The poet in the green hoodie

The very first image used to promote Invisible Poets was a guy in a black hoodie, crouching down on a the track of a railway bridge. It was meant to depict anonymity. We used this for some time to promote the Facebook poetry group. More recently, as we approach our first birthday, we've had a bit of a revamp. The poet in the green hoodie is perhaps, more striking an image. And it's versatile, because the green poet pops up everywhere in a variety of scenarios. It's an ironic statement on the back of an ironic idea. Meta irony, if you will...

Invisible Poets was a title Charlene Phare and I dreamed up when we set up the group in early February 2023. We didn't expect it to grow into a community of more than 25,000 members, but we did aim at trying to make those poets who felt they were 'anonymous' and unrecognised into more visible artists. To achieve this, we decided to offer opportunities on Invisible that could not be found elsewhere. 

There is now a Live Poets Society show 3 times a week, from the UK, USA and South Africa, which seeks to showcase the very best in poetry from postings exclusively inside the group. We seek not only to read out the best poems, but to perform them. The shows attract hundreds of viewers. 

A group blog was set up to promote ideas about poetry, and to support poets as they develop their craft. The blog features news and views, and a large percentage of the posts are dedicated to poetic devices and forms and how to use them. This is a form of mentoring for those who choose to read the blog, and it offers free education to anyone in the group, or indeed elsewhere in the poetrysphere.

Finally, in collaboration with Wheelsong Books, we have produced several anthologies to raise the profile of poets, enable many to achieve their first publications, and through a rigorous peer review system ensure that every poem that is published has gone through the checks and balances to be certified as great poetry.

The green hoodie poet will be seen more and more as time goes by, and as the reach and influence of Invisible Poets extends out across the poetry world.

Steve Wheeler