r/Poetry • • Apr 11 '23

MOD POST [META] Posting your own poems here -- when to post and when to head to one of our sibling subreddits

229 Upvotes

This sub is for published poems. There are many subs that allow users to post their own original, unpublished work. In Reddit sub parlance, an original, unpublished poem is considered "original content," and the largest sub for that is r/ocpoetry. There are still some posting rules there -- users must actively participate in the sub in order to post their own work there. A few subs don't require such engagement. There are links to both types of subs below.

Now, what about published poems? We have a large community here -- almost 2 million members. There have to be a few actively publishing poets in our ranks, and I want to build a community of sharing here without being overwhelmed by first-ever-poem posts by people who write something, decide to go find the poetry sub and post it. As it is, even with the rule on OC poetry being in the sidebar, we still remove those posts every single day.

If you've published a poem in a journal or a lit mag, please feel free to post it here, with a link to the publication it appeared in. I'm also going to start a regular monthly thread for r/poetry users who want to share their published work with us. We don’t consider posting to Instagram or some other platform alone to be “published.”

For those who want to post their unpublished, original work to Reddit, here are some links to help you do just that.

tl;dr: If your poem hasn’t been published anywhere, you can’t post it here. If your poem has been published somewhere, please post it here!

Poetry subreddits that expect feedback:

Subreddits that do not require commentary on your peers' work:


r/Poetry • • 3d ago

Local & Regional Poetry Scene Talk, October 2026

3 Upvotes

Welcome to this week's discussion thread: Local & regional poetry scenes!

What is your local poetry scene like?

What are some poetry events you've attended recently? Been to any good open mic nights? What are some poetry events coming up that you're looking forward to?

If you have relevant links to videos, websites, etc., about in-person poetry goings-on feel free to post those in the comments too. (Try not to make it look spammy, though, or it'll get caught in reddit's anti-spam filters.)

Do not post your own poetry as a text comment. It will be deleted and you will be banned.


MONTHLY DISCUSSION SCHEDULE

  • What Have You Been Reading?
  • Publication Talk
  • Local/Regional Scenes
  • Classical & Ancient Poetry
  • Miscellaneous

r/Poetry • • 15h ago

[POEM] miscarriage by Hollie McNish

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1.2k Upvotes

Taken from the collection Lobster: And Other Things I’m Learning to Love.


r/Poetry • • 6h ago

Poem [POEM] Thank You, Pretty Cow by Jane Taylor

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101 Upvotes

r/Poetry • • 9h ago

[POEM] Explaining a Few Things by Charles Simic

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98 Upvotes

r/Poetry • • 19h ago

[Poem] Now that I Am Forever with Child by Audre Lorde

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566 Upvotes

r/Poetry • • 8h ago

Poem [POEM] On Where You Are-Brooke Clark

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51 Upvotes

r/Poetry • • 7h ago

[Poem] Wild Nights-Wild Nights! By Emily Dickinson

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31 Upvotes

r/Poetry • • 9h ago

[Poem] Slowly the Truth Dawns - Olav Hauge (trans. Robert Bly, from The Dream We Carry)

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46 Upvotes

r/Poetry • • 4h ago

Poem [POEM] Oft, in the Stilly Night (Scotch Air) - Thomas Moore

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13 Upvotes

r/Poetry • • 10h ago

[POEM] - ‘The Suicide’ by Carol Ann Duffy

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36 Upvotes

r/Poetry • • 23h ago

Poem [POEM] Ultimatum - Langston Hughes

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315 Upvotes

r/Poetry • • 4h ago

Contemporary Poem [POEM] An Improvement in Stairs by Mairead Small Staid

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7 Upvotes

r/Poetry • • 23h ago

Poem [POEM] Frosting - Langston Hughes

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171 Upvotes

r/Poetry • • 2h ago

Poem [POEM] Lipstick — Robin Gow

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3 Upvotes

r/Poetry • • 22h ago

[POEM] I Woke Up This Morning - Omar Sakr

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61 Upvotes

r/Poetry • • 9h ago

[POEM] Closure by OMOTARA JAMES

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4 Upvotes

r/Poetry • • 7h ago

[OPINION] Looking for oral tradition poetry collections to gift to my mother

2 Upvotes

Hi! My mother loves to memorize poetry and song lyrics. She is an absolute compendium, it's amazing. One thing that's really fun about this is that every year at Halloween, she'll give animated retellings of folk tales and poetry, and the same will happen at Christmastime.

Recently, I've been reading through collections of poetry by Jack Prelutsky (such as "Nightmares" and "The Gargoyle on the Roof") with my own children, and I have been reading them in an animated fashion just like my mother. I was reminded of her, and I briefly thought "Great! I finally know something I can get her for Christmas!" I then realized that she might not appreciate receiving a gift so out of season in subject matter?

I'm hoping y'all can recommend some fun oral tradition compilations (maybe ones that also have illustration). They don't necessarily have to be Christmas themed, just fun to recount and not the direct opposite vibe of the season, lol!


r/Poetry • • 11h ago

Poem [POEM]Said a blade of grass by kahlil Gibran

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4 Upvotes

r/Poetry • • 18h ago

[POEM] The Hour of Faithlessness by Faiz Ahmed Faiz. Translated by Naomi Lizard

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14 Upvotes

The original is titled kahan jaoge which literally translates to where will you go?


r/Poetry • • 18h ago

Poem [POEM] The Wheel by W.B. Yeats

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14 Upvotes

r/Poetry • • 1d ago

[POEM] At a High School This Morning by Brian Doyle

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175 Upvotes

r/Poetry • • 1d ago

[poem] A Moment of Distraction - Connie Bensley

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16 Upvotes

The water, molten and opaque,
Looks fit to lie down on.

From the bridge I can see
Two figures to the side of the landscape Doing something on the foreshore, in waders.

An urban river, cliffed in
With square-shouldered buildings
And rusting machinery. Trees on the towpath
Festooned with rubbish from high tide.

The water looks resilient.
I think you could lie down on it.

Some men are working on the parapet.
'Come on duck,' one calls,
'Don't do it today. We fished two out yesterday
And it's not in our contract.'

He throws down a stone
And the water swallows it neatly.

I hurry on. It looks like rain.


r/Poetry • • 1d ago

Poem [POEM] Walls - Langston Hughes

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515 Upvotes

r/Poetry • • 1d ago

Poem [POEM] The Murderer's Wine - Charles Baudelaire

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97 Upvotes

From "The Flowers of Evil"