Background
Poetry.com was a website created by the National Library of Poetry in 1997. It quickly became one of the most popular places for poets to publish their work and connect with other writers. Many poets even found it to be a great place to hone their craft and receive feedback from readers. The website was known for its forums, competitions and features such as “Poet of the Day.” For more than a decade, Poetry.com was a thriving community for poets.
In 2010, the National Library of Poetry sold the rights to Poetry.com to a company named Lulu.com. Lulu.com was, and still is, a self-publishing company. In 2011, Lulu launched a new website for Poetry.com, drastically changing the features available to users.
Decline of Poetry.com
With the new website, users were no longer able to post their work, create forums or competitions and were limited to viewing the few works Lulu chose to post. Users were also asked to pay money to have their work reviewed, published, and entered into competitions.
The website was quickly overwhelmed with negative reviews and many users voiced their dissatisfaction with the changes. Many of the original Poetry.com writers were disgruntled and left the website. Most of the members of the Poetry.com community had already moved on to other websites or social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook.
Without its members, the website eventually lost its popularity. By 2014, its page rankings had plummeted and it stopped appearing in search results. The website was officially taken down in 2015, with no further explanation from Lulu.com.
Aftermath
The death of Poetry.com had a major effect on the poetry community. Many of the poets have not been able to reconnect with the people they met on the website. Some have even lost pieces of their work forever due to the lack of an archive.
The closure of Poetry.com was also a major blow to the National Library of Poetry. The Library was already having financial difficulties and had to close its doors in 2016. Many people were left wondering what happened to the once popular website.
Poetry.com Now
In 2018, Poetry.com was bought and relaunched by a company called Alpha Destiny Limited. The new website still has some of the same features, including a forum and competitions, but users are still not allowed to post their work. The website has been met with mixed reviews from users who are still loyal to the old site.
The new website also has a bookstore, where users can purchase books and other products related to the poetry community. It is unclear if the new website will ever regain the popularity of the old Poetry.com.
Competing Sites
In the wake of Poetry.com’s demise, many other websites have risen as alternatives. Sites like PoemHunter.com, Inkitt.com, and Allpoetry.com have become popular destinations for poets. These websites allow poets to post their work, receive feedback, and even enter competitions.
These websites also provide resources to writers, such as writing prompts, and feature works by famous poets. Some of these websites even pay their users for the work they post or enter into competitions. The once thriving community of Poetry.com is slowly being replaced by these new sites.
Impact on Poetry Community
The death of Poetry.com has had a major impact on the poetry community. Not only has it been the cause of much frustration and disappointment, but it has also caused many writers to lose pieces of their work that they had posted on the site. Many poets who considered Poetry.com home have had to start over, as the new site is not the same as the old one.
Aside from this, the loss of Poetry.com has caused a major disruption in the online poetry community. Many of the people who once frequented the site have moved on, and the new sites have yet to gain the same level of recognition that the old Poetry.com had. This has caused the online poetry sphere to become significantly more fragmented.
Conclusion
The death of Poetry.com has been a tragedy for many of its members. The website was a major hub for the online poetry community and its closure has had a major impact on the industry. Though other sites have tried to replace it, the popularity of Poetry.com has not been replicated. The impact of its closure is still being felt today.
