Poetry.com and the International Society of Poets are disgusting individuals preying on new writers unfamiliar with the industry. I submitted several poems, one of which had previously been awarded Second Place in the High-School Short Poem division of a major legitimate statewide contest here in Louisiana.
I was thrilled when, several weeks later, I recieved a glowing letter commending my poem and stating that my poem had been selected to appear in one of their anthologies. However, the letter said that I would have to pay $50 for a copy of the Anthology and asked for a biography to be published at an extra $25 charge. I was all set to send in the money and thrilled to death over the opportunity.
Fortunately, however, I happen to be a procrastinator of epic proportions. I never actually got around to sending the money in and eventually lost the letter. Suddenly, I recieve an email stating that I have been nominated for Poet of the Year, with a $20,000 grand prize! I was invited to their convention in Washington DC. The email promises performances by Tony Orlando and the Drifers, a chance to meet W.D. Snodgrass, and many other sizable prizes and opportunities.
However, when I went to register for this 'opportunity', I discovered that the 'registration' price as a ridiculous $595 for the poet and $495 for guests. This did not include any travel or lodging expenses, only entry to and participation in the convention.
Obviously, I decided not to send in thst much money without checking up on the company first, and I am very glad I did. I discovered countless complaints from others who were suckered in by this scam. Whatever you do, do NOT submit poetry to or give any money to poetry.com or the International Society of Poets. This is a massive scam. If you have submitted poetry to them, I highly suggest having it removed from their website.
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