Poet a Day Blog

Haiku.com is more than a site to read haiku. It’s a combination wiki, blog and shoutwall all in one. The unique poetry website calls itself a “human powered directory created by people throughout the world”, and claim that it provides patterns of relevancy that search engines and algorithms cannot achieve. HAIKU is also a place where you can discover over 1,000 directory entries about haiku, more than 2,500 entries on poetry and more, more, more.

Some of the best fun on Haiku though is where Haiku meets Web 2.0. You’ll find a page devoted to TWAIKU - Haiku on Twitter, which lists Twitter haiku feeds. You can discover Tweeps like ghost_of_basho, who writes things like …. well, like Basho.. a small sample:

on the midnight watch | dolphins glow in the bow wave | moonlight on taut sails

and

silent predawn sky | blue rise and trees breathe the sun | waiting for the storm

You can join HAIKU on Facebook, post Facebook and Google haiku on one of the Haiku walls or publish your own Personal Haiku page, as well as help contribute and edit any of the other directory pages on the site. It’s definitely worth checking out - but be sure you have an hour or so to waste. It’s really really easy to get lost in there.

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One of the quirkier poetry projects I’ve run across, In Cinq invites readers to snap a self-portrait, write an identity cinquain and post it for the world to see. The in cinqs are fun to read, and contemplating the differences between the images presented in illustration and in words can be engrossing. Here’s the guidelines from In Cinq:

You’ve snapped the self portraits. Now snap yourself a self poem. Reveal yourself in a 9-word cinquain.

1st line: one word that represents you

2nd line: two words that describe you

3rd line: three words that show you

4th line: two words that express you

5th line: the essence of you, in one word

Also share your:

Gender, age, location.
Examples: “guy, 28, third floor corner cubicle”; “girl, 19, Boston.”

Link to a photo or illustration.
No standard yearbook shots, please (browse cinqpics for inspiration).
Your pict will be sized to 306 pix-width, and may be cropped (this is
rare).

Website or blog url. Optional, if you want your self portrait linked back to you.

Go on then. Show the world what you look like in cinq.

Check it out and leave your own in cinq.

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It occurs to me that in trying to be ‘fair’ and ethical by not promoting sites with which I am affiliated, I’m not giving props to one of the best online poetry sites it has ever been my pleasure to find. GotPoetry.com is one of the most comprehensive poetry resource sites on the net. The site is simply ginormous - but still manages to feel cozy and homelike, thanks to the awesome involvement level of various members and staff. My own favorite part of the site is the Workshop Forums, where you can post your works in progress for suggestions, encouragement and critique. The forums are lively and active, both in the poetry sections and in the off-topic sections. Free membership gets you access to the forums - paid members (and membership is a measly $25 a year) get to create their own forums on the subjects of their choosing and run them as they see fit.

In addition to the Workshops, there is a Finished Poems section where anyone can post their work (paid members bypass the poem approval process and get to see their poems posted immediately) to be commented upon and rated. The Finished Poems section includes pages where you can read the Most Popular Poems, the Top Rated Poems, check out the Highest Ranking Poets or Read a Random Poem. You can enter a Page Slam with your finished poems, or start one of your own.

In addition, there are regularly Featured Columns by poets, slammers, and other commenters, Poet Blogs and home pages for all members (there is FREE membership that entitles you to almost full access to the site), games to play, Encyclopedia, a Rhyming Dictionary, a Book Creator and a Chat Room that doesn’t see near enough use. Oh - and there is News, which includes updates from multiple poetry communities around the country, listings of local events and feature readings, a poetry map of poetry venues around the country - really, there’s a laundry list of valuable resources that never seems to end.

Site manager and owner John Powers is a daily presence on the site, and adding/refining features constantly to keep up with what the readers want. Long-time members frequent the forums and the finished poems sections to keep conversations moving and engaging. There’s a place for everyone at GotPoetry, from the hobbyist to the professional, and for every type of poetry. It is, in short, one of the most open and welcoming active sites on the Web, and I apologize for taking so long to spotlight it here.

One year and one week ago to the day, D. James and Sebastien Doubonsky (I’m sure I’ve misspelled the name), two poets on opposite sides of the Atlantic, joined forces to start Disposable Poetry - poems written on the fly. The plan? To post a poem a day, every day, in the hopes of being read by someone other than themselves. The result? A year’s worth of poems that are often short and pithy, frequently insightful and always fun to read. When all else fails, they write about writing a poem for the day. Check them out at Disposable Poetry

on those days when you just want a few bites of something that’s not too serious. Be forewarned, though - sometimes that little bite gives you something to chew on all day long.

Poets for Human Rights is a new social networking site for - who’d a thunk it? - poets who want to advance the causes of human rights throughout the world with their words. The words of the founders say it best:

Our goal is to improve conditions through words of hope and freedom. For Human Rights to be observed, poets must shout them from the rooftops. Founded by human rights poets and activists, Larry Jaffe and Stazja McFadyen.

Brand new and already nearly 175 poets strong, this is a place where you can connect with other poets who believe that words can make a difference - who believe that it is their duty to shout from the rooftops when they see rights being abused, when they see wrongs that need addressing, when they see a world that needs hope and cleansing fire. I believe that poetry is all about making connections - and Poets for Human Rights is a great way to make connections with other poets who believe in the power of the word.

UPDATE And I’m member #175 - how cool is that?

Looking for something a little different? The Magical Blog is a blog of poetry built and maintained by its readers. The simple, barebones design is oddly appealing with muted colors and nothing at all to distract from the words. The poetry on the blog is all written and posted by registered users - and registration is open to anyone. Looking for somewhere different to post your poetry? Take a peek at this experimental user-written and maintained blog site. You can just sign up and start posting.