Web Smarts

August 17, 1999

www.poetry.com

WHAT: Sponsored by the International Library of Poetry (ILP), this site claims to have 1.3 million poets featured online.

BEST POINTS: This site is big on poetry contests and "how to" information about getting poetry published. It has a daily contest where $100 is awarded to the best piece submitted. There is also a "Poetry Hall of Fame," where poets can post their work "for all the world to enjoy." This feature can take about six weeks to activate, but, nonetheless, provides a nice service for amateur poets to put their poetry on the Net. One of the better features is the "Ultimate Poetry Links." It is essentially what you might find using a search engine, but more clearly laid out by different categories all related to poetry, such as "Cool Sites," "Poets and People," "Workshops," and "Electronic & Print Publications."

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Poetry.com is a page of "contemporary," mostly amateur, poets. Which isn't to say the poetry isn't worthy, but you won't find any big names like Rumi or Rimbaud, Neruda or Angelou. Also, the "Chat" link on this page is not set up, but ILP claims they are working on it. Remember: The Web is loaded with pages of poetry. You can spend hours roaming through the millions of sites from Haiku to Hispanic poetry, from poetry on plumbing to poetry on drumming. If you're looking for a specific poet, you might just use a search engine.