, writing, performance & poetics
• Online poetry tools and references
• Poetry journals and online lit zines

Performance Poetry/Spoken Word

Our archived articles on performance poetry, spoken word, hip hop, open mikes, and poetry slam.

• Open Mic: Definitions, Rules, Etiquette, Irony, by Bob Holman
• HipHop, Performance Poetry, Spoken Word, Slam: Definitions from a Teenager
• Poetry Slam, Spoken Word, Late 20th Century Poetry Renaissance: Article Index

Multimedia Poetry

Poetry in media beyond the printed page: poetry recordings, poetry video, poetry films, poetry podcasts.

• Why I Love Making, a meditation on media with poems, by Mike Hazard (Media Mike)
• Litstation: The Webradio Project, by Jim Finnegan
• How to Make a CD: A Poet’s Perspective, by Bob Holman
• Caught in the Act: The Making of a Live Poetry + Music CD, by Whitman McGowan
• Our Poetry CD Store