If you’re a poetry lover, then there’s a good chance you also like to write your own poems. Do you know what’s better than writing your own poems? Sharing your poetry with people who have the same passion. In this article, we will go through the 15 best websites you can use to write and share your own poetry online.
1. Hello Poetry
Founded in 2009, Hello Poetry is one of the most established websites online to share your poetry. There are more than a million people visiting the site every month, and many of those have posted their poems on it. It is a great poetry community built around sharing. There’s no hate, harassment, or spam on the website, as the people behind Hello Poetry have done a good job of maintaining the standards.
Hello Poetry intends to keep their community of writers relatively small, as they prefer quality to quantity. Thus, to become a member, you need to submit a poem of your own and let the moderators review it. It’s not easy, but that’s why it’s worth it.
2. All Poetry
The community of All Poetry was created in 1999, older than some of the readers out there. The community mission is to encourage poets of all levels, from amateurs to experts. Therefore, joining All Poetry is a bit easier than Hello Poetry, as anyone can share their poetry and comment on other people’s poems.
The website is not only a great place to post your poetry, but you can also get involved and connect with other poets. If you’re consistent, eventually you’ll build a fan base that interacts with you on a regular basis.
3. Medium
Medium is an open writing platform where you can write and promote your work to millions of people around the world. Founded in 2013 by Evan Williams, Twitter co-founder and former CEO, Medium brings a very clean experience to both writers and readers. Many consider the site to be the best place to publish words on the internet right now.
The only downside to Medium is that there’s not many poets on the platform. Thus, the “community” element is quite lacking if you decide to write poems on Medium. However, this could also be a great opportunity, since you’ll get to become one of the first poets to publish on the site.
4. Wattpad
Wattpad is an online social reading platform with more than 90 million readers and writers around the world. The platform was created with the aim of creating social communities around stories. It’s a great community that helps writers learn and grow their craft from constructive feedback and criticism.
In some senses, Wattpad acts as a gateway into the publishing realm, helping young authors to have some hands-on experience with digital writing. There’s a separate section on the site for poetry, so it can be a great option for poets to publish their poems. As a matter of fact, many already did.
5. Family Friend Poems
Family Friend Poems is another website that you can visit to share your touching poems. Founded in 2006, the site was created with the intention of being a showcase for the best poems about family and friends (hence the name). Over time, the community grew and now has thousands of poems published. The topics of the poems have expanded as well; now there are all kinds of poems about life, love, nature, spirituality, you name it.
However, that doesn’t mean the founders of Family Friend Poems forgo quality to get more quantity. Quite the opposite, they are very strict when it comes to maintaining their high standards, and that’s what makes them different. The editors only publish contemporary poems that are unique and after they know that people love the poem.
6. Poetry.com
Poetry.com is the leading poetry community on the web. Their mission is to become the largest online poetry community in the world. They have a huge collection of poems from established and amateur poets around the world, and you can contribute as well! You can just create an account, then start submitting your poems for free without any hidden fees.
Along with sharing your poems, you can also share your thoughts and feedback with other poets on Poetry.com. The people behind this website are committed to building the best infrastructure, tools, and services for poetry lovers worldwide.
7. Poem Hunter
Poem Hunter is another massive poetry library on the web, with thousands of poets and millions of poems in the archive. Of course, there are works of classical poets as well as amateur poets around the globe. Anyone can create an account and share their poems. You can also follow and message other poets here, as well as rate and comment on their work.
Poem Hunter is a non-profit project and gives its members a lot of freedom. As long as you don’t violate the rules of publication, such as posting sexually explicit, illegal, or harmful content, you can write all you like. If you have any requests or questions, you can easily contact their admins anytime. Overall, it’s a great community for poetry lovers.
8. Commaful
Commaful was founded by a small team based in California, with the mission to spread their love of reading, writing, and storytelling. On this site, you’ll find stories of all kinds: fanfiction, short stories, and of course, poetry. Commaful claimed to be the world’s largest multimedia fiction site, where you can enjoy stories that come with beautiful visuals as well.
Multimedia is probably what makes this community special. In a world of Tiktok and Instagram, the visual aspect makes stories relatable to a much wider audience. The community is full of creative people, who share their stories and reach millions of people. If that sounds like something you want to be a part of, be sure to check them out!
9. WritersCafe.org
As the name suggests, WritersCafe.org is an online community for writers of all kinds. You can easily create your profile here, share your writing, then get reviews and suggestions from other writers. It’s also a great place to connect with other writers, find a group, or participate in writing contests.
The website offers many tools for you to improve your writing. You will receive reviews and constructive criticism from readers on the site, and their graphs help you track how readers rate your writing. The best part about WritersCafe.org, as the founders stated, is the writers. They are what make a friendly community where writers can share ideas and encourage each other.
10. TikTok
Unless you don’t use a smartphone, you probably know about TikTok. Founded by the Chinese internet entrepreneur Zhang Yiming in 2016, TikTok quickly rose to become one of the biggest social media platforms in the world. Not many people think of TikTok as a place to share poetry, however.
The poetry hashtag on TikTok has billions of views, so in case you’re still wondering, there is a poetry community on TikTok. A giant one, too. How you interact with the poetry community on TikTok is going to be different from other platforms, though. You’ll most likely have to show your face and give a slam performance. It can be difficult if you’re not a camera person, which most poets are not. But if you can pull it off, I’m sure you’ll have a lot of fun on TikTok.
11. Instagram
Even though Instagram is most known as a place to share photos and videos, poetry definitely has its place on this platform. There are many poetry hashtags on Instagram, and the most popular ones have millions of views. That said, you’ll need a different approach on Instagram to share your poetry, though.
There are many poets who have created amazing work on Instagram. Since visual is a huge aspect of Instagram, you’ll need to get creative on how to present your poem on the platform. A quick search and you’ll find a lot of great examples, but if you’re still lost, our guide on typography in poetry is a good start.
12. Tumblr
Tumblr is an odd mix between a social media platform and a blog. They let you share anything: text, photos, quotes, links, etc. Obviously, you can share poetry on the site as well. Compared to other big social media platforms out there, Tumblr allows a lot more creativity.
You can join the platform, create and customize your own webpage to reflect your own personality. It’s super easy to interact with other users on Tumblr, comment on their posts, or share them on your own profile. It’s a perfect platform for poets to showcase their work in unique ways and connect with readers.
13. My poetic side
My poetic side is a pretty straightforward platform for poets. If you’re a poet or aspiring to be one, register your account and post your poetry here to share with others. Just like many poetry platforms above, you can make friends with other poets, leave your comments on their work, and save your favorite poems, authors, and posts.
The community is still relatively young, with less than one hundred thousand poems in the archive. But the site is definitely growing, and the members are very active, so be sure to check them out!
14. UpDivine
UpDivine is a new platform for poets, but definitely a noteworthy one. According to the founders, “UpDivine exists to discover and celebrate the best poetry and to place it before the largest possible audience”. This is another website where you can submit your poems, and they have a ranking system.
To rank higher on UpDivine and get more exposure to your work, your poems need to be original, creative, and visually attractive. There’s no barrier to publicity, but to have readers, your posts have to be good. And of course, they won’t allow posts with profanity, illegal or harmful content. There are helpful guides on the website to help you produce the best work possible. Overall, UpDivine is a very supportive platform for poets.
15. Your own website
The final option might surprise some of you, but it’s your own website. I truly believe that if you’re serious about being an author, this is a must-have. Just think about it, now matter how many followers you have on other websites, you don’t have that much control.
What if something happens and you’re not on that platform anymore, how are your followers going to find you? Yes, I do think that you should go on the websites that I suggested in this article in order to reach more people. In fact, go on as many as you can manage, because each platform is different and you won’t know where you would have the most success.
But if you’re serious, have your own website. Have a place that you have total control, a place where your readers/followers can always find the latest update about you.
Final thoughts
So there you have it, a list of 15 websites you can use to write and share your poetry on. I hope you’ve had some good suggestions to try, and don’t forget, the most important thing is to take action. So go out there, try out some of the sites that you like (or all of them), and let me know in the comment section how was your experience. Good luck!
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Thomas Dao is the guy who created Poem Home, a website where people can read about all things poetry related. When he’s not busy working on his next project, you can find him reading a good book or spending time with family and friends.
