Is the America Library of Poetry Legit
| Entrust your poetry homework assignment to cheap essay writers from CheapWritingHelp. ============================================================================= We at AuthorMe are furious about the scam operations that are continuing to rip off writers. We believe you should spend your money on pads and pencils and work on your craft. Don't worry about putting a book together until you've published many poems in first-rate publications. Then, your manuscript will be carefully considered by University Presses. Just don't get burned out there in the marketplace; it's filled with quick-fingered scammers ready to empty your purses and wallets.The following is a listing of references to poetry scam websites. Chances are, as an online poet, you have considered or even posted and published with one of these websites. Unfortunately, there are always people who are willing to take advantage of every poet's desire to be published and recognized. All we have to say to them is, ... for shame. There is no reason for a website to charge $50 to publish one poem in a book That's outrageous. Help us, and thousands of poets, keep track of the scams. Please write the address below and let us know which website should earn the "Worst Poetry Scam" award. We'll publish a running record of responses. By the way.... the scams have gone to new depths of degradation. Did anyone receive a copy of this hilarious spam? | Author-me.com on Facebook |
Hello everyone, today I found a FREE Teeth Bleach kit Sample.
Participate in poetry.com Free contest, and check your email for redeeming instructions:
FREE Teeth Bleach kit Sample after you participate in poetry.com!
Participation is Free, you have to submit an original poem, 20 lines or fewer, on any subject, in any style.
In a related scam... In June, 2005 AARP Bulletin approached us, asking for further information on the information below At this time, they let us know they could publicize this page to millions of readers. However, once they had the information, we believe their editors reviewed author-me.com, saw that we were courageous enough to include certain topics in our main subject headings, and these editors reneged on their offer, Which begs the question: does AARP sell life insurance and lobby for one extreme in American politics? Or is it an association serving elderly people? if you have any questions, look for recent news stories on Harry Belafonte. Maybe HarryB. could answer any questions.
Report received 5/31/05 I hope this letter finds you well. I�m writing you today to see if you would add my poetry warning section to your webpage. I have an important update on the page concerning WRITERSWORLD (www.writersworld.tv) My husband & I are outmore than 1300 dollars because of this POD publisher. I would appreciate if you could help me pass the word.
http://www.todays-woman.netReport Your Poetry Scam Experience Here
Join the poetry scam discussion at author-me.com's Authorboard.
Please note. Lulu Poetry has purchased poetry.com and, to our knowledge, is doing its best to render a fair service to poets. Sadly, we believe
the poems listed on the old poetry.com are not available through the new owner of this domain name. - eds.
4/8/10 Several years ago I sent many of my poems to Poetry.com hoping for a chance to win in a poetry contest. Many times I received letters from the International Library of Poetry also known as the International Society of Poets saying I had won their contest. Many times I asked for my poems to be removed from their site but nothing was ever done. Also once they claim I had won, I never received any money or prizes ever. I kept receiving letters only. They would send letters about buying books with my published poems. Poems that I never authorized to be published and charging me a fee at that. I don't understand how can you say I won when I never got anything and then you charge me for a book with my poem in it?I never received any montary gift for each book published with my poem.
4/2/10 I too was scamed or should I say robbed by poetry.com in 2003 to 2005. I found them on line and though hmm that might be great. Why don't I join the poetry contest. After submitted my first poem they sent me a letter saying they's patent and publish my poem; how they'd put it in some upcoming book. Which of course, I had to pay for. I thought to myself, "Right". I'm going to pay "x" amount of my dollars to buy some book that I can't even afford. I put up the paper work in hopes that I, in vanity, really could afford to buy their book. Life went on and I forgot about Poetry.com. I saw another contest at another website and being a "published" poet, hooo, hooo, I should join that contest also. I went online and kept typin Poetry.com and could not find them. In fact some other scam artist website -- LuLu Poetry. Oh Boy the pile of you-know-what is deeper and higher. My sweet little poem is stolen and used. And, I have to say it waa, other than my pottery, the most creative thi
3/13/10 i entered a poetry contest from ETERNAL PORTRAITS,back in the year 2000,they sent me a letter a few months later saying congrats i made it to the top ten who entered,and they were going to devote a whole 2 pages to me,one my bio the other my poem and send me 200 dollars,all i had to do was sign the copywright over to them,which like a dummy i did,well here it is 2010 ten years later and i never heard from them..ETERNAL PORTRAITS SUCKS,,THEY WANTED ME TO PAY 80 DOLLARS FOR THE BOOK ALSO,,,LOL,,,WHATEVER
3/10/10 Would anyone that can tell me if the Spring Fever poetry contest with www.writelink.uk is a scam? If you can provide me with real information, please email me at LGBrooks@MTS.net
3/3/10 I sent in three poems to library of poetry and was told it was good enough to be published. I was overwhelmed and thought my poetry was finially good enough to be published. Several people still to this day thinks so. But, library of poetry wanted (or asked) for me to buy their book, which I actually couldn't afford at the time. I truly believed I accomplished something good in my life, so of course I bought the books for self satisfaction and resource. I was even on the front page all three times! Well today I was searching through the internet, much to my surprise, the address is not the same and I found out,the company is in "ripoff scam" on the internet. What a big disappointment it is for me to realize these kind of people are out there to take advantage of us that are trying to share their talents with others!
2/11/10 Oh crap, I was so proud of winning the Editors Choice Award from poetry.com. If I only knew how much I got ripped off. Now I can't find my poem anywhere! And I really fell for it, ugh, I bought the stupid book, which I can't even find anymore.
2/3/10
1/9/10 I wrote the poem Reverence along with other poems as a student in Miami Dade College. The site I entered my poems were for Poetry.com. Which I was baffled to find that it was changed to LuLu. I put my heart and soul into those poems.
1/9/10 I entered a poetry contest close to a year ago. Late summer '09 I received a letter stating I was a semi-finalist of Eber& Wein Publishers'Poetry contest. They said I didn't have to buy a book or plaque; I'd still be published in their anthology. They even went on to say 60% of their entrants would become semi-finalists.If I would sign their publishing release, I would eventually learn if I'd progressed into the final stages and my book would arrive for $ 59.95 when publication was final. Naturally,I opted to buy the book and gave my credit card number. After all,a handwritten critique of my work(as promised in my initial correspondence) had been sent saying I was a narrative poet, writing in the style of Robert Frost, etc. Space was allotted for me to say more about my writing inspiration. A good 5 months have passed: no book, no final answers. I don't know if my credit card number was ,indeed, used. So I am now on line wondering if anyone out there has been scammed by Eber& Wein of
1/4/10 I sent a poem to poetry.com back in 2006, and the letter went on and on with these half-ass false compliments. Then it says I was a "semi-finalist" which probably meant "send us more money". When I found out this website was a scam, I was devastated, and I retired from poetry for a while. They almost took from me the only thing that brought meaning to my life. I only bought the book, so I could have a keepsake at least, and so I could lie to myself and say it was worth it. If only there was some way to stop this, but the law protects them like they are a legitimate business. The Dorrance Publishing Co. is another one to avoid.
12/30/09
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12/14/09 I have written and sent in a dozen of so poems over a period of about 10 years to Poetry.com. I could access them anytime on the site. I was apparently chosen several times as a winner of the Editor's Choice Award (just a paper with my name and the name of my poem on it - no money). I once bought a book from them (The Sands of Time) with one of my poems in it "Blessed Assurance" The pitch was always the same, if you want your poem published, buy a copy of the Anthology (about $60.U.S.) I often entered the Poetry in Motion Contest. I apparently one in Jan.of 2008 and was told I would receive a $100.- gift certificate, which I never received. I don't care about all that, I just want my poems back. They have dissapeared from the Poetry.Com site. The site has been replaced by another called Lulu Poetry and they have no record of any poetry I have ever written. Apparently, thousands of people are in the same boat as me. Will I ever again be able to retrieve my poems, which are my property.
12/1/09
11/18/09 I have sent severla poems to www. poetry.com. I have got many letters about being nominated but you always have to pay to receive awards and also your own poem. My poems have been put in antalogies and on CD. They can sell them but as a writer you don't get nothing. Now a days you can get on the site www.poetry.com anymore
11/9/09 I had 6 ot 7 poems published on Poetry.com which is now taken over by lulul.com?? and one of my poem was also published in a book and I got the hard copy... but I recently had 6 new poems published online... Now I do not see any. They do not even recognise my email as a member.. I have no login or password. Seems like all my peoms are stolen. I am not going to stay quite about this. Anyone else wanna join me?
11/9/09
11/2/09 Sir I haver submitted very much at least 150 poems to the international library of poetry and now I can get it on the internet What happened did it go out or something thank you
10/6/09
10/4/09
9/15/09 I went thru several poems etc. with Poetry.com...the buying things etc. but my good experience was the fact that Noble House Publishing Company contacted me, from one of my poems on this site, and has published two of my poems in their poetry books. So; bad and good has come from that site for me. Praise the Lord!!! By the way I also go by: Grantell Thanks for reading!
8/21/09 BlazeVox Books is offering writers publication "with a donation of only $250." Check the following link: http://www.blazevox.org/puboffer.htm. They've recently had their listing removed by Duotrope's Digest, on the grounds of being a vanity press: http://www.duotrope.com/market_3539.aspx.
7/22/09 Like some (almost) of you guys. I did also submitted poems... the money is not important enough. I mean.. Are you sure that the Copyright is yours? they might steal your work and tresent them as their own. Can anybody help me? Where can we submit (legally) some of our works? God bless to all...
7/11/09 Years ago, I submitted a stupid poem to poetry.com and now I can't delete it! I've sent emails to Lulu Poetry (removal-request@poetry.com) asking them to take it down but of course nothing has happened. Does anybody know how to get them to delete a poem? This could potentially hurt my employment opportunities - I don't want any future employer to see an awful poem with my name on it.
7/7/09 Lulu's alias www.poetry.com have taken my writings and put them on Google with this years date, when they were written years ago, and also without my permission. They are vanity press and I am thinking of cobntacting the American Federal Government compnay which deals which such deceptive and wrong practices. Ultimately, everyone now knows, in Australia and elsewhere, about these shady characters who take, take, and use a form of shameful abuse toward the artist; however, how to stop this and address it so more are aware, and not derailed of their time, effort and finances by such unconscionable scammers? Thank you
7/5/09 I submitted a poem to poetry.com a few months ago. Lo and behold, a while later I got a letter in the mail saying that my poem was to be published, as long as I gave 'em some cash, of course. I got really excited, naturally, and told all my friends about it. I wanted to send them the money so my poem was published but my parents said that it was probably a scam. I was a bit angry but luckily we never sent them the money. I just recently found out that it was a scam and am glad that we never sent them money. Thank goodness my parents aren't as trusting!
5/22/09 entered poetry.com's contest. And then they wanted to sell me a book for about 80.dollars with my poem published in it. I didn't buy the book. My poem is on-line at their site.
5/15/09 My heart goes out to anyone that may have had problems with poetry.com. Especially if their issues were not resolved before the company went under. Anyway you look at it, the URL named "www.poetry.com" will always live on. Any poetry or publishing company would jump to be the next owners of that URL. The URL name "www.poetry.com" was RECENTLY purchased by Lulu Poetry. Thank god they kept some things the same, but I'm disappointed that some changes were made. I will REALLY MISS those trips to Vegas. IF the previous owners really scammed anyone, I'm positive they got what they deserved IF they truly deserved it.
5/14/09 POETRY.COM IS AWESOME!!! The 2008 poetry contest in Vegas was inspiring!!! I've been reading through these messeges & I don't get it!!! After reading some of these posts, I had decided to research how MEANINGLESS these posts really are. I CAN HONESTLY SAY THAT 98% ARE EITHER B.S. OR ARE RARE & UNFORTUNATE FOR VERY FEW PEOPLE!!!! POETRY.COM IS STILL THERE!!!! HELLO!!!! LEARN HOW TO TYPE!!! AND MAYBE IF SOMEONE WRITES A BAD POEM, IT MAY EVENTUALLY BE DELETED FROM THE POETRY.COM WEBSITE. SORRY TO SAY IT!!! BUT QUALITY POETRY IS WHAT THEY ARE LOOKING FOR!!! I'm only stating that my experiences with POETRY.COM have been 100% POSITIVE. ALL of my poetry from 2007 can still be read on www.poetry.com (WHICH CAN BE FOUND SIMPLY BY TYPING WWW.POETRY.COM). THEY ARE STILL LOCATED ON THE SAME WEBSITE AS ALWAYS!!!! And whoever the man was that CLAIMS he had won "SECOND PLACE" in the 2008 poetry contest (then CLAIMS he had to pay from his winnings)is FULL OF IT!!!! THE SECOND PLACE Of course Poetry.com is trying to get money from you. They are like any business!!!! They can't pay employees without money!!! THEY HAVE OVERHEAD!!! But.... why not just call them scammers over it huh???? WHATEVER!!! Too funny!!! My message was cut off so here is the other half of it: And whoever the man was that CLAIMS he had won "SECOND PLACE" in the 2008 poetry contest (then CLAIMS he had to pay from his winnings)is FULL OF IT!!!! THE SECOND PLACE WINNER WAS A WOMAN!!!! He would have known that IF he had attended!!!! I WAS THERE IN VEGAS COMPETING IN THE POETRY CONTEST!!! IT WAS A BLAST!! One more comment then I'm done. Some guy commented that he thought "IT WAS ODD" that his poem was featured on the very first page of the poetry book that he had puchased. WELL..... DUHHHHHHHH!!!!! He could use a little common sense!!!!
5/6/09 I put more than 20 poems online at poetry.com about 6 years ago. I had no idea about this scam until I was just looking for my poems online because I could only remember a couple of them, and they were deleted from my computer a long time ago... Anyway, I actually did buy the book after receiving "the Editor's Choice Award". I received the book, but obviously it wasn't worth it. At the age of 13, it meant the world to me. Too bad it's a scam. I just want my poems back!
4/23/09 My mother entered my daughter's poem as a surprise for my daughter. When the letter arrived, I thought it was a scam but did not want to disappoint my daughter. The book and bio were obviously too expensive to be legit but my daughter would be thrilled to have a book with her poem in it and she was worth. We paid the invoices and waited.... But the book never came. With all the comments on this site, I suspect there are thousands more who have been scammed. I cannot help but wonder if we should consider some sort of class action. I am an attorney. Email me with your details.
4/22/09 I ordered a hardbound book containing my poem from www.poetry.com for 58.95 and am now told they are out of business. Lulu has taken over the website, but offers no solution. Does anyone know if there is an avenue to retrieve my funds?
4/5/09 I am the September 2008 Monthly winner at Poetry.com. I received a letter at the end of October saying I had won the $1,000 prize, and that I should contact Janna Tanner at 410-356-2000 ext. 184. Her email came from jtanner@circapress.com She informed me that they needed my social security number for tax purposes before they could send the check. I found some emails of previous contest winners and wrote them asking if they had ever gotten paid. Some wrote back saying they did in fact receive the $1,000, so I uncomfortably gave them the info. As of today, April 6th, 2009, I have not received a check. My name is listed on the poetry.com site as the winner for September 2008, but there are no other winners after me. Calling their offices results in a disconnected phone, and emailing Janna Tanner results in an "undeliverable address." There seems to be no active site at circapress.com either.
4/2/09 Poetry.com - I sent them a couple of my poems from which (as they say) they used one in their book because it was really good (they all are :)and asked me if I would pay for a copy. Never even reached the contest however. Some of my other works there vanished as if I had never put them there. Could be that somebody is using them as his own. That is disgusting!!! What these scum sucking parasites do is not only stealing, but ripping off other people from their talent and their future as writers. I don`t even know which organisations are for real anymore. We are all swimming in the swamp of garbage called World Wide Web.
3/30/09 I won 2nd place 2008 contest had pay for my copy of my published poetry 102.00 a issue from international library of poetry, not to mention proceeds and royalities off each issue they sold.
2/14/09 I received my "Editor`s Choice"(ha,ha,ha...) award 3 years ago. I never knew that Eternal Portraits was a scam. Thank God I researched this. I still feel proud of my poetry because I know it is genuinely good. Go through the Better Business Bureau. I wish these scams didn`t exist for unaware people to stumble across.
2/9/09 I fell for it as well. I can`t believe it. I didn`t really care about a plaque or book but my mom was so proud and now i`m angry. I tried looking up my poem and couldn`t even find it! Even the emails that ask you to edit your poem and stuff. I hit the link and it says sorry your poem is not available! What the Hell! I didn`t submit it only for it to be gone! Somebody should sue but I suppose nobody knows who runs it or anything that would help as far as that goes. I have enough self esteem problems as it is.
2/1/09 I was scammed by poet laureates. they took $103.00 for a book and plaque.
1/23/09 Im pissed. People are so greedy in this world and thats why it`s hard to trust people. Now i have learned that anything can sound good but that doesn`t mean its legitimate. I really thought that submitting my poem to this horrible poetry.com would allow people to see my talents and now im crying inside because I allowed myself to be vulnerable to this scam. Comes around and goes around worst so these cruel ass people will pay.
1/7/09 I wrote my poetry 34 years ago and put it all in book form hand written. My wife entered one of my poems and it took off like wild fire. Wow what a trip, I did get a book for each of my kids but did`nt take all the offers. When I found out the joke was on me I laughed. I enjoyed the experiance of getting published but it hurt a little. I am a rancher and will help most anyone.I can`t believe the BBB allows this kind of FUN.
12/30/2008 Wow. I`m really glad I accedently ran into this site. I feel really embaressed now. I got a letter that said that they would publish my poem in a book. It made me feel good but I guess I`ve been my normal gullable self again. I fall for things too easily. PLEASE look up my poems on poetry.com by my name and see if you like them because I`m only 17 and I feel like I`m pretty good at writing. I just hope this website doesn`t hurt me too. Uh.. well i did just send somethinng in but Philip on 10-15-06 really makes a point. so ?????????????????????????????????????????? idk
12/15/2008 hi my name is lynne morel. Now I am not emailing to criticize or to be know as a complainer. I just would like to know if anyone that does the publishing work for poetry.com. Because I had paid to recieve my published article in the mail. It was about bulimia. I was told I was going to get an a plaque and my poem was being published. Now I would like If I could still get my material. Can you email me and send this please or my money back not to be rude. When a company makes promises like one like this one they should not cheat people because they are going have a bad reputation and they are going to lose business.
12/05/2008 Well, i was just reading some old mail, and remembered using poetry.com in 2002. and getting all the mail re plaques and books and invites to go to america,.. I see my poem is still on this site,,,and i guessed at the time it was a scam,..and yes well it sure is,,..Glad never wasted any money at the time,,and hopefully this site has helped lots of people to be more aware of scams etc.
12/04/2008 I`m extremely pissed off at the moment. I have sent in 2 poems to poetry.com after a person on deviantart.com suggested I submit it. Either she has been scammed too or is a scam artist. I`ve sent in the letters, giving them permission to supposedly publish my poems, and have thankfully never paid for anything. I never ordered a book, plaque, or award, since my mom didn`t know I submitted my poetry and thus having something sent to the house would have been horrible. Thank you for this site for reassuring me that this is a scam. I doubted the site in the beginning, but decided to try it out. Thanks again for all the posts and confirming my doubts. I feel so idiotic for having fallen for it, and am grateful I never sent money.
11/29/2008 I too was a scam victim of peotry.com I wrote a few poems for them that were worth publishing according to them. I even brought 2 of their books and like the others my poem was on the first page. I thought that seemed kinda odd. but I am the trusting kind I take people at their word. for what is a man without his word? anyway I will never post anything else with them. But I will cherish the two books that I have with my poetry in them. For I know that I am a POET.
11/26/2008 I never send money. But all is not a waste. I read your poems, and you read mine. We inspire one another, that is what it is all about.
11/24/2008 I submitted one of my poems to a site called poetry.com. They wrote me a letter saying that I won an editor`s choice award. I never got that "award". A few days later my poem that I wrote ended up an another site under the name of poetry.com. That poem came from my heart and to be scammed like that annoyed the heck out of me. I have never been scamed like this before. I really love poetry but I just do not like being scammed. I just want my poem back.
11/18/2008 I guess I got taken also. I also sent in two poems to Poetry.com. I also got a letter that my one poem was selected. A month later i got another letter saying my poem was picked as Editor`s choice award and was selected for the sound of poetry and it was going to be on a cd. I bragged to my mother and she bragged to her friends. I`m glade that i didn`t have the money at the time to order the book. I just happened to stumble across this site tonight and read all the others that got scamed. It depressed because my poems are about my son that I lost. They were born to early. but thanks for listing and letting me know about the scam and i hope that we are able to worn other people belive me im going to put the word out. thanks again,
11/17/2008 I sent my poem to "poetry.com", And shortly after I recieved a letter stating that my poem was good enough to be published,but I need to pay in order to get a copy of the book.Stupid me, I gave them permission to publish my poem and I bought the book.A week later, I recieved a letter offering me a cd with my poem,again they wanted money.Please people "poetry.com" also known as "the International Library of Poetry" is a scam. They accept everyone and everybody`s poem is in the first page of the book.
11/17/2008 I just recently sent a poem into poetry.com and today i got something in the mail, but before i sent anything i wanted to check it first. so i did and i found this site and i want to thank you all before i sent anything in. i was actually quite heartbroken but i`m also very happy i didnt waste my money or anything, my mom too is very dissapointed..
11/15/2008 I submitted a poem and was offered a beautiful plaque to buy right away which I refused. Low and behold just 2 days later poetry.com stated my poem was now published in an anthology and I could buy the book for $50 some; a discount they said since my poem was on it`s own page. At first I was very excited until I noticed that on the top of the notice from them was an expected release date of the anthology with the year 2006. R u getting this? It`s now 11-15-2008! Scam!!!! Unfortunately I had already submitted 3 other poems, all of course which are also being considered for publication! My daughters, one 20 and the other 15, told me about this site and are very disappointed now since I investigated this obvious scam and informed them as well! What an obvious way to scam hopeful writers out of money and the people who love and encourage them! This organization (if you can call it that) should be immediately shut down!! There is no e-mail address to contact poetry.com.
11/12/2008 Oh, great... I guess I fell for it, too. I submitted a poem to Poetry.com and got the same exact emails that everyone has been describing. I generally don`t write poetry because I generally have nothing important to say. But I put my heart and soul into the one poem that I submitted, and now (I`ll admit) I`m devastated to find out that it was all a scam. I need money to help pay for college, and hoped that I could pay for it if I won at least ONE of the prizes Poetry.com was talking about. But now I found out that you have to pay your own way to the convention, and EVEN THEN you might or might not win. The worst part about this whole thing is I told my friends and family about being a "selected semi-finalist" and now, I have to return to them, in shame, and tell them it was all a hoax. To me, that`s worse than wasting $50 on a bogus anthology.
11/12/2008 My daughter sent in a poem to The League of American poets in the summer of 2006 and they wrote her back wanting to publish her poem. I sent a check in the amount of $155.00 for 5 leather bound books that as of today have not been received. I have called and they have had the phone disconnected I started E-Mailing this person ashreisrael@hotmail.com. Now I cant get them on that either. I would like to see if they have a corporation or is it just a scam, and what can i do to get justification.
11/6/2008 Sadly, I found out about the poetry scam after having bought the sixty dollar book that has my poem in the first page. I also got the letters telling me the poem Id submitted was good enough to make it to the semifinals...I was so happy, since I dont ever seem to be good at anything... so when I found out that everybody`s poem is falsely "good enough" I was devastated...
10/17/2008 Actually, I hope you don`t hate me, and don`t send me some virus for my difference of opinion, but I think that you are unfair. I do write poems and I do publish them on poetry.com and it costs me nothing. Granted, $50 for one poem in one book is ridiculous - but I don`t buy any of their books. Stupid people who do are what gives poetry.com the money to pay for people like me. I am a sad disparaged widow, with a dead dog, a heart condition and degenerated disc disease. I sit in pain as now, cannot stand for more than 3 minutes and I put my grief on poetry.com When someone dies, I write - and a friend goes to poetry.com and prints my poem, copies it and gives it out at services. They get one or two ads to buy books - and delete them. So?
10/9/2008 This is going to break my heart. My 12 year old daughter made a poem for me for my birthday. It was a very cute and funny poem that really impressed me. When I saw the ad of poetry.com at Star Magazine, I got really excite and decided to enter her poem. Imagine my excitement when I got notified that her poem was chosen as a finalist and that they were going to publish it. My daughter got really excited too. I just became suspicious because when I was filling out the order form, i read that I should get a copy of the Published Poems by winter 2009. To make the delivery date clearer, I decided to give them a call BUT nobody ever picked up my phone call. So I decided to email them back BUT nobody really replied to me. I kept on getting that same reply which says call that non-existent phone number. My dilemna is this: I have no wish at all to further propagate this scam but how do I tell my daughter that we have been scammed? Sometimes, I just feel like giving them their $40.
9/24/2008 I have poems published sence 1996 with (Poerty Guild) when they suddenly disapare and change the name to the (National Library of Poets) and now they call themself the (National Society of Poets) Every poems I send them is a winner I send them my complain as a poem and they published it, puls many others poems which they have chewed up. they claim I am naminated as one of the best poets of 2007 with a poem which I enter the composition in 2008 when I chech the list for 2007 it was empty even 2006 is empty these people are diplomatic thives. even their email address is a scam to rob the poor.
9/24/2008 Not only did I EXPERIENCE what everyone else spoke about. I lost poems that were posted. They disappeared without the telling me nothing. I myself wonder if our work is truly copyrighted. And honestly, who really know of a winner?
9/16/2008 I was almost a total victim of a poetry scam. I went to poetry.com and wrote a poem that I was pleased about, but was careful not to give my best. Somehow I felt strange about this free poetry contest. In two weeks, I got a response, saying congratulations! The strange thing was that I kept getting, in my emails from poetry.com and the snail mail, offers to buy something. I was too excited to be getting famous after all that I didn`t pay attention. Thankfully, I didn`t buy anything for about a month. Then, just today, I got a message from poetry.com from someone in London, asking if I`d give them permission to publish my work. First, I had to pay something. The strange thing is, I have a friend who submitted something EXACTLY the same day as I, and we both got EXACTLY the same mail from poetry.com. That rung a bell. Feeling wary, I was about to look up poetry.com on google when I saw the word scam as a popular word search. I added scam, and sure enough, it was a scam. I`
9/13/2008 I want to think all of you for posting you experiences. I haven`t posted any of my peoms online yet because I wanted to make sure that everything was legit first. Poetry.com was one of the top websites that I was considering. Thank you so much for the heads up.GOD BLESS ALL
9/13/2008 hey... to cut matters short.. i wasn`t ripped off from money.. just my work.. everyone watch out from poetry.com i wrote a poem that was to enter a free contest and after about two weeks they sent me an email saying that i was nominated for the pest poem and poet of 2007 all i had to do was send some money commemorate my works and get a medallion and have my name forever noted in history... i am only 14 yrs old.. and i was really happy... but then after i googled the website i found millions of people saying that its all a scam.. i was so disappointed and i cried i felt so sad then i was just pissed!!! and till now they send me emails saying i won the best poet award and the crystal trophy and medals and i was semifinalist in some contest.... i was really angry every-time they sent me an email cause i though of all the people who did send money and got scammed (ther`s even a website called poetrynot.com or something like that.. so that itself proves they`re just a bunch of rip-off artists.
9/7/2008 Yes...i was fooled. I wrote back to them demanding they not use my material. I said I did not want anything to do with them. Now they are using my material to promote their website. What can i do?
9/6/2008 I have had a bad experience with Poets.com. They have frauded me monthly in 2007, September, Ocotber, December, January 2008, February, and March, 2008, my Toronto Dominion Bank account credit card several times each month. I paid them $48 and pence USD February 5, 2008 and they did never send me my Poets.com plaque nor open my website since February, 2008 that I can get at it and my membership is still valid and they will not still allow the website open. Customer Service I called and wrote and Howard --- and Russell --- who expected a book sent him of the website`s poems have been written and copies of the fruading sentthem and Steve ---. ISP has not repaid me monies they took of my TD card that has been confiscated for investigation further into Poets.com. The scam they are decent and do not fraud monthly or paid a year`s membership and pay me website and other poets poems to read or praise is but a heart attack that might kill me. Please, for ISP and ILP has been charged i
9/5/2008 I discovered ILP way back in the 90`s. Submitted and yes, fell hook line and sinker. I`ve purchased about 4 books and a CD with other poets. music and moderator. But the constant harassment of snailmail, and emails are way too much. I wrote "My Walk With God" and have been promised promised the sun, moon and stars...if I`d just come to the Convention. Hey, I`m in my 80`s now and far too broke to make any trips or buy anything...for years! I`ve nicely written them, explained...and they STILL do the same...for more than a year! Thank you for the heads up. Guess I`ve been a Stupido like the others who really believed them.
9/4/2008 I submitted my poem 2 and they said i was a semifinalis and said come to Las Vegas to get an award and even sent me discount i recentley just got an editors chice awrd thank god i didnt pay a dime i suscribed and then unsuscribed and its sad that there lying to ppl about their poem saying its good to good and good to bad wen some ppl worked hard!
9/4/2008 I have submitted 4 poems to Poetry.com. Two have been published, and I paid for two books. I realized when I saw both my poems on the front page that it was a scam. They then said they wanted me to read my poems at a convention in Las Vegas, but I had to pay a fee. I won so many awards, but I had to pay them to get the awards. I wonder now if my poems really have the copyright that they put on them. Poetry.com is a big scam. They keep saying you won, but you have to pay them to get your award.
9/2/2008 I kept sending in more poetry, trying to revise and improve it. So, when they said anything good about it, I thought they were being honest at first. But every poem sent in deserved a beautiful plaque I had to pay for, including the poems I sent, with some nasty remarks. I`m glad I didn`t have money to give them. When they told me I`ve been selected for one of the best poets of 2007, I didn`t get any prize in the mail, and no award without buying a special plaque for it. It`s 2008 by the way. I`ve given up any hopes of winning. All I can say now is scam tastes sweeter than Spam. It really does.
8/25/2008 I am writing to thank all of you that took time to document your experience with poetry.com. My mother (widowed, age 88, living with me) sent a poem in and, naturally, it was accepted. She was too excited and was on her way to purchase a book but lost some of the information in her initial "acceptance letter". When I checked to see if the lost document was available for download, I came upon your scam information. It really opened her eyes and she tore up the letter. A great big THANKS to AuthorMe for the valuable information.
8/14/2008 I received a award recognition on evrey poem I have written to poetry.com,asking me to purchase the book my poem was going to be in, im figuring I would have to buy at least 12 to 13 books to view each one of my poems. Thats the weird thing. I think they recognize evrey poem. Then tell us it was chosen so they make money on our work through printing it making it look artsy then collecting on our feeling like poets.
8/6/2008 Well, just like everyone else from what I am reading, I too have dealt with poetry.com. It didn`t take me that long to figure out what they were doing. On another note, does anyone no about writers digest? Is it a scam?
8/3/2008 I have submitted a poem to the `International Society of Poets.` I had a CD recording done of my work and along with other poems read, thought it well done. I also had a book of poems with my work published on the first page, a well presented book. I later ordered one more book which I have given to my sister, who was very pleased to receive it. All three items I paid for and received within a few weeks of ordering. I later ordered a plaque with my work on, and that was delivered within good time from payment. I expect to pay for any product I order, whether it be a dress or name tags. The items I ordered are well made and well priced and my work in them a bonus product. I have since been invited to the `symposium` for this July 2008. I have not attended, but have now received a letter where I do not have to attend, but still get my work out there, and receive the awards etc. for the sum of $169.00 which is to take care of costs of shipping etc, reading of my work and so on.
7/18/2008 I`ve personally never brought into any of this to be honest, until now. They`re always encouraging me to buy the anthology but I never do and to insist on me going to their symposium to pick up my award. But since a person from a couple of posts up stated that the fee for all of this is too high and that EVERYBODY receives a award, this challenges the credibility of the website and leaves me rather skeptical. I just write poetry for school of thought and to release my mind not to experience all of this deception and lies. What site could I go to to earn real recognition?
7/14/2008 I sent my poem to this organization www.poetrylaureates.org and they scammed me out of $103. for a book a plaque. I was stupid, however, I`ve seen many people give scam alerts to The League of American Pots and I had no trouble with them at all. I got my book and was very pleased.
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Received 12/6/03I got the link through an online game called utopia
which is a respectable game. So trusting the game I
went to poetry.com and submitted a poem and WOW! I was
selected fortunately I didn't have the money at the
time to waste on the book. the I submitted a poem which
I was very proud of them WOW I was a winner again
but this I was an editors choice. Then I received an
email from them saying they wanted to publish me in
the UK and I am like sure... No now furious for
perverting the point of my favorite poem I submitted
this:I can't believe you people
You guys are liars
Taking respectable poets
and putting a blind over there eyes
this is all fake
I am sick of you
All of you should be ashamed of yourself
I hope that you are put out of business.
this disgrace is called poetry dot comThe first time I tried submitting it they wouldn't
allow me to put the word "SCAM" in it. OH SURPRISE, now I
wait for my letter to come saying I have been
published for this poem. I am truly furious at them
and believe that they should not be able to disgrace
the work of respected poets everywhere ANYMORE!HobbitReceived 12/7/03I just want to know what I could do to stop it. I tried emailing them of course it isn't an actual email. And I spent my parents money for a book with one of my so called "published" poems in it. And now I want the money back and am really angry about it. I was looking forward to having one of my poems published and my parents are still waiting for a book that will possibly never come. It's been two months and I haven't received this book with my poem in it. ::sighs:: It's www.poetry.com, I just recently found out about the scam. HopeReceived 12/11/03Poetry.com, also known as the International Library of Poetry, or the International Society of Poetry, recruits famous poets to preside at their annual conventions. These poets, according to the poetry.com website, are "professors and PhDs in literature" at leading universities. These respected poets are used by the ISP to lend an air of legitimacy to an organization that victimizes thousands of people each year. One can only specualte why these poets prostitute themselves to such an organization. It might be a good idea if folks were to e-mail these professor poets to let them know their opinions regarding the ISP, poetry.com, and ILP, also opinions regarding anyone who would lend their talents to assist such an organization. [Please write me for] the names of the professors who appear at the ISP conventions....I got these e-mail addresses off the internet. So I don't believe I'm invading anybody's privacy. If these poets are proud of their connection to Poetry.com and the ISP they should be glad to hear from those who've entered their contests.CharlieReceived 12/16/03Oh, the winner should definitely be poetry.com.
They have themselves connected with www.emode.com now, and a couple of months ago I clicked a link to 'test my poetry IQ.' Before I got my results, they wanted me to submit a poem. So, I slapped down something from a school assignment--I'm only 17--hit 'submit' and waited for my test results...which I never got. What I did get, however, was an email tonight telling me my poem had been selected for an anthology called 'Eternal Portraits.' (The bad title alone should have clued me off.)
My first reaction was to be very excited--any artistic ego would love to believe that their poem was a semi-finalist in a competition--but as soon as they asked me for money, I knew there was trouble. Then I noticed how easy the forms asking for 'verification' that my work was original were to fill out. Too easy. I was convinced it was a ridiculous scam by now.
I did some poking around on their site and found some awful poetry being displayed, and noticed that they'd published something like one anthology a month for the past four years. Ha. I decided to do some quick research to see how many other people had been scammed, and laughed out loud at the 954 web results for 'poetry.com scam.'
Of course, when I realized that I couldn't get my poem off their site, I wasn't so pleased. You can't just delete it...they want you to call some long-distance phone number, which undoubtedly is perpetually hooked up to an answering machine that automatically deletes all its messages at the end of every day. I won't even bother. I've now read enough testimony to know it won't get me anywhere.
I did go to their site and edit my poem for them though, because you can do that. It's now a very long insult with a tacky rhyme scheme, that ends with me asking them to remove my poem. I even changed the title to 'F*** Off'...
The language is called for, I believe. Con artists who take advantage of hopeful writers are the scum of the universe. I really hope they send me another email, this time about the glories of my poem, 'F*** Off.' Wouldn't that be hilarious?
~May Received 1/28/04Late last year, I sent in a poem on Poetry.com for a contest. All of a
sudden I get these papers saying that they want to publish my poem in a poetry book, that I can buy the book for 49.95, and I can also get my poem printed on a plaque for 40$ I also was a semi-finalist. Yesterday, January 27th, 2004, I just received papers inviting me to the annual Poetry Symposium at the Walt Disney World Resort. It said that I would get a silver cup award, and if I won the grand prize of 20 000& that I would also win a publishing contract etc. Well, I'm in Gatineau, QC and all of the money that I have spent so far (for the plaque) has been in US$..and now they want me to attend this symposium in Florida which I would have to pay for hotel accomodations (167$ US per night) plus the flight etc. Let me tell you, I couldn't go either way but I was very excited and would have gone if I had the money, that is until I came to your site and read all of the reviews for Poetry.com. Thanks to all who posted them and thank you for having this site.LouiseReceived 1/29/04I too have listed my poetry at poetry.com but only to copywrite it. I
I have been receiving many ongoing mailings via US Mail as well as in my email from Poetry.comAt first I was allured to the possibility of having my poetry published, but then when the first letter came in and said we need $25 for the Author's Profile and $49 for one book and $89 for two, I was beginning to be skeptical... I did it anyway, just to see what would happen... I had my first poem published and I even got an Editor's Choice award for it too... I paid the $50 to buy the Poetry on cd too... And because the Poem was very special and sentimental to me I even bought the $89 poem encased on a walnut plaque so that I could give it to him for a wedding present... Then the big scam came...... They sent me a letter stating that they wanted me to come to some awards ceremony claiming to have some big stars there to give out the awards, but I needed to send them $179 for my award... Of course I didn't fall for that and I soon began to discard the emails and the mail after that.... My english teacher and also the Editor with whom I work with informed me that if you have to pay for an award that you really deserve, then there is something wrong with this picture.. So I felt pretty good about that. and then the little girl down my street also started getting stuff from Poetry.com too and was so excited that she was going to have her poem published.... I later informed her mother about the Poetry.com scam and to please not get discouraged over her daughter's ability, but don't fall into the trap of paying out money they really didn't have....SO, if there is anything else I can include, please feel free to email me and I will do so.. I am a free lance writer and also a good poet and have been published in the past long before Poetry.com and really hope that there is something more that we can do to bring about awareness of these types of scams.Sincerely,De AnneReceived 2/6/04Hi the ISP spring poetry symposium. It is with the national poetry society and they tell you that Bob Eubnaks will be there (former game show host), and they invite you to FLorida. The cost is outrageous. Please check this one out for me.
have also called the long distance phone number and got an actual person. I have gotten only 2 poems asked to be submitted for their anthology series called A Friends Calling and I am a Black Woman. I would like to know what and how to get my poetry published. without the DRAMA.
Thanks SDW Received 2/5/04Thanks,CarlReceived 2/25/04I would like to know is there such a thing as the Nobel House of Poetry. I have not received the books that I order. It has been serveral months now. There is no phone number listed for them or there flyer just addresses.
My e-mail address is
LareeshaHall24@hotmail.comReceived 2/26/04Yes, the list goes on and on of the complaints of Poetry.com. They certainly fooled me into sending $49 of my hard earned money.
My poem was going to be published so I thought this was great ..I was flattered.
I became concerned about this SCAM organization this month when my 12 year daughter received two semi finalist letters.
One for each poem she submitted to the site. One poem is on Poetry.com but the other one isn't ... Now isn't that odd.
Knew right away that the whole thing was a rip off.My gut feeling and prediction happened. Now I'm left wondering if I'll ever receive the book with my poem in and if I do receive it ...Will they ever give me back a refund on the book? I tried to call a phone number on their web site at Owings Mills but it has endless music but no answer.
Who is this W.D.Snodgrass character ? Also this Spring Convention or Symposium costs too much money.
Dose Bob Eubanks know that these are a bunch of con artists ? The Trophy is a mantel place disaster that if it really dose cost $200
worth. Spending so much of ones own money on their own artistic work to be published is a crying shame.
So I bite the dust this time. Hope something will be done in future that will stop corrupt Poetry.com from ever operating.
The young and the old are the ones that are getting hit worse in their pockets.Sincerely,
NeilReceived 2/27/04
I wanted to give you all an update concerning my poetry.com scam report on January 28th. I recently received an e-mail from poetry.com saying that they were �sorry� that I could not attend the symposium and that I had to be there to win some kind of trophy then they proceeded to tell me that although I couldn�t get the trophy unless I was there, they could still send me the other prizes (cup, award, ability to send my poems to certain people blah blah blah) as long as I still paid the �participation� fee of 167$ U.S. funds, which would be approximately 225$ Canadian. Go figure. I�m really disappointed in poetry.com and I hope that other poetry writers realize that poetry.com is a scam before it�s too late for them.
Louise (see 1/28/04 entry, above)
Received 3/29/04 This one is the best! After reading your site, I did check poetry.com, only to find my name there as one of their published poets.... With a poem that I never wrote!!!! HAHAHA!!!!
From the moment I received their first letter, I knew they were criminals, but imagine having accepted to go to DC to accept the award for a poem that isn't mine!!! I wonder where mine is though.... Maybe someone else did receive the award for my poem after all. Congratulations!Antonio
Received 3/31/04
HI, I wrote a poem and sent it to three sites. JMW Publishing Company, American Poets Society and Famous Poets Society. I was shocked when all 3 responded with letters telling me they wanted to publish my poem. Just like what I've been reading from others, these people want me to buy a book(s) that my poem will be in. They all seem to have the same price in mind, around $39.95. Oh, and I'm a semi-finalist in all 3 contest. Thanks to web sites like this and others, these people will not be getting my money. There has to be some way to stop these shameless, heartless people. When did praying on the vulnerable and crushing dreams become fun? Christine
Received 4/16/04Hi:
I am so glad I found this site, I cannot believe I actually thought I got picked. I got scammed big time I even sent them money, meaning Poetry.com they promised me a my poem in a book, they promised to have someone read my poetry at Disney World at this Spring convention in 2004 in March, and a trophy of some kind with my name engraved in it. I sent them like 165.00 dollars for all of that, this really sucks finding out that Poetry.com is a fraud site.
chantelle
Received 4/26/04
I have been a member of ILP (poetry.com) for a couple of years now. I have to say that I am a bit confused with all the bashing and claims of being scammed.
I am a cynic by nature and extremely skeptical. So I had my attorney look into them, before I paid for anything. What he found was a place for people to publish their work for free. If you want a copy of the book you are published in, you have to pay for it. They have a phone number, that you get a real person to talk to, 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday. They have an address, in a real building, that employs nine people, whom of which do not work for free. Think of the cost there. Somehow I just can't see them doing it for the money. I have several poems posted, and have seven published in their anthologies. I do not mind paying for a copy of the book.
When have I call them, or send letters, I have always gotten an answer or a reply. I wasn't blown off, and I received all that they said that I would. I had an instances that made me feel as though it was a scam, but when I contacted them, they fixed it. I had order two books that I hadn't received in a years time. When I called them to let them know about it, I got my books within three weeks. Maybe it is all about communication. If they don't know there is a problem, how can they fix it.
I have read many accounts to prove that they will publish anything, even if it sucks. Big deal. We are amateurs and just maybe they are giving everyone a chance to be in print. But that doesn't mean that it is a scam. It is a poet's society. Like belonging to a club. Why is that so hard for people to understand. Their contests are real, and the people who win are real. The ones that suck, do not win. Has anyone ever considered where the contest money comes from? It doesn't just fall from the sky.
I belong and have belonged to many "clubs" and organizations that I have to pay for something. Nothing is free. Everything you belong to will cost you somewhere, from membership dues, to maybe paying for your own uniforms or club jackets. You people with children should know that. Look at Girl Scouts. A world wide well known organization, and it cost me every year for my daughter to be a member. Think about it. How many of you buy their cookies, so that their chapter will get 50 cents of every $3.50 box they sell? Nobody calls it scam. And nobody questions where the other $3 X 1.8 million boxes goes, when you dealing with a non-profit, volunteer organization. They are a multi-million dollar industry. So much for non-profit. And lets not forget sports. Just how much does that cost you a year. One of the many complaints is that we have to pay for shipping and handling for trophies? So what. Yes you may deserve the trophy for your hard work, but I still have to help pay for my children's trophies in their favorite sports, and they are good at what they do. Everything has a cost.
Has anyone stopped to consider that the money for making these books has got to come from somewhere. They do not sale the books to the public, so therefore there is no money to be made there. And as far as the conventions, and all the complaining about the cost, what would better suite you? Free? There are two a year, of which one is held in Disney World. For those of you have never gone, you are given the opportunity to meet other people who are just as interest in your work as you are. And for those of you who have gone to Disney World (not to the convention) you know that it is expensive in itself. If you can't afford to go, don't go. But that doesn't make it fraudulent. They have people on staff, and they have costs.
Come on people. We all want to be recognized and praised. We all want our work to be noticed, and yet, we bitch about having to pay for a damn book. Or having to pay for the shipping and handling for a trophy. Yes, you work hard to be noticed, and it is a shame that someone would take advantage of that, but face it. If you were a famous poet, you wouldn't be entering in an amateur poet's contest. And you would have a publishing contract that made you money. Everyone is complaining that they feel taken advantage of. But I think what it really boils down to is money. Wanting something for nothing. If your work meant that much to you, I would hear more about it, and not how much you would have to spend. Even having a publishing contract will cost you. You loss a percentage of you sales to the publisher. Nothing is free.People struggle for years to have their work noticed, and get no where. I am happy that someone is willing to put my words into print. Even if my poetry "sucks" and isn't good enough to make me famous, I am okay with that. Because I have been doing for a long time, and it probably isn't that good, or I would be raking in the dough. At least ILP gives me a change to feel good about what I write, when I don't have publishing contracts beating down my door. My friends and family enjoy getting copies of my work. Even if it is considered "vanity publishing", at least it is out there.Jonie Received 5/7/04I just received a somewhat authentic looking notice that I have been accepted in the Who' Who in Poetry and the laterst anthology "Eternal Portraits". The poem I submitted, in my opinion was indeed one of my very best and am now very disappointed that it is such a scam. Now as for Jonie (Post 4/36/04) I bet 5 bucks she or he works for poetry.com. Her posting sounded so real and heartfelt. God Bless her! I think I'll just continue to write poetry the old fashioned way and display them in my house. After all I write them for my family's enjoyment most of all.
Dorenda Received 5/7/04
I can't believe that all this complaining and this great web site about this scam. I just wrote and entered another poem today, which already I can not access. Why hasn't anyone stopped them and there web site? What can we do, to knock them out of business. This is disceptive practice, false advertising, I mean these people use the federal mail system for part of there scam. I'm sure some laws have been broken. I only found this web site because I was looking for there email to tell them I couldn't access my poetry. I called them, they said I would be able to access try in about an hour, NOT! I'm sure there is something we can do to stop them. What if they are taking our poetry and printing it in there names in maybe a diferent country? Just wondering. Sorry I didnt read every letter you have. Sincerely
Vickie
Received 5/19/04Dorenda 5/7/04
I said what I had to say, because I meant it. If it is a scam, then I guess the word is out there, and everyone beware and stay away. But, if you are truly a betting person, you just lost your $5. I do not, nor have I ever worked for ILP or any of it attachments. I just don't understand why everyone is bashing them. It is just sad to hear it. What really bothers me, is what does it say about us who do belong to this society. If others claim that it prints bad poetry, they what are they saying about our work. I do not write for money. I write because I enjoy it. And when something is printed, my loved ones like to have the books.JonieReceived 5/24/04
YOU JONIE, YOU WAINE, YOU must be one their staff to say such nice words about poetry.comAny of you who searchs Blake William Forum Frigator on google engine, enter that Forum, read the testimonials, and found out the type of publishing poetry.com is really doing. It's quite a bomb discovery!Also go to site www.eliteskills.com They have very good tips to help us to stop poetry.comHere's my tip:Enter poetry.comSubmit any bullshit on the big poem contest.sign it with some bullshit name, and fill in their own adress:ILP, poetry.com1 poetry PlazaOwings Mills, MD 21117-6282THEY WILL BE THE ONES RECEIVING THEIR OWN SCAM MAILS!!! I just did this during and hour. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!I feel good ...la la la la...Always enter poetry.com via google, thus they will have to pay to google a lot of money.And everytime you see a link of poetry.com DON'T CLICK IT, it will be rated as one of the most popular. LET's join our effort to remove them out of internet so they won't get more victims.poetry.com is scam and scum!And send e-mail to the sites where you find poetry.com links and explain them they are dishonesty that they should remove poetry.com...Yes, I was deceived by them, too!!! So, help me to stop their dishonesty. Thank you.You can also reported it to the FBI in the internet. You can report the Fraud.RomildeReceived 7/12/04I didn't know any better than the rest and a few years back had poetry.com list my poem for a tidy price to have the anthology.
Sad thing is, that people think this "real" and that it isn't a scam. It wasn't until afterward, I read somewhere that if you have to pay someone for something, it's not a "contest," but a business deal where THEY make the money.
I just happened to check your site so that I could find out more about JMW publishing contests and I see that they too, require a fee for the book they bind that includes your work.
Thank you for having such a site available to people who write.
D.Received 8/11/04
If anyone wants to get back at Poetry.com, here is a LEGITIMATE and
LEGAL method for doing so.
It's called FriedSPAM. I use it against anyone who sends me
unsolicited emails as well as a few other "unscrupulous" individuals.
http://friedspam.net <http://friedspam.net/>
LucasReceived 8/19/04I found Poetry.com through a link from emode.com. I submitted a poem
and thought it was wonderful that my very first poem was selected forpublication. What an ego boost.However that feeling of pride was soon replaced with suspicion. Ihave posted several poems on their website and everyone of them wasselected for publication. Imagine my surprise.Shortly after that I received an offer in the mail to authorize mypoem for publication and to purchase the book. I decided to purchasethe book although I still had reservations.Two weeks after that I received a letter in the mail that stated "I'msorry you will be unable to join us at the upcoming InternationalSociety of Poets' Annual Summer Convention and Symposium...."
It continued to say "As you know, you were selected to be honoured at thisevent...". Now, I was never informed of this honour nor was I planning onattending the symposium. Warning bells were going off.However, not all was lost. I could still receive all the awards theyhad scheduled for me -- custom-engraved Outstanding Achievement inPoetry Silver Award Bowl ($200.00 value), my bronze Commemorative AwardMedallion ($40.00 value) and my Full One Year Membership into theInternational Society of Poets for 2004-2005 ($60.00value) -if I would allow them to present one of my poems at the conventionin my place. That wasn't all either - I was also entitled to a personalizedmembership card, an ISP patch and decal and a free subscription to The Poet's Cornerquarterly magazine.But wait!! There's more! Because I wasn't going to be present, Iwas required to send them $169.00US ($220.00CDN) plus s&h to cover thecosts of the time and effort required to present my poem before theconvention attendees both aloud and in writing and the costs incurred ininsuring and shipping these extremely bulky and heavy Awards to me.I knew then and there that this was a scam and I stopped payment onthe money sent for the book.Thank you for reassuring me that my instincts were right on target.From now I will go with my gut instincts from now on.Sincerely JenReceived 8/20/04
I am in england. I have reported poetry.com to Google,they sympathise with me but they do not seem to do anything about this scam.
I do not mind paying for a book ith my poem in but I would like to know it is for merit and not just a scam. I also sent them a poem saying they were con artists but still got accepted. I all their e-mails are sent back by System Administrator sying they could not be delivered. Surely someone like Oprah W could maybe let her viewers know on tv what a con they are as I know she has a book club. Cant a petetition be arranged. I am so mad, but glad I am not the only one to be fooled. I have now decided to print my own book. It will certainly be much cheaper.
Elaine.
Received 9/04/04How can i even began to express the way i feel right now about poetry.com and famouspoets.com? Right now I am just really mad at myself for not checking up on these sites earlier! I'm a young girl of 15 who has dreams of writing.. But now, i'm afriad i've lost my inspiration.. and my dreams... How am i going to tell my parents, who were so proud of me that all of this was a scam? That the 40 bucks they sent to poetry.com is nothing?
When i first found out poetry.com was a scam, i cried... I just felt utterly foolish and wanted to scream out my anger...
I just want other people to know... Check up on the poetry contest sites you enter! Make sure they are the real thing before you bother to enter your precious poems! Because in the end, it's you who suffer...HouaReceived 1/3/05I strongly think that Poetry.com is the biggest scam ever! I have been writing poetry for several years now and I went to poetry.com to see if I could do anything with my poems. I had started writing and then sending them in. Then, I had bough a $50.00 book with just one of my poems in it. Gladly, I was getting tons of things in the mail for my poems. Thinking that I was making big accomplishments I was on cloud nine. Then, I got something in the mail that said that I was nominated for Poet of the Year for 2005. Basically they were wanting me to waste over $500.00 for 2 days of reading my poems and of meeting famous people. Then, I contacted a friend...who had shared her exact same accomplishment with me.. I knew right away it was a scam! I had wasted almost 2 years on a fake good for nothing web site. Don't get yourself into a mess! I don't write poetry anymore becuase I don't want to get cheated and I know that I had something. Please... Don't get into the mess that I got into.
Toni S.Received 1/3/05I received notification about 6 months ago from poetry.com that they wanted me to buy a book i was published in, i didn't order it, i didn't really need it, and wasn't going to read it. About 2 months ago they sent another letter saying i was poet of the month, and i again ignored it, they sent a third letter today saying i was up for the 2005 young poet of the year. I'm only 14, and i like writing, but my poetry couldn't be good enough for that, they invited me to a convention down in florida in february, i beleive this is all a scam, however i am going to check it out, i will be in orlando when the convention is supposidly going on, thankyou. ~a concerned poet, Sam
Received 1/3/05is poetry.com a scam?Received 1/5/05
I hated admitting that Poetry.com was scamming me, but it's true. They will publish anything you want, for a price. You could send them any combination of letters, and they will not only publish it, they will award you "Poet of the Year". I should know, I've just been nominated for 2005. It is a shame that Poetry.com is allowed to deceive people like that. I personally am requesting that money I paid for my book be refunded. Also, I contacted the BBB and filed a complaint. Fraud is still a federal offense in America right? I mean, I know that there are many real poets who are defending Poets.com, and that is okay, maybe they would change their minds if they realized that if everyone were honored, it's not really an honor. April
Received 1/6/05... I am a victim of the poetry.com scam. I was lucky, however,and never bought any of the things I was offered, purelybecause I could not afford to do so.When I recieved an e-mail for their 'poetry competion' at disney world, i got suspicious. they required you to buy registration for over $500 a person! That was when I found out it was all a scam, and now I want to do something about it...KarenReceived 1/6/05I really believe poetry.com is a total scam. I submitted one of myfavorite poems to their site. Shortly after, they sent me a letter saying that I was a semi-finalist in their competition. Ok, this seemed great and all. But, if you read their User Policy thing, it says thatthey�ll OWN your poetry after you submit it. Great! Now that great poem you wrote is theirs. I didn�t send anything back, but a few weeks later, in some miraculous way, I had been selected as a Semi-Finalist. I could enter the contest (which is totally stupid because if you�re aSemi-Finalist that implies that you�re already in the contest). I could get a plaque and all kinds of things at the banquet�for $595. I so did NOT buy that package. I didn�t trust it for one thing, and I didn�thave $600 floating around to go to some fishy �banquet� in Orlando.You can get the plaque and junk (supposedly) for $120. Yeah, right. Ican�t believe I submitted one of my best works to this place.They�re a scam place and they will essentially steal your poetry. You have to read their License Agreement thing. You�ll see it intheir��ownership of your piece. We should bond together and sue them. But then again, we did agree to the thing on their site. So, I guess we�re cooked.To sum it up, I�m 98.5% certain poetry.com is a scam, don�t fall for it because you�ll regret it. You may lose the most valuable thing you�ve ever written. Take it from someone who knows.Watch out,JamesReceived 1//05
I find the comments regarding poetry.com extremely interesting and can understand the anger that the majority of people are expressing. Yesterday I received an e-mail with the following wording "Ladies and gentlemen, and fellow poets . . . It's now time to declare the winner of the largest cash prize ever awarded to an amateur poet . . . Our Poet of the Year for 2005 . . . and Grand Prize winner of $20,000 is . . . Andrew [name of writer]! We're familiar with your work, Andrew, and you know . . . it could happen just that way!" I was naturally somewhat excited until I read the last line, thinking I had finally won some cash. Furthermore, I was impressed by the photograph of the silver bowl award I had apparently won due to "outstanding poetry" (the bowl is only awared to attending poets) and on first reading thought I was one of only 36 poets who had been selected for a competition with prize money of $ 74,000, however on closer inspection it became clear that the "one of only" was missing, which subdued my vanity and greed. I have posted several poems on their website (usually spontaneously written when drunk) and have given them my permission to publish two of my poems in book form, which I find ok because I stand by my poetry despite its failings and am happy if anybody derives pleasure from it. There is, however, no obligation to pay for the books and I am pleased to say that poetry.com has neither received a penny nor a cent from me and I smugly do not share the anger of other contributors to this discussion. I am lucky to be one of the few poets in the world who has actually been paid for poetry publications (poems broadcast by the BBC), but this is not generally the case. Who buys poetry collections written by unknown poets purely for reading pleasure in this day and age? I think it is fairly obvious that the only people who are likely to buy these works are the poets themselves or their family and friends. I believe that the activity of writing poetry itself has now become extremely decadent simply due to the fact that most people today would prefer to spend their money on music CD's with strong lyrics rather than on books of modern poetry. I partake in this decadent activity, but would only buy one of their publications to satisfy my own vanity and would only accept an award if it did not cost me anything. You have been duped, but only because you have not faced the hard facts! P.S. one of my poems was removed from poetry.com, because it was too critical of the USA - this gives me much more satisfaction than any publication.
Received 1/13/05
I'm an attorney who is considering filing a class action lawsuit in federal or state court against American Poets Society and other fraudulent publishers. If you've sent these businesses money and are interested in joining the suit please email me at blevs@aol.com. Thank you
Received 1/14/05
Well sad to say I'm another victim to poetry.com , I have submitted a
few poems with the same response as you! I am so scared to submit anything
now.
Received 1/28/05
Well,
I guess it is needless to say that I was too scammed, and the sad thing is corporations like this continue to make millions of people like us. I have always felt that I was a pretty smart guy, but stuff like this makes me feel like a complete idiot. Basically what I am trying to say is for that lawyer guy who posted a few days ago. I don�t think anyone is to eager to jump into another scam� But if it were up to me and you do go to court. Ask for a 50% refund to be returned for every book that had been sold.
Good Luck and God Bless Here is a poem,
The Lone Mallard
Ever wonder why the world was against you When you always worked so hard But never even got thanked Not even with a simple card You always helped them In spite of that they destroyed your yard Still your friends were always there To break down your guard Mocking you was always a game Poking fun at the �retard� They betrayed you and apologized But always left you scarred Did you ever wonder Why it had to be so hard Or was it you, that was against the world
Making the world marred Tearing down yourselfYou always made your life so hard
Report received 1/3/2005
I too have been victimized by the American Poetry Society, entering their contest, getting a letter that I had a great poem, buy the next anthology where I would see my winning poem published in a hard cover, gold leaf pages, etc. Just send $49.95, plus S&H and receive my copy. Oh yeah, I could also purchase a placque with my poem engraved on it for an addtional cost. Thank God I didn't bite on that too. It was my first attempt and will be my last!
Carol (USN)
Received 6/11/05
I'm not sure if this is a scam, but i just recently got this email saying that i won the amateur poetry contest and have won $20,000. But I have to go to Washington DC and attend this convention which COSTS ME OVER $900!! I don't know if this is worth it, i just want to know if i should do it.
Vinh
Received 6/19/05
Hello, My name is Anntoinette. I also received a notification from poetry.com informing me about a poem i sent in and asking me to come to washington dc to read my work.. to be a member would cost me 1020.00 and i would have to pay for my travel and hotel..i thank god for your website..something inside me told me to go to todaychristianwoman.com and this is how i found your site...i am so glad i did not send this money in..but i am hurt that someone would take advantage of a person talent and gift....thank you again.
Received 6/19/05Your focus on poetry.com, without mentioning famouspoets.com (and its many guises), may help only the few who can interpolate the warning and understand its general applicability. Vanity and ignorance aside, it's little wonder that publishing scams can succeed to the extent that they do, when they are actually promoted by such organizations as Poets & Writers Magazine. See "Circle of Poets" in the pw.org "Resources": http://www.pw.org/links_pages/National_Organizations/more2.html The text of an email I received from Circle of Poets regarding my "poem" :() (which explains the circumstances that led to this discovery) and their come-on follows my signature. BTW--I notified P&W over a week ago, and the link to Circle of Poets is still there. -- Regards, JReceived 7/6/05 wrote poem for poetry.com because I thought it would be fun and there was a chance that I may win some cash. Then I got the obligatory semi-finalist mail, praising my vision and artistry. And then asking for money, no strings attached of course. So I promptly clicked on the link to edit and submit my poem, which I dedicated to Howard Ely for believing in me and for all the kind words he said about my poem, here�s a copy:
The Scam Artist
(Dedicated to Howie)
To make a scam of people's vanities
It was great fun indeed!
They all imagine themselves as Blake
So hungry for approval
So blind to the fake
Flattery of their artistry
a suitable hook will be
And then, all will be well
Greatness is but a thing to sell
Sell them a book
Sell them a prize
Sell them a conference
Sell their details to other cunning sites!
A message to all who prey,
we may not know rhyme,
but we are not that stupid.
Now leave me alone.
I will be very amused if they put this in their book.
Received 7/7/05I entered a poem called "dreamland" just for kicks adn to see if i
could get any feedback on it. Well I started getting things in the
mail about buying a book and all that jazz. Well today I just got a
letter saying that I'm invited to Reno, Nevada to recieve my awards as
a Famous Poet for 2005, Shakespeare Trophy of Excellence and the 2005
Poet for the Year Medallion. I also would be videotaped to be on TV
but my contract won't be sent untill after I have in %595 and %395 for
any guest. I"m pretty sure this is a scam and wanted to warn anybody
else who may of reviced this letter. The poem I submitted was a rough
dragt and many other people have already helped me on it so I know
that its not good enought for all these awards.
Thanks for reading,
Melissa
Received July 11, 2005JMW Publishing promised my daughter a copy of her poem in there anthology " Prominent Voices in Poetry " over five mounths and $60.00 ago. Still no book. This really pisses me off and these people need to pay for what there doing. Dwayne
Received July 23, 2005I have just joined this site and I would like to offer my thanks for all of the information made available on it. I have had my poems "published" by Poetry.com/ISP. I too received the letters and the praise and the invitation to the convention in Washington, DC, my instincts told me it was all a scam, and although I have never purchased any anthologies I did attend the convention. It was definitely a memorable experience, and I did get to meet poets from all over the world. I also happen to love visiting DC I am now in possession of a coffee mug, a bronze medal, a plague and even a tote bag! That was four years ago and am still trying to decide if it was worth the almost $2,000 it cost me. I think, perhaps I should have stayed home, and invested my money in writing classes.
KiryieReceived July 29, 2005Thank you guys so much.I almost did the famous ports thing. They said I was Poet of the year and that I would get the shakespeare's excellence award
Received August 1, 2005The League of American Poets is a scam:Exhibit A: Flattery!Exhibit B: You can edit your poem so it can be perfect when included in our next volume! (As if any editor would welcome suggestions.)Exhibit C: Just give us $50.Received 11/29/05To fellow writers,look out for this scam sites. League of American Poets,Poetry.com and The International Book of Poetry!They are all scam artists.They have no morals and ask for money.Thank God I looked them up before I sent money or anything.I submitted a poem to poetry.com and received in the maiol stating my work was going to be published and so.They even sent me a paper award."Editors Chioce" They called.So being the skeptical person I am .Looked them and found out they were a scam indeed.Well I sent another poem to them jusdt to see what would happen.Well what do you know?I was chose again as "Editors Choice".Well needless to say these people suck and if I could I'd give them a week in hell for ripping people off.I'm currently writing my own book and will succeed myself.GOOD LUCK TO MY FELLOW WRITERS.Received 12/2/05I entered a poetry contest with �League of American Poets�. I received a letter with an order form. The letter said the poem was �Great�. The order form was for a publication in a book and/or the mounting of the poem on a plaque. I ordered just the plaque for $57.00. This was 5 months ago. I emailed them asking where the plaque was. No answer. I started investigating on the internet and did some back tracking. I found a name given in a complaint of a person at the League of American Poets and the city they resided and their telephone number. I traced the name and telephone number (same) to some woman running a dog sitting service in that town. Someone needs to arrest her or at least investigate her. I emailed her asking for an explanation but of course, no answer. I think people who are scammed should have the right to sue the state that the scam took place from. This would get some elected officials off their asses and make them earn a living, especially some state attorneys. I think the law states someone not doing anything about a known crime is just as guilty as the person committing the crime. The tracking I did led me to the following: [personal details omitted]. I have no proof that this is the person doing the scam. Just everything led back to her.JimReceived 12/6/05I too got my Poetry.com "Editor's Choice Award" certificate in the mail today for my poem I sent in 2 months ago. Like all recipients, I too was thrilled to be "selected" so quickly for my first time in submitting. I luckily only sent a check for $45, $20 to reserve a book and $25 for the one page dedication beside my poem so I get a whopping 2 pages reserved for me.
I got sucked in from their praises that's for sure, but it's taken me this long to act on my suspicions about Poetry.com and a friend said they sound like a scam, so I googled in "the international library of poetry owing mills MD" and I found this website amongst many more confirming my feelilngs and THANK YOU for messaging in on this or I would have been out a lot more money in the future.
I don't write poetry much, but I was proud of the poem I submitted, written back in 1997 in a creative writing class in college. Their response with a book publishing, a CD and a plaque made my head swim and they sure had me by the you know whats.
I was about to send in my initials for the CD when I researched all this and then I started laughing at myself for being such a royal buffoon! I spread all their responses in front of me and felt like the biggest asshole and then laughed till I had tears coming. I may be out $45, but after reading all of you wonderful people's responses and warnings, I feel better now and a little wiser. Yes Mr. Rogers, I can spell SCAM S-C-A-M.Mark
Received 12/11/05
Hello all I, too fell for the poetry.com scam but luckily didn't send them any money. I considered ordering the book but after reading this site, I definitely am not! A HUGE THANKS FOR ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE POSTED YOUR INPUT AND WARNINGS TO OTHER POETS. For anyone who is interested, here is the poem that I sent to poetry .com: Into my life he came after that I was never the same. Memories of him are burned in my soul charred by desire and black as coal. I'll never forget those dancing blue eyes or the emotions he so easily disguised. The strong, tender arms which held me so tight disappeared at the first beam of daylight. His love was strong, or so I was told by the lips that gave kisses from a heart that was cold. He wove his web of charm around my heart, and carelessly ripped it apart. He told me he loved me, and I blindly believed, but in the end the meaningless love was the first to leave. He was quick to follow as I heard the door slam, and only now do I realize how lonely I am. I hope someday a news broadcast will do a story on the internet and newspaper poetry scams to educated people on the warnings of such companies. Best of luck to all the aspiring poets out there!! Kelley
Received 12/15/05
Alas, another one blinded by light. I too am a victim of poetry.com. I actually bought a couple of books when I won the editor's choice award and had a page to myself. Happened to be page one also! Today I received another notice I had received the editor�s choice award again, and unable to find out which poem won, I pulled up all of my poems, scrolled to the bottom of each and clicked on buy book. To my "surprise", every poem I had submitted was on the same book scheduled for release spring 2005. I know only one was in that book, or do they print out a new book with whatever poem you want at your request? SCAM!!!! For shame! My mammy would shove month old cornbread down their throats and deny them liquid for a week! Barb Received 1/9/06 This is for Poetry.com also t those of you that want answers they have a phone number which is 1-410-356-2000 if you want to talk to customer service you press 2. I just sent my poem in today and i wish i would have seen this website sooner. AngelReceived 1/10/06
Thank you for ur site!!!! Today to my surprise I got the infamous letter in the mail...I was just getting ready to sign my check for 65.99 when I came across ur site. I dont need to submit a fake poem to see this is real. I am just glad that I was smart enough to check out poetry.com which knew there were people out there that would actually do this to people. So once again, thank you sooo much!
Krystal
Received 1/13/06I was absolutly disgruntled and ashamed that I let myself be so gullible to a flimsy internet scam like poetry.com. I am a very modest writer that doesn't openly share my work with anybody, but I figured that since I saw poetry.com in Seventeen magazine it couldn't be a scam. I sent a poem out to them a few months ago and today I just got a letter saying that I was a semi-finalist in their contest and my poem would be published in an upcoming book. LUCKILY I came across this website and I've seen how many people have been fooled by this over the years. Its just an awful thing to do. Somebody needs to file a lawsuit and shut these people down! I mean really, is it even legal to do these t things to honest writers that are just trying to get by?!Received 2.4.06
I too was scammed by Circle of Poets. I had a poem accepted in 2004 and paid for the book, The Best of 2004, yet here it is 2006 and never received the book. They gave me excuses then runarounds, yet never delivered. Now, the email of; help@circleofpoets.com comes back "denied"... Also, it won't acknowledge my login....as though I've been "blackballed" on the site! Jannie
Received 4.11.06
This is the letter I sent to the Maryland Attorney General.Dear Sir or Madam:
I am writing in regards to a purchase made by myself to League of American Poets (online). I submitted my check for 57.95 to the company in question for a book bearing an original poem written by myself. The check was cashed on October 4, 2005. I have only been able to actually talk to the company once and all voice mails I have left were unreturned. The one time I spoke with a person, she spoke very broken English but told me that she did not like me questioning her and that it would take longer for me to get my book because of this. I still have no book to show for my efforts. I do work for a publishing company (directories) and we must turn multi-volume books around in no more than 3 weeks. I realize this is not the case in all instances, but I would think that 5+ months would warrant the merchandise being delivered or at least a contact explaining when I might see it. I also contacted the Better Business Bureau of Greater Maryland, Inc. They responded with a letter stating that after several attempts to contact League of American Poets, they were unable to obtain a response and the file will be closed to reflect this and that they have been given an �unsatisfactory� performance record (#23044304).
Because I wrote this poem when my father died, I would really like the book. I am tired of the games and if this isn�t possible I want my money back.
R. Received 3/20/06The site www.lifeforchange.com has
turned out to be a fraudster. They were simply alluring
innocent young writers to contribute and canvas their
site for getting votes. As one such writer came near to
winning, citing some flimsy grounds they took him
out; planted their own stories. It is clear two of their
planted stories gathered as much as 28 votes each in
two days flat. Fraudsters gain, advertising revenue and
even the prize money. We are on the job to alert authorities. JGReceived 4/5/06
I saw a web site �League Of American Poets� and sent a poem I had written, into them for judging. I received a nice letter saying that it was a very good poem and offered a nice plaque for $50.00. I ordered it and months later still had not received it although my check had been cashed. I checked many web sites and saw that this particular group was known as a scam. Yesterday I received my plaque with my poem on it and I must say, done very professionally. It�s beautiful. I still can�t figure out why it took almost 9 months to receive it. Maybe someone �talked� to them. Anyway, I guess all is forgiven. The plaque was well worth the money.
Jim
Received 5/4/06im not sure if this page was added to your poetry scam list but www.circleofpoets.com is one that scamed me i entered there poetry contest i wrote what i thought was a very good poem they said it was picked for publication but i had to buy the poetry manuscripts for 45.00 $ that my poem was published in i thought that was a rip off but i sent the 45.00 dollars anyway just to see my poem in the book they said at xmas the book will be sent an gave me notfication that they recieved my money well my book never came every time i emailed them i got a new date that the manuscript will be sent untill enventualy they changed there email address i tracked down the new one an they no longer respond from that one at all so not only was i ripped off my poem is most likly stolen an i didnt even get a book from them this happened 2 years ago an there page is out dated but they may have set up a new one an are running there scam again.Received 6/2/06Is the League of American Poets Legitimate?
I got taken at poetry.com & now am leery of all sites. Is
poetryamerica.com a scam? Thank you for your service to poetry-loverslbReceived 6/23/06Yes, Poetry.com is definatly a scam. Being naive, I sent in a poem to their contest and was excited when they sent me a letter back saying it was in their semi-finals and that they wanted to publish it. The sad thing is, I didn't care that they wanted something like $50 for me tobuy the book I had been published in. I was just happy to be published. But I was disappointed in the book, which was quite large with the poems in small print, packed together on each page. Then they sent me another letter a few weeks after that asking me to attend a convention in Orlando, FL with supposedly famous guests and hundreds of other "poets". But, I would've had to pay for my own travel expenses. They also told me that if I did win that contest at that particular convention, that I'd have to pay close to $40 for shipping and handling, for my own trophy! That was when it finally sunk in that this was a scam. Ah, but there's more. Another company supposedly based in London called Noble House Publishing sent me a letter also. They said they had heard of my recent publishing attempts in America, wanted to congratulate me and all that. They too wanted to publish one of my poems in a book. I did send in another poem to them, because they seemed legitimate. After I got the "artist's proof" back from them, it too had a form to fill out for the purposes of buying a book I was to be published in. Still being naive I bought it. Then about 6 months after that I read on the internet that this company is a scam too. So, watch out for Noble House Publishing too. Althought their books are a much better quality (one poem to a page, and a nice cover), they're disguised as a legitimate company until you find that they want money too. What I've discovered from former aquaintences is that it's best to send poems to contests sponsored by colleges, and hope that an agent will find your work and want to publish it as a serious and non-profit chap book or something along those lines.
Here is something else I forgot to mention. In the book I bought from Noble House, I found that some girl had plagiarized one of Jim Morrison's poems which had been published in a post-humous collection. This angered me, since I'm a fan of his music and poetry. I made a copy of the page from his book and a copy of the page from Noble House's book, and sent it along with a letter explaining my find to them. I never heard anything from them about it. They probably let that kind of stuff go on all the time.
Thank you for warning others of these scams, hopefully they won't have to learn the hard way like I and others have.
Steven E.
Received 7/2/06I was very dissapointed in finding out poetry.com could be a scam.I had written several poems and submitted then recieving information in the mail from them saying i had the chance to have it published for $50.00 when it should be the writer that recieves the 50.00.It has been a long life dream of mine to have my poems published and then porty.com crushed it.hopeing you can guide me in finding a publisher who is interested in my poems.Thank You .
J.L.K.W
Received 7/8/06hey, i am yet another ripped off client.
i had not idea that something like this would happen to me already. the first poem i sent into poetry.com got "published" in there book. i paid the fifty dollars they were asking. i am sooo dissapointed in myself for believing that something like this could actually happen to me, like they say, if something seems to good to be true, it probally is. i also recieved the editor's chice award, like so many others. and i used this acheivment to help myself get into the national junior honor society at school.i was so proud that my poem was published. but i guess i will find my way somehow. i also looked at another scam website involving the international society of poets, and discovered that a letter written by them was almost exactly like the one written to me telling me how i should write a new poem and record it, and pay 169 plus 18 dollars for shipping of everything that i was to recieve. i can't believe the isp lets dreamers like me be let down because all the nice things that they say is nothing more that bullshit.tessReceived 7/23/06
Hello everyone, Writing about poetry.com. I had no clue they were scaming me really thought nothing about the money they wanted. (I never sent them any). Then I found this site and starting reading everyones letters. I couldn't find an email address for poetry.com. Does anyone know it or do they even have one? I've tried calling them but no answer. I want my poems taken off their site Brenda
Received 8/14/06
Well I too sent a poem to poetry.com and yes they said that i was a semi-finalist and so on. I paid for almost half of the book and after that i didn't send them anymore money. Not because I didn't want to but because i couldn't afford it luckily. Or else i would have been drawn in closely to the scam. Well i was really glad they had considered to publish my poem. I thought they actually read it and evaluated and thought it to be superior tham others. Well later I found out they published everybody's poem. I read through some poems and they arent all that great but ohters were really good. I guess that if there is an upside to this poetry scam it is that other people get to enjoy your poetry. But if i were you i'd be careful and not send them any money. I guess then this way you could profit instead of them. I guess? Oh yes and throough out this whole time they never questioned my age which could of been under 18. I could have even been a 9 year old.
- Rosa
Received 9/8/2006
My daughter also wrote a poem, and I thought it was very good, but I did have a feeling that it was a scam also. I had to let her down, because she was so excited that she had �won�. I was waiting for the second letter to see if they asked for money, (as they did, and then got on the web) and found your site. Thanks for putting this out. This is so obviously a scam, why is Our GOVERNMENT letting this happen? Tara Received 9/9/2006 Sept. 10,2006. I had sent in a poem a few years ago to Poetry.com, and Ireceived a letter about how good it was. I would have bought the book, but other things happen the time to make me forget. This year I sent in another poem, it also came back saying it was good. I was as happy as the first time. So I bought the book. How happy I was to see my poem on the first page. I was so excited, I went to look it up on the internet, and found it said someone else's poem was on the first page. I looked through my whole book and found their poem not in my book. I have even tried to find the book on internet. I have not found it as of yet. I am getting frustrated trying to find anything about my book or if I can find in any store. I am not sure but if anyone knows, but do they publish more than one book, with the same title. It is sad to think that it is nothing more than money maker for
poetry.com.Mel
Stan
Received 9/28/06 So, I take it that the League of American Poets is a scam? I too received a letter in the mail. I probably should have tried to verify the authenticity of the letter before shooting off my bigmouth.
Received 10/12/2006I think you should check out the "league of American Poets" I submitted a poem and paid about $50 for a copy of "A Treasury of American Poetry II". It has 250 pages with three columns per page, and over 1200 contributors.In my humble opinion, my poem is the only good one in the book. It is not that mine is so great, but that the vast majority of the others are really, really bad. I wouldn't mind paying that much for a copy if my poem was on its own page and if the other poems were in some way enjoyable to read. Thanks for your website, it is very enlightening.
Harold
Received 10/15/2006
I'm hearing so many negative things about poetry.com. This is a site for amatuer writers. How many times have you got a rejection slip for things
you sent to magazines and books that you knew where just as good or better than a known writers. There are things I'd ask like where are these books
that they sell the authors that are suppose to be in stores months after the you bought from them. Let me tell you many many years ago...I sent in
stories to a comic book company. We are looking for talent. Tryout. (hint) Send us your inkings, drawings pencilers, I was young and never
heard of copy righting so I sent in about five stories...what happened...a few changes to it... and it was published...they made millions on story. No
way I could prove it..since it wasn't copyrighted..the only proof...two owner's of a comic book store read the story and laughed when I changed a
character's costume. It will never happen they told me his costumes a trade mark. Now that company got rich and i'm leaving with my mother. This
caused me to stop writing which I loved to do for a very long time...Yes I marvel at my stupidity..(another hint)
anyways back to poetry.com after seeing it on the web it has started me writing again mostly for my own enjoyment so...A scam...doubtful...It needs improvements...like not randomly choosing winners for their contests. The
event this year was held in vegas at the mgm that's not
cheap...entertainment was tony orlando and ruben studer. I didn't go because I can't afford it..Poetry.com should also help getting your work sold. At least you get the copyrights to your own work..I have searched
other poetry sites which doesn't state who gets the copyrights after you send it in. Also how many times have you sent something in...rejected and
months later a similar thing is written by someelse about the same thing...hhmmm..I wonder where they got the idea for that story..Poetry.com a scam...don't know...Pricey...Yes....but I rather spend alittle money
onseeing my stuff in print and owning the copyrights then seeing a company make millions on my writings while I get nothing. Would I be willing to take a lie detector test..YOU BET!Philip
Report Your Poetry Scam Experience Here
http://teenwriting.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?
site=http://wockyjivvy.com/poetry/shame/index.htmlhttp://www.writersweekly.com/warnings/poetry.htm
http://windpub.com/literary.scams/ http://www.windpub.com/literary.scams/ilp.htm
http://www.fictionfactor.com/scam.html
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Is the America Library of Poetry Legit
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