As I stated in my post from yesterday, every recent initiative I've been involved in is focused on raising the profiles of new and emerging voices in poetry. That's why back in April 2023, Charlene Phare and I created the Facebook group Invisible Poets. You may be just starting out, or you may have been writing poetry for years, and only now beginning to emerge, but Invisible Poets is for you.
The name Invisible Poets is of course an ironic statement... there is nothing worse for a poet than to be ignored. We write because there is something on our heart we need to say. And we do so in a way that invests our creativity and emotions. That's what makes poetry so great. So Invisible Poets is just the opposite. It is designed to make poets and their art very visible indeed. We even feature the poetry of members in a live performance once every week on a Friday, at 1900 UK time. More on this in my next post!
In the few short weeks it has existed, Invisible Poets has quickly grown in size to almost 4,000 members. Many more (almost 20,000 non-members in the last 28 days) have visited to read poems, comment, like and watch videos. It's a rapidly growing and increasingly popular public platform that showcases poetry of all genres, from experienced and novice poets, and everything in between! Many people have remarked how wonderfully friendly and supported Invisible Poets is, and there's a reason for that! We have a zero tolerance policy for those who are rude or abusive, or those who post plagiarised (copied) poetry from others without acknowledging them, or scam and spam posts, or illegal and highly offensive content... and in many cases we remove those individuals from the group.
Our growing team of moderators are there to do just that - keep members and their poetry safe from harm. So if you haven't already visited (or better yet, joined) the group - click on this link to Invisible Poets and see what we are all about. See you in the group!
Hi Steve! I really enjoyed this blog and I pray that many more will not only post their poems here, but embrace Invisible Poets as a community to talk about poetry as well. I have chatted with a number of members about some of their fears about writing, as well as how it has been therapeutic to them. Poetry can affect us all in so many ways. It is a powerful force to be reckoned with when crafted properly with a respectable effect. I look forward to the months ahead and am excited for the projects you have planned!
ReplyDeleteYou can be assured there will be many more posts about poetey on this blog, because I have three very capable people, Charlene, Matt and Brandon, contributing alongside me. We won't often post poetry here... That's more likely to appear on Invisible Poets, Wheelsong Poetry and soon. But I agree with you that poetry can indeed be a cathartic outlet for our emotions.
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