Submit a Poem!
Young Poets! Send Me One of Your Best Poems!
I love to read your poems—even more than I enjoy reading and writing my own! When I travel around the world, especially to schools, I invite kids ages 5 to 11 (Grades K to 6 in the US) to send me one (just one) of their very best poems so I can publish it here on my web site for all the world to read and enjoy!
So, what are you waiting for?
If you’ve written a poem (or sixty), and you think every word is exactly the way you like, and the poem shares precisely the idea you want it to, then send it to me by e-mail or snail mail and I will try to publish it here.
Rules For Sending Poems
1. You should send only one poem per month. If you write two fabulous poems, just wait and send the second one the next month.
2. Poets must be at least 5 years old and no older than 11. Be honest! I’ll know!
3. Include your age, your first name, and your town or school. Do NOT send me your full name and address. When I post a poem, I’ll list your poem, your first name, age or grade, and your town and state/country. I never post any last names or addresses.
4. By law, (COPPA – the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act) poets younger than 13 must have parental permission to send me a poem. That pretty much covers everyone who is eligible to send me poems! You can find our Privacy Policy here. That means you have to tell your parents you’d like to send me a poem and get their permission before you send it!
5. I will do my best to publish your poem, but I can’t promise to publish every one I receive. If I get just a few poems each month, I will publish them all. But if I get bazillions, I will be able to only post 5-10 of them.
6. Even if your poem isn’t published here, please promise that you will keep on writing poems for yourself and others, every chance you get. OK? Write about things that are important to you–like your feelings (sadness, happiness, whatever…), your weird and wonderful parents, teachers and friends, special places, and things that only YOU see in your own special way. And don’t stop until it says exactly what you want it to say. Don’t worry if it doesn’t rhyme. In fact it’s better if it doesn’t. (See the Writing Tips page.)
7. Be sure it’s YOUR poem, not someone else’s. I very occasionally get poems sent to me that are written by someone else other than the sender. Sometimes the sender even sends me a famous poem and pretends that he or she wrote it. That’s a no-no, of course. It must be your own work. It’s way more fun that way, anyway. I want to read your writing, not someone else’s.
8. Did I mention, have fun doing it? That’s the most important thing of all.
