If you are a serious writer/poet don't waste your time on this site. It's a social club where too many users only seek to gain followers by following other users, have their profile page decorated with childish ribbons from entering foolish contests, and give comments on poems that are meaningless "required" comments that non paying members must give in order to post a poem. In addition, I reported a user that made horribly inappropriate comments on one of my posts, including profanity, and the site management took no action. There's more but I'll spare AllPoetry from further criticism at this time. But, once again, don't waste your time posting anything on the site.
Below is a screenshot of my complaint to AllPoetry moderator. It was submitted April 9,2024.
The owner of the website Kevin is a left wing liberal $#*!.
Completely dismissed the harassment and trolling bull$#*! I had to deal with another member talking about me and my family, because of his political views he was defending the other member & the "Palestinian conflict"
I am getting lots of feedback as a new user. If your poetry is good, you will get noticed. However make an effort to contribute too as more people will read your poetry and make friends. Thousands of poems get posted each week so make yours stand out.
I got AP probably before 6 and halve years before, then i started to read poems to ease my lone wretched mind on street life; now i am in it to invent more than 165 poetry styles and to promote all to the world, probably not but surely became the only poet of the world by my inventions. AP is my beloved university.
The site wants your poems. It has a way of getting you like 3 reviews for each piece. It also has a "picked" category everyday,..., but it will never be one of your poems. I waited almost half a year and nothing. Suffiice to say its very guided towardds what KEVIN sees as fitting. Screw that dude - put your poetry somewhere it is appreciated. - Dont even reply Kevin, I already know you are a loser.
First, we don't advertise this site, so the only reviews here are disgruntled users. Free members need to add 2 comments for each poem they add, to help folks stay interactive vs. just dumping 1,000 poems and crying about not getting any comments.
Poems shown on the front page do need to be "very good" - most of our front page poems are chosen by a community member that changes every two weeks. With 50,000 members online every 2 weeks, front page poems are pretty rare for most people. Sorry that everyone can't get an award always.
Well, I started out using this site back in 2013 and, well, there's a reason WHY I don't visit the site as much. The only reason this review comes with 2 star rating is because of nostalgia.
IDK who need to hear this but it would be much appreciated if they stop trying to force users to interact with one another. People come on the website to post their poems and, possibly, get some interaction, however, forcing it is NOT a way to go. Worse still is that they force you interact to be able to post more poems. And that's not getting into how much a premium membership is ($180 per year).
Also, I don't appreciate getting emailed naggy "reminders" to use the site. There's a reason why I'm scarce on this site.
Really, there are far better websites for one to post poetry.
This site has had me grow so much in poetry. If users give me obsolete comments, I ignore them, which leaves the really good, thorough critiques and comments left. People complain about such, but all sites have people only there for points. But what matters is that there are those who will give you good feedback nevertheless, on AllPoetry.com.
Your are the most picked one always carrying my poetry.!
Somebody can easily write a poem with his emotional state of mind.
Go beyond the society and culture as well as any situation in life.
Fulfill the desire of hearts core.
I have been threatened by someone on there who said they'd kill me. I've been sexually harassed on there and people write a lot about lucifer on there calling themselves Satan and people are always stalking you on it and you can make more than one account for the same person under a different name and once caught they delete the profile. This has been going for years. Of all the poets they claim to have on their site, you get no feedback they just rate your poem from 1-6 and barely anyone reads your writings.
Sorry you had a bad experience with a user. That poem is definitely disturbing but how could you tell it was meant "at" a particular person? We are a moderated site, so please let us know with example links if something like this happens ( it's VERY rare!) via the gear icon at the top right -> contact us. We don't do poem "ratings" with 1-6 so no sure what you mean by that. You can rate comments, though.
I read the reviews here and joined this site just to reply to a few people who are out of touch with reality. Points are used to host contests if you so desire or to give to people who took the time to give you a good critique on your poem. Memberships do not cost money, I became a paid member just to say thank you for all the wonderful free writing courses I have taken, and years of helping me stay balanced. There are narrow minded and sometimes stupid people here, but I have met even more caring intelligent people with a fresh point of view. And I am in awe of the quality of poems you can find here. If you want your poetry to improve or just want to read some great poems you will love this site and it's many wonderful perspectives with a very helpful staff..
AllPoetry ( allpoetry.com) Is a wonderful place to learn and grow as a poet. It's huge knowledge base, is my go to, when I want to learn something new. Its members are warm and welcoming and its never ending supply of contest's and groups is enough to keep any writer focused and engaged for a very long time. I have been a member for well over ten years.Not a day goes by that I don't spend some time there, reading and sharing with other poets. Anita L.
Thanks for your warm words Anita and thanks for being a part of such an awesome community. We appreciate you :)
What looked promising, ends up like all other too good to be true's. They just want your money. But you don't find that out til you've spent an hour writing a poem... lol crock of crap. Ill stick to the old notepad method, this site pissed me off so bad now I'm going to go write a poem about it!
Hmm, we've worked carefully to make sure all the important features are available on the free membership - and indeed many/most of our members are free. You only need to subscribe if you want to add images or use a custom font, or can't be bothered to make the two comments when you post a poem. Sorry if you had a bad experience and for any confusion!
I've been submitting poems to AllPoetry for two years. AllPoetry
Encourages and motivates through its user contests where points are
Awarded. The points enable other writers to hold contests. I haven't
Ever experienced any of the negatives other writers complain about.
Sometimes I buy a Silver membership (which is quite reasonable) and
Never have had trouble cancelling and restarting it. Sure, it would be
Nice to receive more constructive criticism in the comments, but since
Most people on there are probably "amateurs" like myself, we don't feel
Qualified to be too critical. If you just want to have fun, have your
Voice heard by a few other writers, and be encouraged and motivated, AllPoetry is good site for you. It is also the most user friendly writers site I've visited.
As for the site. I like the layout itself. Functionality an A+ for a writers platform. Socially it has weak points as people can access others without having proper credentials. It's basically a non credited writers social site somewhat like Facebook or MySpace. Many users are stalkers and target female writers as I heard stories. There is a dominant majority who bully and act as if they are in competition. The group of bully's and stalkers tend to be political affiliated, causing fights and other issues. To finish this review off. Half of the people can't write. Have no writing scheme are self published and to top it off they can't even spell.
So far (in three months)I have had a positive experience. I mainly wanted to see if I really was a poet or not. I've decided after posting over 20 poems that I will pursue writing it. I've only had one sarcastic review which was I suppose an attempt at being witty. I think it is important though to belong to a group of friends on the site.
Don't bother with this site. Every day they try to scam you into buying some online bull$#*! merchandise and when you refuse to do so by speaking your mind the mods make up excuses to ban you.
If you are serious about poetry make yourself a favor and look somewhere else!
I suspect the issue was the "speak your mind" part, were you attacking a moderator? That will get you a warning then a 3-day ban per our rules if it continues.
99% of our poets are free members and we offer all members the same great support. There's not much to the "merchandise" besides the support-the-site memberships, and we try not to be too aggressive about promoting them.
Been with AP for about 3 years, you can publish and use the site without a membership. Good site but I feel like my poems get lost amongst the masses and others generally only see your poems if you comment heaps on others or generate a large following that actually reads your stuff.
This site is full of liars who allow bullying. My request when someone sent me nasty messages because she didn't win a contest I held were ignored when I said I felt bullied by it and I was told this person had every right to do what she did. I have now brought this case to others because in the day and age cyber bullying is to be take seriously not ignored.
We only got one report from you - that she said your dislike of her poem was "bullshit". Totally rude, but not harassment. I asked several times if she'd contacted you any further, but you said that you were just upset about the original comment and that "people shouldn't be allowed to say things like that". You contacted us again requesting that she be banned 1,2, and 3 months later. We try to avoid censorship, so I tried to explain that being rude to you once wasn't harassment and that you should add her to your ignore list.
Again, I'm sorry we didn't see eye to eye on this. From your complaint here, it seems you're now saying she contacted you multiple times - if this is the case, please feel free to message me on the site with where and I'll take another look.
Look at the reviews... the positive ones are mostly from very young, aka not formally educated, poets. They are into the whole (enforced) social hierarchy of this site, it seems... social media over skill?
There are some great poets, mostly brushed under the rug by the plethora of social climbers who rate each other.
If you want to be a serious poet, this will never in a million years get you the critiques you need to grow. The published poets that are wildly popular on allpoetry are SELF published, aka any old tripe can be self published, they don't care because they want the money for publishing it.
I had a permanent profile that I abandoned and hundreds of followers but it was all so non literary. Also, keep in mind all the "followers" will stab you in the back if it helps their ratings... they are NOT friends in any real sense. Beware.
I am not looking for friends. I am looking for serious and well educated poets who can actually discus POETRY so I got rid of my profile.
I miss the good poets. Sometimes I even consider making a new free profile but i know the kevin is invested in making money, not quality. I talked with him ( or his clone doing the writing) extensively.
The man who started this site states his preference as "brevity" which produces some of the most inane tripe I have ever read and the fight for kudos, all very false and corrupted by nepotism and rating bait. He states his idol as ted Kooser- yes a poet laureate but also writes for a non literary public. It is my personal belief that this only serves to let him get away with reading very very little petry but posing as a guru. I have never seen a decent critique from him, my last? For a serious, philosophical poem, was "fun write!" then a grammar suggestion that was, ironically, wrong.
I paid for am lifetime membership and want my money back. This is not a serious or even valid site, beware. The owner writes tripe as both his poetry and reviews
Abandon all literary hope all ye who enter here
My poem:
An unexpected pleasure fell tonight
Like sudden song of birds just out of sight.
It hummed all through my body like a bliss,
A quickening, tender touch of sacredness.
I look for traces in pretending skies
That hides the mystery from mortal eyes.
His inane and useless review below
Here are the reviews from another site:
Softconfessions
Softconfessions
India
1 Review
Buyers Beware
2 days ago 94 Views
Service & Support:
Information Depth:
Content:
User friendly:
Time to load:
The man who started this site states his preference as "brevity" which produces some of the most inane tripe I have ever read and the fight for kudos, all very false and corrupted by nepotism and rating bait. He states his idol as ted Kooser- yes a poet laureate but also writes for a non literary public. It is my personal belief that this only serves to let him get away with reading very very little petry but posing as a guru. I have never seen a decent critique from him, my last? For a serious, philosophical poem, was "fun write!" then a grammar suggestion that was, ironically, wrong.
I paid for am lifetime membership and want my money back. This is not a serious or even valid site, beware. The owner writes tripe as both his poetry and reviews
Abandon all literary hope all ye who enter here
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Comments on Allpoetry.com Review
This site should be called ''AllPornography'' as it has many adult writes from which young poets are not protected.
By: ApteAnima | 0 hrs 49 mins ago
Other Reviews On Allpoetry.com
DdirbyBeginner
Ddirby
South Boston, Virginia, India
1 Review
More popularity contest than poetry site.
Jan 26,2020 09:54 PM 979 Views
Pro's: The site is a good place to catalog your poetry, so it doesn't get lost if your computer crashes. There are some good poets on there, but you have to search for them. Basic membership is free.
Cons: Most members are rank amateurs with little to no knowledge of poetic elements/forms/devices.
Contests are a joke as they are most often run by these jackleg amateurs, who most often award their friends and followers over good poetry.
The site does little to educate new poets on how to write. The site owner insists that his views on poetry are the only ones to live by.
The site uses an algorithm to rank poetry, purposely ensuring that rhyming poems don't often rate highly.
Some members spread misinformation on poetry forms and techniques, which goes uncorrected. "OriginalsbyTerry" is the ring leader for spreading misinformation, which causes other new poets to blindly follow her lead.
The site has a few bullies who are allowed to troll unchecked.
There are too few moderators(administrators) on staff. Several have quit due to disagreements with the owner on how the site is run(favoritism, inconsistent rule enforcement, etc.).
The site help features are too difficult to find.
Negative reviews written on the site are met with threats from administrators and bans if continued.
Feedback on how to better the site is normally ignored.
Feedback on a member's poetry is based on the size of his/her friends list and not the quality of his/her work.
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Comments on Allpoetry.com Review
The owner and moderators of this site treat plagiarism as a game, laughing it off most of the time or simply having the member remove it.
By: ddirby911 | Apr 03,2021 11:45 PM
Plagiarism is NOT taken seriously on the site, either by members or by AP staff.
By: ddirby911 | Apr 03,2021 11:46 PM
Thank you, I appreciate another view
By: softconfessions | few seconds agoEdit
SamS895
SamS895
1 Review
Ap is just one stop scam site
Jun 24,2018 02:07 PM 1765 Views
The poetry is just an excuse to hide the forceful advertising and the pay to post policies integrated and pushed by the owner of the site. In more than one occasion I had to stop payments from my credit card directed from AP and the only justification from the owner was "you can cancel anytime".
It's a shame how this travesty still goes on. If you are serious about poetry look further
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Comments on Allpoetry.com Review
Thank you, this is really important
By: softconfessions | few seconds agoEdit
ThisvivianBeginner
Thisvivian
San Jose, United States of America
1 Review
19 Followers
ZE WORST IN ZE WORLD
Oct 09,2017 06:00 AM 3235 Views
This is such a stupid website! The members are scammed as the owner violates the copyrights of authors publishing online and uses demeaning ways against the members of the site. Points are NOT worth ANYTHING, but they would actually say that memberships would cost MONEY! They do NOT even deserve that one star out of five: it's ZERO stars out of five!
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Comments on Allpoetry.com Review
You can be a free member. I have been a free member since 2009. It is not a shopping site, so do not worry, no one is going to shop for laptops or vegetables there, IDK what is your warning about? What value are you talking about? Does everyone in th... Read More
By: arji | Jul 20,2018 06:56 PM
Ddirby911
Ddirby911
Halifax, VA, India
1 Review
Not worth the frustration
Oct 14,2016 09:59 AM 5107 Views
Pro's: You can catalog your work online and get feedback from amateur poets(though typically not much). You can find some good poetry there, but you have to look for it. There is a classic section that posts work from famous poets.
Cons: Computerized ranking system that uses an algorithm to rate a poem's quality, rigged contests, bullying, extremely poor feedback, complaints aren't answered in a timely manner
(and they're usually brushed off), rampant plagiarism.
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Comments on Allpoetry.com Review
This information is very useful nice one
By: nikhilamipara | Oct 14,2016 10:01 AM
A member for two years, I've never had any of those problems. Sounds like sour grapes.
By: rs_olin | Oct 27,2016 07:42 AM
Allpoetry is an amazing website I have been a member for 9 years. The contests are genuine and the critiques mostly useful and friendly. And if your work is good you will get decent comments. I have learnt a lot here and there are classes on haiku, s... Read More
By: drsmitasriwas280 | May 23,2018 08:25 PM
All those who advertise about allpoetry are the owner's family
You have to buddy up with people to get any comments on your work. You have to be "in the loop".
I have written on the site for over a year. Never getting more than 1-4 "likes". Mine is not bad. You are a poet or not. You do not "learn" to write. You can take classes to maybe fit into the box. Read me if you want. The site changes from All Poets to All Poetry depending what day it is. Debra Ann Van Ness
Allpoets - not sure where you got that from, never heard of it. Maybe you were involved on another site? Until you build up a set of folks "following" you, your poems will get some initial attention from the "new" list, but after that you'll need to do stuff like use the "trade comments" feature, enter contests, join small groups to get your poem in front of more folks. A lot of new poets are surprised there's not hoards of adoring fans waiting for them upon posting, but if you dive in and are active, you'll get a lot of responses.
Answer: Please contact us on the website, click the gear icon in the top right then 'contact us'. The basic membership is free, but paid memberships get you some bonus stuff, click the store link at the top for info on this.
Answer: Please contact us on the website, click the gear icon in the top right then 'contact us'
Answer: Over 400,000, with about 50,000 active in the last two weeks. A lot!
Answer: You award them to users who comment on your post. Or you can create contests and use points for prizes
Answer: If you visit a person's profile page and click message, then 'history' you can see deleted messages with that user.
Answer: There's an export link on list pages in the right column to do this...
Answer: Usually this means javascript is misconfigured or broken on your computer. Try resetting your security settings to the default, and make sure your browser has all the latest updates. Comments need to be made from the "now comment" page, vs. clicking titles to comment...
Answer: For the required two comments after commenting? They have to be done from the "now comment" page, maybe that was the problem. Or the javascript on your computer messed up for some reason... Hopefully you got it working :)
Answer: Yes, you keep copyright to your poems and are free to post, publish, or share them elsewhere. You can see our terms of use link, click Help / Contact us at the bottom of the page if you want to see the gory details.
All Poetry has a rating of 2.7 stars from 144 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers dissatisfied with All Poetry most frequently mention gold membership, kevin watt and social media. All Poetry ranks 3rd among Forum sites.
This user started a flame war with another user & both got in trouble about it. Their comments to us and the other user were all in the lines they mention ("Go fuck yourself") and completely inappropriate.